Football Fans Save Cat From Death-Defying Fall At Stadium

"I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s coming soon.’”

On Saturday night, a curious cat snuck into the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, and grabbed the attention of thousands of football fans.

During a game between the University of Miami Hurricanes and Appalachian State Mountaineers, a stray cat wandered onto the upper deck of the stands during the first quarter. The frightened cat slipped over the railing and dangled 50 feet in the air.

The cat clutched at some fabric, but the people below knew he couldn’t hold on for long. Fans gasped in horror as the cat began to lose his grip.

“They were trying to grab it from above and they couldn’t reach it, but they were scaring it downward,” Craig Cromer, a facilities manager at the University of Miami, told NBC Miami. “It hung there for a little while with its two front paws, then one paw, then I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s coming soon.’”

Cromer and his wife are season ticket holders and bring an American flag to each game. The quick-thinking duo unhooked the flag from the railing where it was draped and held it out just as the cat plummeted down.

They made the best catch of the game as the cat bounced into the flag. Nearby fans held the uninjured cat up for the entire stadium to see as the crowd cheered in response.

Stadium security workers picked up the cat and escorted him to safety. On Twitter, the stadium wrote that they had made a donation to the Humane Society of Greater Miami in the cat’s honor, and encouraged others to do the same.

The Dodo is still waiting for an update from the stadium as to the cat's current whereabouts.

To help other stray cats in the Miami area, you can make a donation to the Humane Society of Greater Miami here.