Joe Camporeale – USA Today Sports
It isn’t something you see every game, but lately it does not seem rare either. In the 83rd minute of the 2013 Gold Cup match between Honduras and Haiti, a squirrel invaded the soccer pitch and delayed the match momentarily. It also stole the attention of Twitter and its users.
At the time, Honduras was leading 1-0, but at first glance on Twitter it looked like everyone had ADHD and was just screaming squirrel, but there was actually a rodent on the pitch. It safely made its way across the pitch and off the sideline.
If you remember back in the 2011 NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies, a squirrel caused a short delay to Game 4 and showed its face again before Game 5. The Cardinals came from behind and won the series before eventually winning the 2011 World Series. As part of the ring, the Cardinals put rally squirrel on their World Series ring and the critter was named “rally squirrel”.
I doubt the 2013 Gold Cup squirrel will gain as much fame as the 2011 “rally squirrel”, but we never expected the last squirrel invader to gain so much fame.
Once again, a little critter gained our attention and someone will try to make a pretty penny off of the invasion. The 2013 squirrel invasion didn’t last as long as the 2011 NLDS, and truly didn’t really affect play. I also doubt we will see it again during a Gold Cup match at Red Bull Arena again. However, I could be wrong and Twitter could once again see another squirrel on a sports field and tweet squirrel like no tomorrow once again.
Phil Naegely is a sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Like him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @pnaegelyRS and add him to your circles on Google.
