American sports may have seen its most epic battle of the year: a single raccoon vs. a team of men trying to capture it with trash cans.
The stripy tailed interloper stopped play for almost two minutes in the Major League Soccer game between Philadelphia Union and New York City on Wednesday night, prompting a battle of wit and skill with staff on the field of Subaru Park in Chester, PA.
“We need to find him a ball because he’s moving very well in the center of midfield,” said Callum Williams, the commentator on Apple TV.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite as bizarre as this, particularly given the amount of time he’s remained on the field” he added.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
A stadium official approached the urban scavenger with the most appropriate of impromptu capture devices — a trash can — but the creature was too quick and got got away.
Having run the almost the full length of the field in its bid for freedom, a second member of staff then attempted to stop the furry fugitive, before a third man armed with yet another trash can finally managed to capture it.
Soccer
By this point the match commentators were rooting for the raccoon.
“This is marvelous entertainment. Go on, raccoon! You can get away,” Williams said, before adding “Don’t hurt him!” as the plastic prison was at last put into place.
Dubbed “Raquinho” by some, it now holds the not particularly well-contested record of spending the most amount of minutes of any raccoon on the field in MLS history, the league said.
Fans speculated which team would be first to sign the raccoon, given its impressive footwork and acceleration. One YouTube commentator argued that it had already shown more promise than any Manchester United attacker this season.
The raccoon was picked up by a local pest control company and released back into the wild, Philadelphia Union said in a statement on X.
Fans speculated which team would be first to sign the raccoon, given its impressive footwork and acceleration, with one YouTube commentator arguing that it had already shown more promise than any Manchester United attacker this season.
The raccoon's appearance was not a good omen for the home team: Philadelphia lost the game 2-1, leaving the team in ninth place in the MLS table after 12 games.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:
