A raccoon ran on to the field during the Union-NYCFC game
Play was stopped for five minutes, fans came up with raccoon-themed chants, and the broadcasters had jokes about the critter's potential soccer skills.
Though the Union suffered another awful loss Wednesday at Subaru Park, fans who endured the rain-lashed 2-1 defeat to New York City FC at least had one thing to enjoy.
A raccoon ran on to the field during the first half, stopping the game for around five minutes as the stadium staff chased the visitor around.
It took the staff some 2 ½ minutes just to corral the creature, who raced out from the concourse near midfield. The referees saw his arrival right away and stopped the action, and they and the players kept a safe distance.
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The stadium staff got the job done by putting a trash can down on top of the raccoon when it stopped for a moment — though they took a couple of swings and misses to stick the landing.
It then took another two minutes before the staff were able to escort the raccoon out of the seating bowl. They devised a smart way to do it: sliding an advertising board between the ground and the trash can, flipping the assembly over, then quickly stacking another trash can atop the one with the raccoon in it to trap him.
There was enough space at the bottom for the raccoon to be safely secured without being harmed. The Union’s social media team said he was released into the night by a pest control service that has a sponsorship deal with the team.
But at least for those frantic five minutes or so, there was lots for everyone else to laugh about. Fans in the stands came up with various racoon-themed chants, and both the Apple TV broadcast team and the Union’s radio announcers made light of it all.
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“We promise you this isn’t the nature channel,” Apple’s play-by-play voice Callum Williams said. “We need to find him a ball, because he’s moving very well in the center of midfield.”
The raccoon also jumped on top of one of the ad boards at one point, then thought better of it and went back to the field.
“He’s playing like a Union forward up top!” Union radio play-by-play veteran Dave Leno exclaimed at one point. “Oh, raccoon, you’ve got to go towards the goal and get one for the Union!”
Alas, he stayed out of the net.
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Williams’ broadcast partner, analyst Calen Carr, recalled a famous piece of MLS lore from his playing days: the raccoons that inhabited D.C. United’s old RFK Stadium in Washington.
If only the Houston Dynamo had been the Union’s opponent on the night instead of NYCFC. Dynamo manager Ben Olsen, a Harrisburg-area native, played and coached in D.C. for many years and liked to joke that he had conversations with RFK’s residents. He’d have had a field day with this.
It wasn’t the first time a raccoon made its way through Subaru Park. Back in 2019, this reporter and a colleague crossed paths with one while leaving the stadium after a game.
Wednesday’s guest was unavailable to comment on whether anyone from those past generations were relatives.
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