NFL football is back, which means we the fans are back. The 2021 NFL season is upon us, the season opens on Thursday, September 9th with America’s Team visiting the reigning Super Bowl champs.
Today we will be diving into the top 5 NFL fan moments from the past 2 seasons. This list includes events that happened in the 2019 season, in part because we didn't have fans this past year. Each week during the NFL season the LFG team will be looking back at the top fan moments from every game during the week.. Anything goes for the list -- from fan reactions on social media in response to on-field foolery. With that said, let's look at the top 5 fan moments from the 2019 - 2020 season.
#5 Black Cat interrupts Monday Night Football
It's week 9 of the 2019 season, Monday Night Football between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. Late in the second quarter the crowd erupts, the camera pans and a black cat is running around the field. Officials stopped the game so security could capture the animal. As the crowd continues to go wild the cat makes it to the 40, the 30, 20, 10, and finally the cat scampers into the endzone. It's a touchdown for the black cat, and the crowd goes wild. That cat escaped the field and has not been found to this day.
The reaction on twitter was crazy, as everyone tuning in focused their attention on the cat, even ESPN wrote articles about the cat as it seemed the game didn't even happen. A twitter account was created for the cat. MetLife Stadium posted a statement. Of course, memes were made. For the rest of the game and the week, all eyes were on the cat that stole the show.
If you asked a Cowboys or Giants fan about the result of the game, they probably wouldn't remember, but one memory of the night remains a constant, the black cat. Both fan bases blamed the black cat as bad luck for the rest of the season's woes and that black cat on Monday Night Football still lives in many fans' hearts.
#4 Daniel Jones Takes A Tumble
One of the best moments from this past season was Daniel Jones tripping on an 80-yard scamper for a sure touchdown. Some 7 minutes into the 3rd quarter, trailing by 3, quarterback Daniel Jones took off on a designed run. He had some initial wheels as he outran half the defense, but as he approached the 35 yard line it appeared that he was losing his balance. He tripped and tumbled for another 10 yards, officially fell at the 25 yard line, and was quickly touched down by an Eagles Defender. This was going to be a 90 something yard touchdown run, up until Jones took a tumble.
The fan reactions were wild, all over social media. Even Joe Buck in the booth got a kick out of it. Jomboy Media, who sticks to the baseball world, did a “breakdown” on it. Some people came to his defense including Patrick Mahomes, who tweeted “I mean I can’t even say anything cause I would never be able to run that far either”. With the struggling NFC East, many pointed to the trip as a visual representation of the division as a whole. Others poked fun at 2020 and the Coronavirus. All in all this play was hilarious and carried other great fan reactions with it, it definitely deserves a spot on the list.
#3 Lamar Jackson has “Cramps”
You had to know this one was coming. One of the funniest and strangest moments of the 2020 season was Lamar Jackson disappearing late into a Monday Night must-win against the Cleveland Browns. In the middle of the third quarter, Lamar Jackson was caught on camera exiting the game and jogging to the locker room.
Cue the speculation. Immediately many fans thought he was injured, but the running proved otherwise. The next best guess? He had to go, and I don't mean back home. Many fans pointed out Jacksons’ awkward run which many of us can probably relate to. It was quickly determined by fans that Jackson had a case of number two to tend to. I think this tweet sums up the whole ordeal. Although this was a funny situation, the Ravens needed to win the game to stay in the playoff hunt, fan favorite Trace Mcsorley entered the game, iykyk.
After one drive Mcsorley went 3-and-out, and on the next possession he went down clutching his knee. As Jackson was still in the locker room, the Ravens turned to receiver Willie Sneed, but heroically Jackson trotted out of the locker room to save the Ravens. On his first play he threw a 44-yard touchdown and the Browns answered. Justin Tucker later hit a game-winning field goal as time expired. Not only was this the best game of the season, but it was a legendary moment that was Paul Pierce-like.
#2 Fan runs on field in Super Bowl 55
Although the Super Bowl between the Bucs and Chiefs was a boring blowout, fans at home and at the game got a late treat in the fourth quarter. It is not often we get fans running on the field, but for it to happen at the Super Bowl is even better. Just as the game was winding down, all eyes were focused on a fan in a pink one-piece suit running on the field and evading security in epic fashion. He lost his mask and then soon after, his pants. Although CBS did not show the man on their broadcast, Twitter and Instagram got a hold of some footage, and it soon ran rampant.
Kevin Harlan on the radio call, gave an epic play-by-play. He said “Pull up your pants, my man!” and “Be a man!”. The man evaded security with a spin-move as seen in the photo above, but was soon captured. He was successful, in streaker standards, as he was able to actually disrupt the game for several minutes. There is another part to the story, the next day reports surfaced that the man bet $50,000 on a prop bet that there would be a streaker at the Super Bowl, it would have paid out $374,000. These rumors were shut down pretty quickly, as sportsbooks denied that they would let someone put that kind of money on a prop bet in that nature. All in all, it was a successful run, even more successful because it was at the Super Bowl.
#1 2020 Virtual Draft
While the country was dealing with the pandemic last year, the NFL decided to move forward with a fully virtual draft in April. As an NFL fan, this might be my favorite NFL moment of all-time . This draft was off the rails from the start, but that's what makes it so good. Roger Goodell began his opening address and in typical fashion, virtual fans of countless teams popped up on the T.V. behind him to deliver their world class boos. The boos are hilarious and Roger Goodell now embraces them, as he encourages the virtual fans and their boos. One of my personal favorite moments was Roger Goodell announcing Tua Tagovailoa to the Dolphins. Goodell knew Tua was going to be a high pick for almost three years, and he absolutely butchered his name, and fans ran with it. Fans attached the moment to gifs, and some just felt the urge to point out what we all heard.
The other highlight from the draft was Goodell just completely giving up late in the first-round and going into the second. He laid back in the world famous draft chair, which now sits in the hall of fame. He almost looked drunk, as many fans pointed out. Honestly if he was drunk, I wouldn't blame him, this must have sucked being in his own basement and having to announce 90-something picks within two days.
Finally, there was the M&M container. At the beginning of the draft there was a glass jar, full of M&M’s and by the end of the night, the thing was almost empty. Fans obviously noted the amount of M&M’s slowly decreasing, and they called him out for it. Goodell was probably scanning twitter because he said late in the second round that the M&M’s are within reach and decreasing. The draft was ultimately one for the ages, and I am so glad I was able to experience it live.
Although some might not agree, these are my top 5 moments from the last two seasons involving fans. As stated at the beginning, we will be recapping the top 5 fan moments from every week during the NFL season every Tuesday. Stay alert, because the NFL season is upon us, and football and it’s fans are finally back.
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