The Cleveland Browns won their first football game since Christmas Eve 2016 on Thursday night – but was it rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield’s 201 yards and the team's two touchdowns, or was it all thanks to #RallyPossum?
An opossum was first spotted loose in Section 101 of Cleveland's FirstEnergy Stadium at about 7:30 p.m. Minutes later, with hands as deft as receiver Jarvis Landry’s, a fan sporting a number 99 jersey grabbed the waylaid marsupial by its tail and placed it gingerly in a box. It, apparently, was a sign of the victory to come.
The Browns won the game, but the opossum may have won the internet Thursday night.
The tweet from @BustedCoverage with the opossum capture on video had over 1.7 million views as of Friday morning, and the responses were amazing:
He’s watched his team play dead for 3 years
— Michael Da Prof of Biz (@MRudolphComedy) September 21, 2018
I got 99 problems but a possum ain't one! pic.twitter.com/HDKHAc0xUW
— Rickie Dragon (@Rickie_Dragon) September 21, 2018
Can it kick?
— Frisco slim (@SlimFrisco) September 21, 2018
By Friday morning, "Rally Possum" even had its own t-shirt, because of course it does:
I told you Cleveland would have a shirt by 6 am pic.twitter.com/CYWRZy8oXO
— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) September 21, 2018
It also has its own Twitter account now - @possum_rally, featuring gems like this:
I really love this guy! #Browns#RallyPossumpic.twitter.com/S8XAFV6J3R
— Mike Kelly (@mikekellyindeed) September 21, 2018
Was it a cursed opossum lurking in the stadium for the last two years, and capturing him finally lifted the curse?
Was the opossum actually a genie that granted Browns fans' wishes upon its capture?
Was it just a funny thing that happened? We may never know.
Editor's Note: Possom or Opossom? The marsupial native to North America is an opossum, while a slightly different creature native to Australia is written "possum." So, while the internet may refer to it as the Rally Possum, the actual animal is an opossum.
