The Browns won Thursday night – but was it 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 at about 7:30 p.m. Minutes later, with hands as deft as 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.
Nbd, just a Browns fan catching a possum tonight at the stadium pic.twitter.com/MxMWFWh4jS
— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) September 21, 2018
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 #RallyPossum pic.twitter.com/S8XAFV6J3R
— Mike Kelly (@mikekellyindeed) September 21, 2018
So what happened to this mythical creature of gridiron legend after it's capture and cardboard incarceration? It was released humanely outside the FirstEnergy Stadium, according to a tweet from Rob McBurnett, senior communications manager for the Browns. "It's quite possom-ble it reached one of the @Browns @budlight Victory Fridges in time to celebrate the win #NYJvsCLE," he tweeted.
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: Possum or Opossum? 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.
