Some lucky Notre Dame fans got the memory of a lifetime today when a beautiful bald eagle went rogue during a fly-around at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The eagle was released during the national anthem but must have gotten confused when it landed on random people in the stands during the pre-game ceremonies.
Social media posts of the eagle included videos and photos from The Cotton Bowl where a fan was holding his arm out to support the eagle.
They show the bird didn’t return to its handler ahead of the matchup between No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame.
Instead, the trained bird landed on two Notre Dame fans but the bird was “apprehended” by its handlers soon after.
The eagle they had flying around during the national anthem appears to have gotten very confused and landed on a random spectator? pic.twitter.com/x10f3FtMvk
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) December 29, 2018
One fan got a great picture:
This fan just got the memory of a lifetime during the #CottonBowl national anthem 😂
(📷 via @CBusIrish) pic.twitter.com/Ne2XqltiGc— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 29, 2018
The comments below the picture are hysterical.
The guy was interviewed after the game and had this to say about the moment: “I was scared crapless”
"I was scared crapless"
Meet the men who, before #Clemson–#NotreDame, were landing strips for a bald eagle: Albert Armas, a Cali native with his son, and Tuyen Nguyen, a South Bend resident who's also a fan of.. the @Eagles@LakenLitman & I talked to'emhttps://t.co/Kzp86qPJN8
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 29, 2018