Wild catch: Arkansas fan nabs raccoon during game against Vanderbilt

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A fan watching the Arkansas-Vanderbilt matchup on Friday wound up making the play of the game, catching a raccoon that ran through the stands.

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Photos and video posted to social media show the fan, wearing a red shirt, holding the wiggling animal up for everyone to see.

One person described the action on Twitter, saying the fan “caught a raccoon with his bare hands.”

The raccoon quickly became popular on social media, becoming known as the “rally raccoon,” as Arkansas began to come back to tie the game after being down 5-0, the Times Record reported. Despite the raccoon’s presence, Arkansas ultimately fell to Vanderbilt, 9-6 in 10 innings.

The fan was identified as Grant Harmon by KATV, who said that while he had been around raccoons before, he had never caught one.

“This was the first time I handled a live raccoon,” Harmon told the station. “My family and friends, we’ve gone raccoon hunting plenty of times. But any raccoon I’ve handled prior to that has been deceased. Definitely a first in that sense.”

After catching the animal, Harmon walked the raccoon out of the stadium. It wasn’t until he was in the parking lot, releasing the raccoon, that it bit him, Harmon told KATV.

Harmon got a rabies shot, and will have to get more in the future, he told the station.

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