Shades of ’69: Black cat scampers on field at Cowboys-Giants game

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — A black cat got the best of the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants for a few minutes Monday night.

The cat scampered on the field during a Giants drive in the second quarter and forced referee Clay Martin to delay the game while workers at MetLife Stadium and some New Jersey State Troopers herded the feline toward the end zone away from the players.

The cat didn’t leave right away. It was directed into the corner of the end zone and then sprinted across the end line to a camera platform.

For a second, the cat jumped on the platform and then sprang out. It finished its run along the end line before running up the tunnel to the cheers of the crowd.

The cat wasn’t good luck for the Giants, who lost 37-18.

Of course, Cubs fans are quite familiar with black cats interrupting games.

The Cubs were in a pennant race with the New York Mets in 1969. The teams were playing at Shea Stadium on Sept. 9 when a black cat ran onto the field and stared into the Cubs dugout. The Cubs eventually lost that game and 18 of their 27 games in September and October and failed to qualify for the playoffs, adding to legend of the now-broken Cubs Curse.