Exterior photo of FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. Home of the Cleveland Browns. 

Image Credit: Sarah/Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)

On a memorable night that ended in quarterback Baker Mayfield leading the Cleveland Browns over the New York Jets in primetime, another national story took place in the stands of FirstEnergy Stadium. A Cleveland Browns fan captured a lost possum in the stands, placed it in a box, and released it outside of the stadium.

The Cleveland Browns fans that caught the possum was Greg Pleasant, a season ticket holder for section 149. Pleasant was sitting with his wife when he noticed the possum moving up and down one of the rows. He asked a FirstEnergy Stadium security official if they wanted someone to physically remove the possum from the stadium and was granted permission. It didn’t take long for the story to go viral. The possum was declared a good luck charm and new mascot of the Cleveland Browns following the team’s victory over the New York Jets. The possum now even has social media accounts dedicated to it.

According to the Chief Wildlife Officer at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, a stadium with leftover food in the stands is an ideal place for animals like possums to gather. They went on to add that possums are very prevalent throughout the Northeastern Ohio region. It’s very common for seagulls to swarm AT&T Park immediately after San Francisco Giants home games as they scour for leftover food. Only time will tell if the Cleveland Browns' possum reaches the popularity of the Los Angeles Angels' rally monkey. 

  

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