Labour Day Classic rabbit a rare performer, says McMahon GM
Rabbits ends up on the field and in the stadium, but they rarely steal the show
It could be the cutest touchdown celebration in the history of football, and was by all accounts the highlight of the Labour Day Classic when the Stamps downed the Eskimos 16-7 at Calgary's McMahon Stadium.
When a jackrabbit scurried onto the field at Monday's game, it ran the length of the field before making a mighty leap into the air for no apparent reason other than to celebrate its own agility. It stole the show.
"This one certainly had a flair for the dramatic," said John Haverstock, general manager of McMahon Stadium.
"We've had rabbits on the field occasionally. I've been around the building more than 30 years and a few times over that period of time there's been a rabbit on the field, but it's normally innocuous — kind of scurries out and then heads out again, never to be seen," he added.
The rabbits make appearances at McMahon as they do in neighbourhoods across the city. With the old, open building, it's impossible to keep them out.
"There are nooks and crannies," said Haverstock. "The building is old and there are certainly places where animals can hide."
The usual course is to open the vehicle gates at the southeast corner of the stadium and to try coax them out.
"You can't catch them," he said.
Of course, with the attention given to the Labour Day rabbit, it might be a better plan to attract a few more performers to the field.