Animal Antics In the World of Sport Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. UK football: A soccer stadium filled with some of the fiercest supporters in the English game is no place for the faint-hearted. Yet, in February 2012, a furry creature made a special appearance in the middle of the pitch. Are you feeling lucky? What type of animal was it?

Answer: Cat

When Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur took to the pitch, the main subject of speculation was the return of Liverpool player Luis Suarez after suspension. However, Patches the cat was not intimidated by the atmosphere and, mid-way through the firts half, calmly sat down to get a close-up view from the middle of the pitch; play was stopped for 3 minutes. Well were you feline lucky?
The match was played at Anfield, the home stadium of Liverpool, on 6th February 2012 and finished a 0-0 draw.

2. MLB : "I used to play baseball, I used to love to play..." what kind of bushy-tailed, tree-huggin' critter may well have been singing this Tom Paxton song when it wandered onto the outfield at a St Louis Cardinals game?

Answer: Squirrel

In 2011, the Cards were forced to take steps when a squirrel took to the field during one of their games. Dubbed the Rally Squirrel by fans, it was first seen when it came on during the sixth inning of a game in the National League Division Series between the Cards and the Philadelphia Phillies (the Cards lost 3-2). Eventually, the Cardinals put out traps and caught four squirrels, before releasing them into the wild.
(The opening words to the question are the opening lines of the Tom Paxton song "My Favourite Spring").

3. In hindsight, it might have been better to have played the game in daylight rather than at night: what type of bird brought an international soccer game to a halt by flying in to land on a set of goalposts?

Answer: Owl

In 2007 Finland and Belgium played a Euro Championship qualifying game in Helsinki. Keen to get a closer look, Bubi the eagle owl swooped down and landed on a crossbar. That may have unsettled the visitors, for Finland won 2-0. The match was played on 7 June 2007; neither team qualified for Euro 2008.

4. Not all animals are unwelcome at big sporting occasions. In 1923 when an estimated 200,000 people overcrowded the newly built Wembley Stadium in London, a police horse called Billie helped move people off the pitch. Ever after it became known as "the black horse final".

Answer: False

Billie was white, so it became known as "the White Horse Final". The game was in the English FA Cup and was the first time the fixture had been played at Wembley, capacity 126,000 (then). Bolton Wanderers defeated West Ham United 2-0 on 28th April 1923 for their first ever FA Cup win; for West Ham United it was their first ever appearance in an FA Cup final.

5. Downhill racers are among the most courageous on the ski scene, frequently reaching speeds of 90 mph on snow as hard as concrete. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, what kind of animal caused consternation by invading the course?

Answer: Lynx

Perhaps the Vancouver Lynx, as it became known, wanted to join in. Fortunately it was only a training session that it gate-crashed, otherwise the racers might have done some gate-crashing of their own. As a fairly pedestrian skier, I think I would reach 90mph too if I saw a lynx on the piste.

6. Cricket: Well, if the Democratic Party could do it at Chicago in 1968, some Australian cricket fans could do it in 1982. What kind of animal was smuggled into a game between their home nation and England?

Answer: Pig

In fact it was a piglet that was smuggled onto the pitch in Brisbane. Daubed on the pig's sides were the names 'Botham' and 'Eddie', reference to two England players not exactly known for their svelte appearances.
(In 1968 members of the Yippie faction smuggled a pig into the Democratic Party National Convention in Chicago).

7. One of the most passionately contested international fixtures in rugby union is any game between England and Scotland. In 2011, the two teams met in a fairly lacklustre encounter at Twickenham and proceedings were enlivened by the appearance of a four-legged creature. It wasn't Brer Rabbit so therefore, which of these must it have been?

Answer: Fox

The fox appeared on the pitch twice before the match and also got into the BBC commentary box. Among the spectators was Princess Anne, President of the Scottish Rugby Football Union. The match was played at Twickenham Stadium in London. England won the match 22-16 and, although they lost their next match 24-8 to Ireland, finished top of the table and champions in the 2011 Six Nations tournament.

8. Cricket: It's like this, one moment you are quietly flying across London and the next minute you find that a hard, red cricket ball is filling your piece of airspace. What kind of bird-brain was killed by a ball at Lord's in 1936?

Answer: Sparrow

The sparrow was hit by a ball bowled by Jehgangir Khan (Cambridge University)to Tom Pearce (MCC) and is now preserved and kept beside the famous Ashes urn at Lord's museum. The three-day match was played on 1-2-3 July 1936 and ended in a draw: Cambridge University 282 + 5/155 dec vs. MCC 155 + 5/63 at stumps on the 3rd day.

The "sparrow ball" was bowled in the MCC's second innings on 3rd July 1936.

9. Several kinds of birdie are associated with golf: albatrosses and eagles, for example. Back in 1998, what kind of birdie was less welcomed by US golfer Steve Lowry after it stole his ball?

Answer: Seagull

In March 1998 Lowry pitched onto the 17th island green at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida, only to see a seagull pick up his ball and fly off, dropping it into the water. He was allowed to replace the ball and play on without penalty.

The USPGA rulemakers are not TOTALLY heartless. (But he would have been penalised if he had not had another ball of the same make with him).

10. The Tour de France is probably the most famous cycling race of all time. In 2010, though, there was widespread havoc when a bunch of animals invaded the course. Things looked baaad, but could have have been worse. What kind of animals were they?

Answer: Sheep

They were, in fact, wild sheep and emerged onto a fog-affected course as cyclists made their way up the Col du Touremalet.
I hope you spotted that awful pun, otherwise you would be feeling sheepish.

11. NBA basketball: Sports played outdoors have at times fallen victims to animal antics. You might think you would be safe indoors, but what type of creature zoned in on a basketball court?

Answer: Bat

It happened in a match between San Antonia Spurs and Sacremento on Saturday 31st October 2009. The bat appeared towards the end of the first quarter and fluttered about a few times before Manu Ginobili (Spurs) grabbed it out of the air with his left hand to thunderous applause (some of the Sacramento players joined in the applause, as the music was changed to theme song to "Batman"). Ginobili needed a rabies shot aferwards. San Antonio were playing at home and won 113-94, leading at every change. Spurs made the end-of-season play-offs, beating Dallas 4-2 in the First Round; but were then eliminated 4-0 by Phoenix in the Western Conference semi-finals.

12. Ah Wimbledon: tennis on grass; strawberries and cream; rain interrupting play. All so familiar, but what kind of feathered creatures stopped play in 2007?

Answer: Ducks

Yes indeed; a mama duck led her ducklngs across Court 5 on Friday 29th June 2007, just as play was about to start. They might have moved quicker if Cliff Richard had threatened to sing.

13. UK football: In November 1970, an English footballer suffered a serious injury in a close encounter with an animal during a match. How did it happen?

Answer: A dog ran into him

In fact the shattered kneecap that Chic Brodie sustained ended his playing career. The incident happened in a Division Four game between Brentford and Colchester United (Brentford lost 4-0 away). Brodie was the Brentford goalkeeper.

14. UK football - UEFA Champions League: I don't know if it was red or grey, but it was lucky that the Gunners did not have any weapons with them. What kind of creature invaded the pitch during a soccer match in 2006?

Answer: Squirrel

The squirrel came on during the Champions' League match between Arsenal (The Gunners) and Villarreal. The fans called the squirrel Nigel. Personally I would have called it Cyril, as in the song "Nice One Squirrel, nice one son/ Nice one Squirrel, let's have another one!" OK, OK, it's just Splash being silly, again. THAT song would never be sung by Arsenal fans, Spurs fans perhaps. The match, semi-final first leg, was the played on 19th April 2006. Arsenal were at home and won 1-0.

A nil-all draw in the away leg saw Arsenal progress ot their first-ever Champions league final, which they lost 2-1 to Barcelona (played in Paris).

15. Australian Motor Sport: Supercar racing is fast, furious and not a little bit dangerous. However, some drivers were left hopping mad when a native creature decided to join them on the track at Bathurst. What kind of animal was it?

Answer: Kangaroo

It happened during a Bathurst 1000 Fujitsu V8 Supercar support race in 2007 and the Joey escaped unscathed as cars dodged around it.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Pity the poor sportsmen, and women. They train and hone their skills for years, but it can all go to waste when the unexpected happens, especially when the unexpected has fur or feathers. Here are 15 cases of animals getting involved in sport.

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