The toughest star at the Carolina Panthers game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Nov. 8 wasn't any of the football players. Instead, it was a four-legged pooch in a Carolina blue sweater who went rogue and could not be tackled.
During the halftime corgi race at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, a corgi decided to break away from the pack and take a little run of its own, prompting at least four people to run after it before it was captured, video footage from the game showed.
ESPN reported the attempts to capture the corgi delayed the third quarter.
However, the Panthers and NFL said the corgi, who was identified as Lennox, was "Still a good boy though."
The Broncos (7-2) defeated the Panthers (3-5) in a 26-21thriller, marking the team's
fifth straight win.
'Corgi avoided more tackles than both teams': Social media reacts to 'furry striker'
The corgi's little adventure made headlines beyond the field with social media users delighted with its antics.
"Pass him the ball!" one person commented on the video shared on the Panthers' Instagram account, while another wrote "sign him up now!"
Another user commented the corgi's run was "the best part of the game yesterday!!!"
Comments rallying for the corgi to be awarded a contract were plenty, with one user writing on ESPN's Instagram account: "I've seen enough give the corgi a contract."
Some praised the pooch's sports skills, writing the "Corgi avoided more tackles than both teams," while another referred to him as a "furry striker."
But more than anything else, people were delighted over how much fun Lennox was having.
"He’s not even going full speed, he’s having the time of his life!" a social media user commented on ESPN's video.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Pass him the ball': Social media reacts as corgi goes rogue at game
