It wasn't cheap to get a ticket for a college basketball showdown between Arkansas and Virginia. The two top 25 teams were squaring off on a neutral court in Washington, D.C. With an average resale cost of $110 per seat,the game between the 12th-ranked Razorbacks and ninth-ranked Cavaliers was a pricey one.
There are ways to see these games without paying, however. You could take a staff job with either program. You could work security at the arena. You could throw your life away by pursuing a career as a sports journalist, disappointing your friends and family while earning sandwich money each week.
Or, you could be a pigeon living in the rafters of Capital One Arena, which comes with all the popcorn you can eat (off the floor). On Sunday, a couple
of winged rats descended to the hardwood to see what all the fuss was about.
can't stand 'em
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero.bsky.social) 2026-11-08T20:39:50.713Z
The two birds landed on the floor at midcourt, much to Virginia coach Ryan Odom's delight. That led referees to hold the ball while they tried to figure out what to do with winged invaders in a closed-roof arena.
Arkansas coach John Calipari, trailing by 15 with just over two minutes to play, was in no mood for shenanigans. After nearly a full minute of stopped play, he and his team did the sensible thing -- shooing the birds off with the simple act of walking toward them. The crowd roared in response as the birds returned to the upper decks, where their tickets planted them firmly in the 400s section.
The birds are slated to drive the team busses back to their hotels. This is, as any child could tell you, a terrible decision.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Pigeons somehow got on the court during wild Arkansas-Virginia basketball finish
