Did The Black Cat Doom The Giants? A Look At The Star Of Monday's Game

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The New York Giants needed all the help they could get in their rivalry game against the Cowboys.

Instead, they got a black cat.

A black cat took the field at MetLife stadium, becoming the star of Monday night's game, and dooming the G-men on Monday Night Football.

If only the quick cat could catch a few passes. With less than six minutes to go until halftime, and the Giants 9-3 over the Cowboys, stunned fans cheered as the feline somehow found its way onto Monday Night Football.

Kevin Harlan of Westwood One sports didn't miss a beat. Check out his play-by-play:

The game stopped for a couple of minutes before the furry football fan ran off, leaving behind bad luck for the Giants. They went on to lose 37-18.

One fan chose to look on the bright side.

"I don't know if it's good luck or bad luck... yeah, so they lost now, but they could win in the future," said Giants fan Charles Tolliver.

"I thought the Cowboys might lose that game because we were down 9-3, but the cat worked in our favor! We won!" said Cowboys fan Eric Huntley.

This isn't the first time a black cat has stolen the spotlight in a major sporting event.

In September 1969, Cubs fans thought the "curse of the black cat" at Shea Stadium helped doom their team against the Mets.

"The interesting thing about it happening in a sports venue is it's going to be good luck for someone and bad luck for someone else," said professor Jesse Bransford of New York University. Bransford is an expert on folk magic tradition. He says black cats are interpreted in different.

In the U.S., we somehow inherited the German tradition.

"In a lot of German folk traditions, black cats are associated with witchcraft. They're associated with bad luck, and they're associated, you know, with things that go bump in the night," Bransford said.

Not for the Cowboys. They tweeted out a picture calling the cat their player of the game.

The game stopped for a few minutes as the cat ran around, and stunned fans watched, wondering if the cat's presence would haunt the Cowboys or the Giants.

Unfortunately for the home team, NFL Research tweeted these stats:

"Before #MNF was suspended due to the presence of a black car on the field, the Giants were winning 9-3 and Dak Prescott had 84 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT. After #BlackCat exited and play resumed, Dallas outscored New York 34-9 and Prescott had 173 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs," NFL Research tweeted.

"For those wondering about the status of our furry friend at tonight's Giants game, the black cat ran off the field and disappeared under a seating section," MetLife stadium tweeted. "Once we locate and safely capture the cat, we will take it to a veterinarian for examination."

The Giants play the Jets this weekend.

You may recall Jets quarterback Sam Darnold said he was "seeing ghosts" on the field a few weeks ago, so it's anyone's guess what may invade the game on Sunday.

The black cat superstition started in ancient Greece. In Greek mythology, Zeus's wife Hera once transformed her servant into a black cat as punishment.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, black cats were often associated with witches.

In Scotland, a black cat arriving your home, is actually believed to bring prosperity.

In the rest of Britain and Japan, a black cat crossing your path is considered good luck.

Black cats are still less likely to be adopted from a shelter than their more colorful buddies.

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