In one of the most singularly strange moments in the 2023-24 NBA season, a bat got loose in the San Antonio Spurs’ Frost Bank Center and got promptly chased by the Spurs mascot wearing a Batman costume and holding a giant net.
Don’t worry; the world around you is not glitching to reveal The Matrix. This is a thing that actually happened in San Antonio on Saturday night, and it’s apparently not the first time?
At the start of the weekend battle between the Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves, a bat started flying around the arena and understandably stopped the game.
Rather than just let it continue to fly around the court, the San Antonio mascot The Coyote (again, dressed like Batman) chased it around and eventually caught it with a net for a future release back into the wild.
What?
…aaaand there’s a bat 😂 pic.twitter.com/ERIBne3E1P
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) January 28, 2024
The bat is back in San Antonio…this Spurs season has officially had everything. pic.twitter.com/Bs2b48VJts
— Casey Viera (@Casey_Viera) January 28, 2024
We have a bat stoppage in San Antonio. Of course Manu is there in attendance too. pic.twitter.com/yBgMWoGDeE
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 28, 2024
shoutout @SpursCoyote 🦇
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 28, 2024
Most people who experience the Spurs bats for the first time ask: “everyone just sits around and watches a mascot dressed in a batman costume chase it?”
The answer is yes. You’d want an experienced professional handling this, wouldn’t you?
“Year 21” isnt just for LeBron. pic.twitter.com/H4Xwiw2Ei4
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 28, 2024
Was this a stunt? Why was The Coyote wearing a Batman costume?
Since Spurs legend Manu Ginobili was in attendance and has history with a bat while playing basketball, was this all just a hysterical coincidence?
Apparently, this really is just business as usual in San Antonio.
The Spurs’ tradition of sending Coyote out there with a net and a Batsuit when there’s a loose bat in the arena while the Adam West theme plays is one of the best things in all of sports. I love this team. pic.twitter.com/f00BeMH9ON
— Preston Moore (@prestoncmoore) January 28, 2024
*shrugs in Batman*
