So Liz Merrill, the story you've reported starts with a search party, a search party that's

fanning across a St. Louis Park in the middle of the night. Can you just set the scene for me?

It was a hot, humid night in early August.

It's around midnight.

And there's no one around except for this five-person search party.

One or two of them have flashlights, but otherwise they're using their cell phone flashlights.

They have a set of traps, and they have copious amounts of tuna juice.

They are basically rooting through this area in downtown St. Louis, close to the ballpark,

which has abundant plants and trees and plenty of

places to hide. What are they looking for, Liz? They're looking for a very special cat who helped the Cardinals win a really important baseball game in August against their I-70 rivals, the Kansas City Royals.

It was the summer of 2017 when this group of cat-loving volunteers unwittingly catwalked into a feline fracas of truly epic proportions.

Because the St. Louis Rally Cat is not just a legend.

He, and yes, it is a he, is the precursor to the cat cameos we're seeing across all of sports today.

And ESPN senior writer Liz Merrill did a lot more than scratch the surface to fully tell this kitten's tale.

I'm Pablo Torre. It's Wednesday, September 22nd. This is ESPN Daily.

So Liz Merrill, I understand that you identify as a cat person.

Now, I identify as a cat person, but not a crazy cat lady.

Even though I fit some of the stereotypes.

Look, I haven't under control, but I think there's a general caring for animals and especially cats, but not to the point of having like too many of them.

Yes, but hold on.

When you turn on a sporting event lately, Liz Merrill, I mean, cats are having a moment.

You know, I'm watching cats cling by a claw dangling over fans from the balcony

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