Article by Mark Rickard, Bugle Observer.
The dream was to toss a frisbee from endzone to endzone before more than 60,000 National Football League fans – and have his trusty sidekick Sailor the Touchdown Dog make an astounding catch.
Unfortunately for Rob McLeod, better known as Frisbee Rob, and Sailor, the dream didn’t come true Sunday afternoon.
Frisbee Rob, a native of Woodstock, NB, and Sailor were all set to wow the fans during halftime at Sunday’s Atlanta Falcons game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But an air cannon used to signal a Falcon’s interception which went in for a touchdown went off about 20 feet away, seconds before the show.
“It spooked Sailor. There was no time to take him back or relax him. He’s still spooked today [Monday],” McLeod said.
The duo went to the stadium Sunday morning and Sailor caught several frisbees in rehearsal, both going endzone to endzone for a touchdown.
“It’s tough when everything lined up perfectly in the rehearsal and that air cannon went off and that’s it… It was a really loud stadium and he seemed OK with it until that air cannon,” McLeod said.
Falcon organizers witnessed Sailor make several catches Sunday morning. The team was aiming for the record of the first endzone to endzone frisbee toss during a live sporting event. The duo set a record with a 109-yard throw at a Calgary Stampeders game in October, a viral sensation that has been viewed more than 50 million times and attracted the NFL team’s attention.
“They knew he could do it…People still enjoyed it,”McLeod said. “Lesson learned. Better to learn this at the NFL than never get booked at the NFL.”
There are other big gigs coming up. A Major League Soccer team has expressed interest in having McLeod and Sailor perform, and they will be performing at a baseball game in April. McLeod and Sailor recently set an unofficial Guinness World Record for the Longest Mini Disc Throw Caught by a Dog at 40 metres.
McLeod said in a previous interview he is hopeful the sporting events will allow him to attend more schools and spread the word about physical literacy, kindness, and disconnecting students from technology.
To book Rob, visit his Booking Page or Contact Page.