Kicking a Field Goal Is Easy, but a Field Gull?

ORLANDO, Fla. —  A sea gull was knocked from the sky on a field-goal attempt Friday, but the dazed bird wobbled away to the cheers of the Penn State football team.

The aerial mishap occurred on a high school field after Penn State backup Jon Dylweski let go with his kick.

“(The bird) took a nose dive, hit the ground and was just lying there,” Dylweski said.

The bird suffered only an injured wing. A medical assist was provided by Orlando police officers, Hal Felshaw and Eric Pedersen, who were assigned to Penn State as the Nittany Lions practice for the Jan. 1 Citrus Bowl against Tennessee.

“Officer Pedersen held or detained--I don’t know--the bird,” Felshaw told the Orlando Sentinel. “He seemed a little woozy, a little unsure of his surroundings. But I guess if I were hit by a football and I were his size, I’d be kind of woozy myself.”

The officers arranged for the gull to be taken by patrol car to the Orlando Humane Society. The bird will be turned over to a wildlife rehabilitation center.

Dylweski now wonders what he should tell his folks when he calls.

“What should I say--I missed a field goal but I got a bird?”