A five-year-old corgi named Banana turned a halftime show into a viral sensation this past weekend, winning her second straight Seahawks Corgi Cup at Lumen Field and then looking back at her competitors with 15 yards remaining. The moment, captured in a race that started with eight participants, has racked up millions of views online and turned a corgi with a Seattle racing history into an overnight celebrity.
Banana took the lead with 15 yards remaining in the 50-yard race and glanced back at the pack behind her, according to runningmagazine.ca. The gesture immediately drew comparisons online to Usain Bolt's famous look-back during the 2016 Rio Olympics, a connection internet users made almost as soon as the clip began circulating. Some fans also likened it to Sha'Carri Richardson's anchor-leg performance in the women's 4x100m relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics, per the same report.
The win made Banana a back-to-back Seahawks Corgi Cup champion, having also taken home the title in 2025, according to KIRO 7 News Seattle. The Corgi Cup itself has been a fixture of the Seahawks' early-season halftime entertainment since 2018, and the Seahawks' own video of the moment had already surpassed seven million views and more than 21,000 likes on X days after the race.
Owner Says She Never Saw the Fame Coming
Banana is owned by Anne Pham, who told KIRO 7 she did not initially view her dog's look-back as taunting and had not realized Banana had become a star until messages started pouring in about the corgi trending on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Pham said she started racing Banana in 2023, and the dog has competed in at least 15 races since, including appearances at Emerald Downs and the University of Washington in addition to Lumen Field.
Pham describes Banana as a cuddly sweetheart, while the Seahawks say she turns into what the team calls a park menace, barking and chasing anything that moves once she hits the grass. Pham has also said Banana is afraid of kitchens and hardwood floors and does not care for public transportation.
Barstool Sports, which also covered the win, framed the scene as one of total confidence from the corgi, noting in its own report that Banana was not overwhelmed by the roughly 70,000 fans in the crowd. The Barstool Sports piece, along with a post from the outlet's own X account calling Banana the most ready-for-the-moment corgi in race history, helped push the clip even further across social media.
Put the league on notice. Halftime MVP: BANANA 🐾 —
@Seahawks on X
What Comes Next for Banana
Pham said she has not considered turning Banana's racing into a professional pursuit, though she told KIRO 7 she would consider an approach from Nike if one ever came. Pham and Banana have since moved to New York City, and Pham said the corgi may compete in East Coast corgi races going forward. She is also considering Corgi Nationals, which she said would take place in Los Angeles.
Banana's path to viral fame fits into a broader regional tradition of corgi racing. Emerald Downs has hosted its own Corgi Championship, where defending champion Wrong Way Loki once raced against 96 other corgis as part of an event that included a corgi parade split between heats and that benefited the Alzheimer's Association through donation spots set up around the track, according to Emerald Downs.
Banana's Seattle racing history has become a story with national reach, a backyard-anxious dog who is afraid of kitchens but refuses to blink on a race field. Whether she ends up chasing trophies in Los Angeles or New York, her Lumen Field victory lap has already cemented her as one of the more unlikely sports celebrities to come out of the Pacific Northwest this fall.
