Watch: An elk starts playing soccer in Colorado with two boys (and isn't half bad)

A visitor from the great outdoors wanted a kick-around in Colorado this week. An elk playfully crashed a game of pick-up soccer and showed better ball control than lackluster England did in their opening match of Euro 2024.

Perhaps the elk just wanted to join the Caribous of Colorado, one of the most fascinating team names in all of sports. The team lasted just one season in the old NASL but had some of the greatest uniforms in soccer history.

And given their 8-22 record in their one season of play in 1978, our elk friend here in this video might be an upgrade to some of the players on that Caribous roster.

(And yes, we here at USA TODAY High School Sports know the difference between an elk and a caribou).

Have to wonder if the elk stuck around for orange slices after the kickaround.

Two kids in Colorado were surprised when an unexpected player joined them in a game of soccer – an elk! pic.twitter.com/hV2tNLbRCv

— AccuWeather (@accuweather) June 17, 2024

This is a neat video on so many levels. First, the interaction of nature and the boys is simple happiness and content. There is also the fact that the elk figured out how to interact with the ball (and the boys) at a friendly level.

And, there is the very nonchalant nature of the soccer players in their own interaction with the elk. Very, very cool.