Who’s Got the Worst Mascot: The Flyers or the Please Touch Museum?
The Flyers just introduced us to Gritty, a hairy, orange, googly-eyed beast. It’s the stuff of nightmares — and not the only mascot mistake Philly has made recently.
L: Gritty via the Philadelphia Flyers | R: The Please Touch Museum’s new mascot
When the Flyers unveiled their new mascot on Monday morning, Philadelphia collectively shrieked — and for most of us, these were yelps of terror.
Join us in welcoming the newest member of the #Flyers Family, @GrittyNHL!!
Learn more about Gritty: https://t.co/eQRwTtD54w https://t.co/njHQO1824b
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 24, 2018
Philly, meet Gritty: an unkempt, creamsicle-colored gaping- and googly-eyed beast, who, by the looks of it, has seen some shit.
According to the team’s website, Gritty has some “bully” tendencies, can blow smoke out of his ears (hmm …), and, like most Philadelphians, has “oddities that are both humorous and strange.” Apparently he inhabited a “secret hideout” at the Wells Fargo Center for far longer than we’d like to imagine — but recent construction has disturbed his lair and forced him to show his face.
When I first saw Gritty, I struggled to realize why, exactly, he looked sort of familiar. Alas, I recently (and now regrettably) worked up the courage to watch the Babadook for the first time.
https://twitter.com/RobRidarelli/status/1044267876553830400
The posture. Those eyes. That grin.
Anyway, we’d say Gritty classifies as one of the oddest and most unsettling creatures ever invented — but he actually fits right in among Philly mascots, which are decidedly strange.
To prove our point, we’d like to compare Gritty to Phang, the new Philadelphia Union mascot, which is a snake with arms and legs, as well as the new mascot of the Please Touch Museum.
For those of you who haven’t seen that, behold:
We aren’t sure which mascot is the worst, really. Philly has a way of embracing the weird, so maybe we’ll come to love all three. Phang is kind of growing on us. But Gritty and the Please Touch creature? Nope. The city is proving to have a rough track record when it comes to mascots. (I mean, let’s not even get into the Phanatic.)
Anyway, enjoy some good ol’ backlash to Gritty via this fresh deluge of tweets on Monday.
— Morris Animal Refuge (@MorrisAnimal) September 24, 2018
— aclee_ clips (@aclee_clips) September 24, 2018
a snake with legs doesnt look so bad now
— Gergory (@gergory123) September 24, 2018
No one's sleeping tonight
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) September 24, 2018
— Jo≡ Corrigan (@CorrigaJ) September 24, 2018
I replaced famous movie monsters with new Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty and the sheer horror remains intact. pic.twitter.com/zSIzCoh573
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) September 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/kyansdad1/status/1044246516620304386
who voted for this thing
— Gabby (@aqueensloth) September 24, 2018
Gritty is the Phanatic’s cousin from Delco
— Zoo With Roy (@zoowithroy) September 24, 2018
— Lizard McGuire (@lostKosmas) September 24, 2018
Also gonna leave this edit here. pic.twitter.com/tYRTyLLKOO
— x – ♚ Brendan Page ♚ (@BrendanDrPepper) September 24, 2018
— tvinsanotv (@_insanotv_) September 24, 2018
TFW you're the most terrifying mascot in the NHL pic.twitter.com/0IGCu00N82
— Terry (@tlheard12) September 24, 2018
can't wait to see this at games, i don't like sleep anyway. pic.twitter.com/X0MZ6DJ3wN
— EJ Aguado (@ejaguado) September 24, 2018
— Anthony Stewart (@StuMunrue) September 24, 2018
If this thing tries to touch me, I’m launching a beer at its head
— The God of Gape (@AppleGape) September 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/Laviator_/status/1044258996369207302
