Philadelphia Flyers Get New Mascot, And Twitter Users Say 'What The Puck?'
The Philadelphia Flyers hockey team has a new mascot, but its bizarre appearance and back story have Twitter users asking, “What the puck?”
The mascot, Gritty, was unveiled Monday at an event at the Please Touch Museum in front of various area schoolkids.
Gritty is a 7-foot-tall fuzzy orange creature who will be part of the team’s community outreach efforts, according to CBS Philadelphia.
The character’s bio page suggests Gritty is still working through anger issues:
His father was a “bully,” so naturally he has some of those tendencies — talented but feisty, a fierce competitor, known for his agility given his size. He’s loyal but mischievous; the ultimate Flyers fan who loves the orange and black, but is unwelcoming to anyone who opposes his team.
Flyers unveiled they have a mascot, named Gritty
What do you think? pic.twitter.com/LHjpmT91aI— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 24, 2018
Flyers COO Shawn Tilger told Deadspin that Gritty has been in the works since about two years ago, after the team realized it’s important to have a voice in the community that can appeal to kids.
He added, “Looking at the smiles on these kids’ faces, I know we did the right thing.”
But many Twitter users don’t agree:
Lot of buzz here in Philly about the Flyers new mascot, Gritty. But if any city deserves to be represented by a horrifying orange mountain creature that radiates manic energy and has a backstory that definitely implies he was abused by his father in the first sentence, it's us. pic.twitter.com/L1p9VKC7d2
— Aleksei Klincewicz (@Alekklincewicz) September 24, 2018
The Flyers new mascot is absolutely terrifying
(via @StinaBetz) pic.twitter.com/tYQeTdowcb— Bleacher Report NHL (@BR_NHL) September 24, 2018
@NHilgert21 - “gritty might be animal’s deadbeat dad” pic.twitter.com/xawAbi7PVH
— taj. (@hannahtaj) September 24, 2018
Some people suspected Gritty might have a drug problem.
Gritty is the street name his meth dealer gave him. #dreamhaunter https://t.co/KWyM9RvO0w
— Krista (@Krista_B_85) September 24, 2018
When the edible hits. pic.twitter.com/6hwWEw5CT1
— Roger (@iamtherog) September 24, 2018
Others had other theories on what Gritty was supposed to be.
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New Philadelphia Flyers mascot or sentient ZZ Top beard?
At a minimum, it’s nightmare fuel. pic.twitter.com/TkVlEv8sbe— Steph Evz (@StephEvz43) September 24, 2018
Me spending some time with the Flyers new mascot pic.twitter.com/icgBAPAblg
— This Is Philly (@This_Is_Philly) September 24, 2018
Some people saw Gritty’s creepy mug and sprang into action with a parody GoFundMe campaign called Euthanize Gritty, the Flyers Mascot.
With your help and generosity, we can stop this creature, with the eyes of a coked out Oscar Grouch, red hair like Satan himself, the body movement of a Kensington crack-head, and the overall aura of a fever dream demon, from reaching any more eyes and memories. Think of the children, do you really want something with a face even it’s mother doesn’t love roaming around walking free?
I hope the answer is no.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.