The Philadelphia Flyers unveiled their new mascot, Gritty, for the hockey world to see yesterday morning. And, folks, it is something – I will give them that. Some might call it nightmare fuel, but to each his own. So, how did we get here? How did we get to the physical embodiment of cocaine brain donning a pair of skates and cheering on the Flyers?
Courtesy of The Philly Inquirer:
David Raymond, a character branding expert who created the Phillie Phanatic, was brought on as a consultant by the Flyers when they began developing a new mascot. He said that Gritty’s shaggy look and overactive eyeballs were partially inspired by the character of Sully from Disney’s Monsters, Inc.
“The Flyers wanted something that was tough and soft at the same time,” Raymond said. “Sully’s underlying personality, even though he scared kids, was very caring and protective. Disney does a wonderful job of weaving all kinds of flaws into its characters, and something that’s unique always has flaws. That’s what set characters up for success, because those are the ones people respond to.”
The Flyers haven’t fleshed out Gritty’s back story yet, but we know his father was a bully and he was recently forced out of his secret hideout by construction at the Wells Fargo Center.
I love that apparently there’s going to be a back story. It’s like a comic book – they’re going to slowly unveil his origin story, piece by piece, over the course of the next several issues. Maybe we get a little nugget at each Flyers home game this season. By the summer of 2019, we will know full and well who Gritty is and what he is about. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but the creative part of my brain is telling me they should turn him into a villain. By season’s end, we realize he was sent to Philadelphia from Pittsburgh to infiltrate the organization and sabotage its growth. Then, the REAL new Flyers mascot, Rocky, shows up and it’s literally just Rocky Balboa.
I’m getting carried away. Where was I?
Oh yeah! This gutter looking mascot!
People are squalling about this mascot, or they’re downright laughing it at, but I think it’s perfect. I mean, have you ever been to Philly? This thing fits right in. This is what the average Philadelphian looks like (sorry, friend of the site Oskar – love you mean it, just doing comedy here).
Anyway, this thing was a damn hit on Twitter yesterday.
when you find out mascots have to also take drug tests. pic.twitter.com/jtAP1wItvb
— Tony X. (@soIoucity) September 24, 2018
Meth is one hell of a drug #gritty pic.twitter.com/qBRiI43YP5
— Rick Olivieri (@rickolivieri) September 24, 2018
Meth is one hell of a drug #gritty pic.twitter.com/qBRiI43YP5
— Rick Olivieri (@rickolivieri) September 24, 2018
Whoever designed this mascot has a sick, sick imagination and needs to go through psychiatric evaluation ASAP.
Good luck sleeping tonight.#Gritty pic.twitter.com/9l49iMJ9WE
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) September 24, 2018
Hey Kids! Come Meet #Gritty, the new #Flyers Mascot!!!!
Kids: pic.twitter.com/uDlc88Sydy
— Jonathan Brown (@JLBfromDVM) September 24, 2018
Gritty did have a bit of a rough day at the office on his first day of work, though:
Ouch!!! New Flyers Mascot “Gritty” goes down in 1st game!!!! @6abc #Flyers #Gritty pic.twitter.com/0tLr82EC4K
— Jeff Skversky 6abc (@JeffSkversky) September 25, 2018
Also, I said we missed the cycle on Gritty Mania, but friend of the site RHog convinced me to give this piece a shot anyway. We’ll see.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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