Gritty

Gritty is the official mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a furry orange creature with googly eyes who wears Flyers gear. Gritty has been compared to the Phillie Phanatic, the mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. He was created by Brian Allen of Flyland Designs with help from David Raymond, the first man to portray the Phillie Phanatic. Gritty was introduced on September 24, 2018. According to his official biography, Gritty emerged after construction at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Flyers' home arena, disturbed his secret hideout. Within the months following his debut, Gritty became an Internet sensation and made appearances on several talk shows.

Gritty is the official mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a furry orange creature with googly eyes who wears Flyers gear. Gritty has been compared to the Phillie Phanatic, the mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. He was created by Brian Allen of Flyland Designs with help from David Raymond, the first man to portray the Phillie Phanatic. Gritty was introduced on September 24, 2018. According to his official biography, Gritty emerged after construction at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Flyers' home arena, disturbed his secret hideout. Within the months following his debut, Gritty became an Internet sensation and made appearances on several talk shows. ==Creation== Prior to the 2018–19 NHL season, the only two National Hockey League teams without an official mascot were the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers. The Flyers' first mascot, Slapshot, lasted only for the 1976–77 season. The impetus behind Gritty's creation started when the Flyers' marketing department attended the mascot events at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game in Nashville, Tennessee, and realized that they were missing out on all the marketing and community outreach programs that the league's mascots were generating for their respective teams. The Flyers then commissioned Brian Allen of Flyland Designs in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to design Gritty in August 2018. David Raymond, who portrayed the Phillie Phanatic, consulted on Gritty's creation. The Flyers organization wanted Gritty to have a rather intimidating appearance, as "someone you'd high-five but not hug", according to Allen. ==Reception== Observers brought attention to his appearance, which could be construed as frightening, while The Guardian described him as an "acid trip of a mascot." Response to Gritty's introduction was immediate and sharply mixed, with many fans on social media expressing bewilderment and some fright at his appearance. Public perception of Gritty became increasingly positive as Gritty's antics, which subverted the cuddly, family-friendly appearance and demeanor of other NHL mascots, gained more attention on social media. Gritty was lampooned on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Saturday Night Live. Philadelphia residents embraced Gritty shortly after his debut as representing the city's "rough and tumble character". The Philadelphia City Council passed a formal resolution in 2018 honoring Gritty, declaring that he honored the city's spirit and passion. Within two months, the mascot amassed almost 200,000 Twitter followers. Gritty was the top league mascot in a 2019 vote of the NHL Players' Association. Gritty has been employed as a leftist icon, as activists identified with the mascot's "cheerful, unkempt, maniacal demeanor", and googly-eyed, anarchic mirth. Gritty appeared on a banner at a Philadelphia protest against Donald Trump a week after his debut and was spread through leftist online forums and Internet meme groups, which depicted Gritty with themes of anti-capitalism, socialism, and anti-fascism. Philadelphia City Council member Helen Gym described the Trump vs. Gritty phenomenon: "One orange horror has been met with another." When Philadelphia played an important role in determining the 2020 United States presidential election, social media users depicted Gritty as the city personified, defeating outgoing incumbent Trump, which included appropriating Trump's statement that "Bad things happen in Philadelphia!". Philadelphia composer Melissa Dunphy adapted text from Philadelphia City Council member Helen Gym's "A Resolution" for her choral composition "A Gritty Resolution". The piece is a humorous ode to the city's mascot and was commissioned and performed by the Philadelphia a capella group PhilHarmonia in 2024. ==References== ==External links==

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1367615343 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.