I’m a huge fan of the Hershey Bears, a professional hockey team. We’re historically the best franchise in the AHL and we have the biggest fanbase in the league. Basically we’re the best, hands down. They’re almost perfect.

I was extremely disappointed in my team when they changed the costume of the mascot. The picture on the left shows what Coco originally looked like. The picture on the right shows what he has looked like for the past two seasons now. The Bears introduced this costume change and said it was part of Coco’s New Years Resolution to “get fit”. Coco was already “fit” to begin with - he skated around on the ice during games. By “get fit” they meant “get thin”. Coco can now be seen walking around the arena lifting up his jersey to show off his “abs”, something he does quite often. The team has said that it is better to have an active mascot, to serve as a role model.

This is disgusting. The mascot is mainly there for the children at games, and the team changed his look to make him more attractive? All Coco is now is another high standard that nobody can live up to. Children used to look up to Coco, but now he is another unobtainable standard of beauty for the population. There was nothing wrong with the old costume.