No one likes us, we don’t care.

Gritty is not the mascot Flyers fans wanted, but it’s the mascot Flyers fans need right now.

I’ll be honest, when he popped out with his orange hair and googly eyes, I was skeptical, but when the reactions came in, I knew Gritty was going to be a superstar. Our superstar.

You texted your friends about him, but they already knew. You flipped on your TV and he was there. You came into work today and your co-workers were talking about him. He’s still trending on social media right now and was the top search on Google in 24 hours. The Flyers are the talk of the sports world, and it’s a beautiful thing.

Is Gritty flawed? Absolutely. As Philadelphians, are we perfect? No. But that’s what makes us great. A blue-collar town deserves a mascot that not everyone likes, that not everyone is going to appreciate, but you know what, he’s our mascot and we’ll be damned if anyone has a problem with it.

Gritty had the best first day a mascot has maybe ever had and his work has just begun. This a great marketing move by the Flyers to foster the future of the fan base. The people tweeting about Gritty for the social karma will be the same people stopping to snap a selfie, or buying a plush doll for their kid.

Once you get past the initial shock that the Flyers have a mascot that may or may not look like how you imagined, think about all the good in the community he’ll do and how many kids will be introduced to the sport.

With that, we’ll leave you with this.

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