The Philadelphia Flyers unveiled their first mascot in more than four decades Monday, and it may be the most frightening thing to come to sporting arenas since the original Pierre the Pelican.
Gritty — who is officially described by the NHL team as “a seven-foot, orange, fuzzy creature” — will make his debut Monday night in a preseason game against the Boston Bruins at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. But the Flyers introduced him for the first time Monday morning at a local children’s museum in front of 600 students.
The googly-eyed, bearded monster immediately drew comparisons on Twitter to Animal from “The Muppets,” Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street,” the lovechild of Animal and Cookie Monster, and Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner.