Philadelphia Flyers: New mascot Gritty brings all sorts of mixed reactions

The Philadelphia Flyers introduced their new mascot Gritty on Monday before their game against the Boston Bruins, and despite mixed reviews, he’s simply awesome.

Philadelphia Flyers fans are beyond excited to see the 2018-19 season finally get underway next week, and to help pass the time before their opener on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights, the team revealed a major surprise on Monday.

Gritty the mascot was introduced by the team early on in the day, who can best be described as some sort of giant orange fuzzy creature that drew mixed reactions from not just fans in Philadelphia, but sports fans in general across the country.

When looking at what Gritty actually looks like, it’s easy to understand why some fans love what the Flyers are doing, while others are left terrified, and wondering what on earth the team was thinking by going with such a creepy mascot.

Take a look at the photo below courtesy of the Flyers, and it’s easy to see why.

Creepy? In a way, yes. But also, when seeing how the Flyers also decided to come up with a backstory of their own for Gritty, it makes true fans enjoy the new mascot even more.

From his father being a “bully” to claiming to have been around longer than people realize after his secret hideout was recently discovered at the Wells Fargo Center during recent construction, Gritty’s story is truly amazing. And if his first day of action is any indication of what’s in store, Gritty is going to be quite the great addition to the Flyers.

There may have been some clumsy mistakes during Monday’s game against the Bruins by Gritty, but since it was the mascot’s first day, it’s probably best for Flyers fans to cut him some slack.

As for the actual game, it was certainly frustrating to see Philadelphia come up short during their 4-3 loss to Boston, but also the best part about preseason is the team learning from their mistakes, and seeing which areas are in need of improvement before the real games arrive.

Losing in the playoffs the way they did to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games was crushing to see for the Flyers, and the last thing they want to do is experience another disappointing feeling come April if they happen to make the playoffs once again.

As always, Philadelphia is one of those teams with plenty of questions heading into the new season, but at least Gritty has given fans something popular to discuss in the mean time, right?