In a turn of events that can only be described as peak 2018, “Gritty”—the googly-eyed, bearded orange monstrosity who serves as the recently adopted mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers—has emerged as an icon of the left-wing, anti-fascist militant group Antifa.
On Sept. 24, 2018, the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers unveiled Gritty as its “talented but feisty,” “loyal but mischievous” mascot, “a fierce competitor known for his agility.” While recent evidence suggests that Gritty is neither talented nor agile, he is most definitely fesity—to the point of threatening another team’s mascot, the Pittsburgh Penguin, “Sleep with one eye open tonight, bird.”
All this has utterly won over the people of Philadelphia, who are in the grips of Gritty-mania despite the fact that he looks like a Muppet who got booted from Sesame Street for drug-dealing. Local residents get Gritty tattoos, businesses sell Gritty doughnuts and cupcakes, and online platforms from Reddit to Instagram are awash with Gritty fan accounts.
