Does everyone remember when they unveiled Gritty and everyone HATED him except @pftompkins.bsky.social who defended him FIERCELY and he was right! Only NHL mascot worth a damn!
For real though;(He's the mascot of Patrick Thistle Football Club from Glasgow in Scotland. They're a mediocre club at best, but a Scottish artist created him and he took on an antagonistic persona that was unlike anything any other team in the UK ever had, making him a living meme and genuine art.)
Not to diminish his work, but he's the proto-Gritty, for real. Became a meme, made the newspapers in the UK, people ironically and unironically love him - sometimes fans of rival teams. He's just wild. Pretty sure he pushed a child over once.
If I remember rightly it went something like:
Philly: What the fuck is this thing
The rest of the country: What the fuck is this thing
Philly: Fuck you he’s ours and we love him.
That’s exactly it. Once the entire rest of the league said “this is so stupid”, the contrarian nature of the only fan base that could boo Santa Claus took over.
I wanna believe that Gritty's redemption arc was thanks to John Oliver having him be on his supreme court dogs court and the jokes making him like some cryptid that hunts the forests of Pennsylvania for steelers fans.
Since the caps just came from behind to beat the flyers, I'm happy to acknowledge Gritty as basically the best thing America has produced in the last 7 years
I was using it in the original context? To quote urban dictionary “when you agree with something; or when you want to recognize someone for being themselves, i.e. courageous and unique or not caring what others think.”
Comments
I think they captured a bit of the Gremlins-esque energy of Philly sports fans.
https://ptfc.co.uk/fans/kingsley/
Philly: What the fuck is this thing
The rest of the country: What the fuck is this thing
Philly: Fuck you he’s ours and we love him.
But Gritty? All love for him
The idea of a Gritty / Chuck Tingle collab.