It has been one year since Gritty was unleashed on the world and he has taken the Flyers fans, NHL, and the entire internet by storm. The fun-loving, yet terrifying mascot has had quite the year, From Twitter feuds to silly string, Gritty has done it all. These are the Top 5 Gritty Moments!
Number 5- Meeting the Phanatic
Right before the start of the Flyers season, Gritty made a run in during a Phillies game to make a new friend, the Philly Phanatic. They embraced on top of the dugout before dancing and spraying the crowd with silly string. It was the epic friendship everybody wanted to see.
Number 4- Gritty Streaks
The first but not last appearance from the 2019 Stadium Series, Gritty made his most lewd move of his young career. During an intermission, a naked Gritty ran around the rinkside area with his bodyguards giving chase. They captured him, but Gritty escaped and continued his run. He tried to go all slip n slide on a small sheet of ice. He was eventually re-captured and taken away.
Number 3- He Came in Like a Wrecking Ball
On the opening night of the 2018-19 season, Gritty debuted in front of the Flyers faithful. There is a laundry list of things that happened during that night, including shooting a t-shirt cannon at somebody walking up the aisle as well as his iconic slip and fall on the ice. But earlier in the night, He descended from the ceiling of the Wells Fargo Center with Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” blasting in the background. An iconic entrance that set the stage for a wild season of Gritty.
Number 2- Gritty vs Mites on Ice
Gritty has had multiple feuds with Mites on Ice throughout the season, but one of the more memorable interactions was when a Mite went rogue and started to push and shove Gritty into the corner before knocking him down. Gritty would rise from the ashes and chase the kid down before picking him up and throwing him in the penalty box.
Number 1- Stadium Series Entrance
During the 2019 Stadium Series game against the Penguins at Lincoln Financial Field, Gritty made a grand entrance no one will forget. Equipped with neon lights, Gritty zip lined down from the roof to “Cry of the Valkyries”. When he landed, he was greeted by his bodyguards who gave him a neon chair to rest in accompanied by a towel and waterboy like he was a boxer.
Honorable Mentions-
Twitter Feuds- Gritty is known for his witty comments on social media, and often butting heads with other teams and mascots. He has had an ongoing feud with Bailey, the LA Kings mascot, and one of the first things Gritty did was threaten the Penguins.
Love For Giroux- One of the ongoing storylines for Gritty is his love for the Flyers captain Claude Giroux. It peaked when Gritty saw Giroux on the red carpet at the NHL All-Star game and gave him a bear hug. Later Gritty would even adopt a hermit crab and name it Clawd Giroux after his best friend.
Breaking the Internet- Just a couple days after his official debut, Gritty released a photo that was his take on Kim Kardashian’s popular “break the internet” picture. It was Gritty squeezing a water bottle over his shoulder, landing on a glass balanced on his bodacious backside.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: bbc.co.uk
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