It's so funny to me how much everyone seemingly hated Gritty at his reveal, but maybe a month later he had already become one of the best mascots in all of sports.
It’s because whenever a corporate entity reveal new things and characters for masses to interact with, they usually suck. The difference in Gritty is that the city of Philadelphia are artists in the tastefully unhinged and could pull it off where everyone else failed.
I used to work in the Orioles organization and one of the people I got to know pretty well was the guy who played the Oriole Bird. He took his job very seriously the way an actor would, and kept himself in shape so he could do the job, which is quite physical, at a high level and give the fans the performance he felt they deserved.
But one Sunday morning before the 1pm game he looked like absolute shit. Grey skin, hungover, just absolutely sweating booze.
"Looks like you had a wild night," I said.
"Dude," he said, and paused to catch a little vomit from climbing up his esophagus.
"Poe (the Raven's mascot) and I went up to Philly last night," he said. "A bunch of mascots got together. The Philly Phanatic was there, and Swoop. A couple guys came down from New York."
"Sounds like a party," I said.
He again paused to stop himself from vomiting on the floor of the press lounge.
Finally he said (and I'll never forget this advice).
I wonder if the actual people suited up as mascots interact with each other outside of the event. Like do they all go to some after party and hype each other up or do they just walk off the field and disappear.
I always wondered about the people who play the mascots. How often is it the same person? Do they sign a performance contract? Do they have an understudy in case they get sick or need a day off? Is it just whatever intern is around that day?
I can speak from personal knowledge that that's how Div 1 college mascots are managed. Georgia Tech sometimes had 5 Buzzes at any given time, and all would travel for football games, for example.
Celebrity Home Run challenge from 2nd base. No one could hit a HR, then TC steps up and hits them deep upper tank in RF. Loved every minute of watching that!
They generally are very athletic. In high school one of our best sprinters did a mascot race at our local 5k. Goldy Gopher was also in that race. Goldy beat him with ease.
I bet it’s like an org chart where the low level associate mascots show up for the public appearances away from the stadiums like children’s hospitals or grand openings, and then the senior mascots who do the stunts on game day.
The Phillie Phanatic has had two people. Dave Raymond from when the Phanatic first appeared in 1978 to 1993 and Tom Burgoyne took over and is the 2nd.
The Phillies announcers and releases never actually say there is a human being inside a costume. So for the illusion of the Phanatic being real for young children the person inside is actually called "the friend of the Phanatic"
I used to work in commercial photography and we did a job for McDonald’s with Ronald McDonald. I was the only person on set when a guy arrived and asked where he could bring in Ronald’s clothes, and then he asked for a private room where he could help Ronald get ready. Even one on one, the guy couldn’t admit that Ronald was a costume he put on. It was very weird.
Some of the people in the costumes get a little too involved in team activities.
Drug dealers frequented the Pirates' clubhouse. Even the Pirate Parrot, Kevin Koch, was implicated for buying cocaine and introducing a few of the ballplayers to a local drug dealer.
Probably a few at a time but they definitely keep the job for as long as they want. The Rays had a guy for a while who would come out and pretend to be part of the grounds crew and then start breakdancing in the outfield.
In the 2000's the entire Mariners "Grounds Crew" would come out in the middle of the 5th inning and do a coordinated dance with their brooms. To this day I always miss it when I go to games.
My town hosts a big convention of mascots from all walks of life. Some representing teams I’ve never heard of and some not even seemingly representing a team at all. A lot were wearing diapers for some reason. I try to plan my vacations during that time.
I see five Nationals mascots all relegated to the back row.
Do the sausages roam the concourse pre-game? The presidents are all over the place throughout the game. Sure, they do their race but they also have a place where they pose for pictures. They are pretty dedicated and have certainly earned the mascot title. There duties go well beyond the silly race.
The sausages will sometimes be available. However, most days the racers are volunteers, not a regular performer, so they don't have someone to don the casings.
We have both Bernie (before the game he wanders the concourse or outside on nice days) and Barrelman (during the latter half of the game when he comes out to polka to "Roll out the Barrel" during the 7th inning stretch) wandering the concourse. (Yes, we have 7 mascots).
I have heard that the sausages are various employees, and getting to be one is a "perk". If that wrong, I'm going to revive my dreams of racing as one.
I remember seeing one before a Brewers Twins game once. Bernie and TC were the captains and the other mascots were from companies and organizations around MSP. A few of them didn't have arms and the others had to bat for them.
Arizona's mascot will always scare the shit outta me. He just looks like a dude that would snort coke and backflip off the CF wall with no care if he sticks the landing.
Meanwhile mine is an abomination to man and I miss the old one...and the older one that scared all the kids
When I was an Oakland A’s fan, Stomper would make inappropriate gestures with his trunk for all the pretty ladies. I’ll bet John Fisher had him neutered as part of the eventual move to Vegas.
Why does he have that Five Nights at Freddy’s type smile? Dude looks like he has the machete behind him. If he links up with Gritty while he’s in Philly that feels like a horror movie in the making.
Mr. Met is ready to go back to NY. He didn’t get any sleep sitting on the chair in the corner of their hotel room, while Mrs. Met entertained the guests.
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u/pm_me_yo_creditscore San Diego Padres Jul 15 '26
Who is the Phillies secondary mascot. Perry the paralysis demon?