How the Flyers Created Gritty, the Internet's Most Beloved Mascot

Philadelphia's marketing team tells all about his origin story

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During a trip to the NHL All-Star game in 2017, the son of Flyers chief operating officer Shawn Tilger intently watched the antics of the mascot hockey game and afterward asked his father why the team didn’t have a mascot (the Flyers were one of three teams not represented). When the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2018, Philadelphia’s three mascots, the Phillie Phanatic, the Eagles’ Swoop and the 76ers’ Franklin, met the team at the airport to welcome them home.

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