The Edmonton Oilers started a Photoshopping frenzy on Monday by unleashing their bizarre, dead-eyed mascot “Hunter” onto the Internet.
Give the team credit; the road to this mascot was paved with good intentions. Apparently thousands of Edmonton-area students aided in choosing “Hunter,” who is a tribute to the team’s original owner.
Here’s the introductory Tweet itself. Feel free to insert your own screaming noises.
#Oilers fans, meet Hunter: our first-ever mascot! 😺 pic.twitter.com/T1phDV73P3
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 26, 2016
Let’s bypass the Oilers’ more mundane release for a “bio” written in character by the, erm, “Canadian lynx” itself. Here’s a choice bit:
Like my lynx family and friends, I only come out at night to hunt, and on one of those nights I actually came across a bunch of kids playing hockey on an outdoor rink. One look at the game and I was hooked. The speed, the skill, the fun! I began climbing up the banks of the River Valley every night during the winter, catching shinny games with everyone wearing their Edmonton Oilers jerseys, both old and new! It didn’t take me long to become a hard core Oilers fan.
O...K.
Honestly, there are a lot of elements to unpack here. We almost don’t need people to bat this one around on social media, but then again, Hunter inspires references from “Too Many Cooks” to “Thundercats” and more.
Let’s gather some of the best bits.
Futility references
Hey, did you hear that the Oilers struggle to compete? The Internet sure did.
Looks like the Oilers had the same people who scout defensemen for them choose their new mascot.
— Conor McKenna (@mckennaconor) September 26, 2016
The Oilers made their mascot a lynx because that's what they'll be hitting in early April every year
— Winging It In Motown (@wingingitmotown) September 26, 2016
Maybe Edmonton chose that monstrosity of a mascot because in April most Oilers are hitting the lynx.
— Michael Stephens (@bymikestephens) September 26, 2016
Sorry. I'm sorry.
Anybody made the joke yet about the Oilers mascot being a Lynx because they're usually the first team to hit them?
— Dan (@cultureoflosing) September 26, 2016
They sure did.
Pop culture references
More than one Thundercats reference.
The new Oilers mascot looks like Snarf from the ThunderCats pic.twitter.com/eDGM0Vipgo
— Eric Fawcett (@EricFawcett_) September 26, 2016
Warning, if you’ve never watched “Too Many Cooks,” you might not want to go down that rabbit hole. (Either that, or you’ll feel like you REALLY missed out ... there’s not a lot of room in between.)
Creepiness
Sensibly enough, most people hit the highest notes about how specifically terrifying that mascot is. Some of these mix in pop culture references too, but still:
Dear God... pic.twitter.com/8Sxfyu0bsu
— Ryan Leslie (@ryanlesliemedia) September 26, 2016
Cute they said. Cuddly they said. Hunter has it all. #Hunter #Oilers @wyshynski pic.twitter.com/vYUw7gEwmE
— VisuallyBetter (@Isuckatpicking) September 26, 2016
RUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNN!!!!! pic.twitter.com/qruUKH62jg
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 26, 2016
The Edmonton Oilers have a mascot now... Meet Hunter: pic.twitter.com/KuRrpW6AuY
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) September 26, 2016
All in all, it was quite a good time, right?
/Plans on sleeping with every light on.
WTF is that??? https://t.co/IfsboNo2oO
— Strombone (@strombone1) September 26, 2016