He hasn’t even been around for a month yet, but Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers’ new mascot, is already one of the most popular mascots in the NHL.
On Monday, the Flyers announced that he would “celebrate the home opener with a dramatic grand entrance” for the team’s home opener on Tuesday night when the team hosted the San Jose Sharks.
That is exactly what he did.
[Related: Meet Gritty, the Flyers’ horrifyingly delightful new mascot]
Gritty was lowered from the rafters of the arena while Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball blasted over the speakers, and the proceeded to strut around the ice for a few minutes.
It wasn’t quite on the same level as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim entrance we highlighted earlier in the day, but it was still a pretty grand entrance.
He is so popular that he already has his own T-shirt night later this month.
By popular demand! All fans in attendance on October 22 will receive a Gritty t-shirt in honor of #00.
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 4, 2018
🎟: https://t.co/dThzsMh1eO pic.twitter.com/7tGZcGKuN1
Unfortunately for the Flyers there was nothing Gritty (hold your boos!) about the Flyers’ first period effort as they surrendered four goals to the Sharks and faced a 4-0 deficit heading into the first intermission.
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.