Everybody loves Gritty. The Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot became a wildly popular meme shortly after he was introduced to the public last month. The hairy, orange creature has taken over meme communities across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit. People have made Gritty cakes, Gritty pumpkins, and some even inked the character on their bodies. He’s also now a symbol for left-leaning antifa groups. Gritty is a phenomenon, and he can’t be stopped. He won’t be stopped! Here are some of our favorite Gritty memes that we found on the internet.
The best Gritty memes
Who is Gritty?
It me. #Gritty pic.twitter.com/HfTMVtEAFy
— Gritty (@GrittyNHL) September 24, 2018
So, you’ve shared Gritty memes. But do you really know who Gritty is, like as a person (/unidentifiable creature)?? According to the NHL, Gritty’s father was a bully, and his son “naturally…has some of those tendencies.” Gritty is also described as a “fierce competitor.” The NHL also created an impressive backstory for the Flyers’ mascot:
He claims that he’s been around for a lot longer than we know it, and recent construction at the Wells Fargo Center disturbed his secret hideout forcing him to show his face publicly for the first time. He has some oddities that are both humorous and strange. A number of times he’s been caught eating snow straight from the Zamboni machine, and unbeknown to most, his love of hot dogs has been inflating the Flyers Dollar Dog Night consumption totals for years.
Gritty was designed by Brian Allen, who on his website says that he sketched “over 20 different possible mascots, including, bats, bulls, groundhogs, dragons, tough guys, yetis, and even a flying squirrel” when tasked with the project by the Philadelphia Flyers. “Once the client saw the sketches, they picked a big dumpy monster I had drawn as the starting point,” he wrote. Allen originally gave the monster the nickname Benny.
READ MORE:
- The strange appeal of Gritty, the hockey mascot turned viral sensation
- Gritty formally welcomed by Philly city council. Also, he’s Antifa
- Do you like this meme enough to get a tattoo of it?
- The Lord Farquaad ‘E’ meme proves how weird memes are in 2018
Gritty photoshopped
Since he became a viral sensation, people have photoshopped Gritty into movie posters, stock photos, and other memes.
Here’s Gritty Slickers:
— illy bocean (@IllyBocean) October 12, 2018
A Star is Born, and that star is Gritty!
Saw a movie this wknd. @ladygaga I’ve also been called the songbird of my generation 🕊
— Gritty (@GrittyNHL) October 22, 2018
What did you guys do? pic.twitter.com/6YyP1cn6WK
Benstonium put Gritty into several stock photos that made the mascot look like a creature in a horror film. Here’s Gritty looking in the window of a home where two women are sitting on the couch crying:
Gritty also made it into a Distracted Boyfriend meme about capitalism.
Antifa Gritty
Memes about Gritty being an anti-capitalist, anti-fascist hero are by far the most popular type of Gritty memes. There’s a Twitter page that collects these memes: Fellow Worker Gritty, and several Facebook memes pages portray Gritty as a worker for the people. Gritty has even been compared to Karl Marx.
Gritty and Phanatic
Does Gritty get along with other mascots? Well, he seems to enjoy the company of Phanatic, the mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team. After the two danced together, the internet portrayed them as good friends.
Gritty fan art
Of course, Gritty has also made an impact on the art world. Artists keep making Gritty illustrations and signs to show their love for the NHL mascot.
What’s next for Gritty? A sit-down interview with Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton? One can only dream.
"In 2018, you delighted, frightened and astonished us with your unforgettable portrayal of a meme for our times." pic.twitter.com/oU2N9Kk1TU
— James Urbaniak (@JamesUrbaniak) October 21, 2018
Editor’s note: This article is regularly updated for relevance.