It was a big weekend for Gritty

After a lengthy stretch of days wondering who won the 2020 Presidential Election it was the city of Philadelphia that was in the spotlight when it was announced Joe Biden was the projected winner. As people flooded the streets to celebrate with Dancing Elmo and mailboxes Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot Gritty kept popping up around the city.

Although the real Gritty was never spotted there were plenty of copycats that were captured around Philly over the weekend. It was inevitable that the Orange and Black’s big loveable mascot was going to come up at some point since Philadelphia became a national talking point for a string of days, but it might be more than just the combo of the City of Brotherly Love and sports.

Not long after his creation Gritty received support from a group of individuals that may have clashed the most with Donald Trump over the last four years. With that in mind and the fact that Pennsylvania was knocking on the door of being the final projection Biden needed to reach 270 electoral votes, what’s more fitting than one of the better things to come from a place where only bad things happen being visible on an historic weekend?

Along with some sightings in the city Gritty was also featured in a bunch of memes following the election, none more notable than this Game of Thrones’ reference.

...and perhaps this gif that’s a little more violent.

On top of Gritty’s presence over the weekend it’s worth noting the team he works for is also going to be receiving a boost in attention over the next few years. The new president-elect may be just a fan of the Flyers, but there’s no doubt the soon-to-be First Lady Jill Biden is a huge supporter of Philly’s hockey club. With the support of Mrs. Biden the Flyers may finally be able to pay off the league to win a Stanley Cup...or give enough money to their forwards to score in the playoffs. Either one is fine.

*Thanks to readers @ericacharlotte and @heyjude2758 for their contributions.