As the hunt for playoff spots in the NHL intensifies, we here at Promo Marketing are hoping that our Philadelphia Flyers qualify for the postseason—not only for more on-ice entertainment, but also for more chances to see Gritty in action. Yes, almost six months after his debut, we still find ourselves fascinated with the mascot, who gained another moment in the spotlight through World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE), which teamed with the Flyers to issue a limited edition T-shirt in conjunction with last night’s Raw event in the City of Brotherly Love.
Did inventory an hour ago and we were down one 5XL tee…This explains it. 🙄 pic.twitter.com/i4P6lTeJ9f
— Wells Fargo Center (@WellsFargoCtr) March 4, 2019
Since his debut, the Promo Marketing team has mostly jumped on the Gritty bandwagon. An immediate example of a branding masterpiece, he has drawn raves for his antics and tweets, and now that the Flyers have crawled back into playoff contention, he figures to become even more visual during this stretch run.
Enter the WWE. One of its performers, Jeffrey Sciullo, who goes by Elias when competing, ribbed Gritty in an October 2018 appearance in Philadelphia, and the 31-year-old duplicated his playful disdain for the orange character last night. That performance served as a musical complement to the T-shirt that will undoubtedly become a coveted goodie along WWE’s Road to WrestleMania, as it depicts him fully eager to take on whichever opponent would dare to step into the ring with him.
Say what you want about me, Jeff. But plz, plzzz leave the moms out of it.
Classless. pic.twitter.com/Qx6KNjao5r
— Gritty (@GrittyNHL) March 5, 2019
We do not need to defend Gritty against criticisms because, after all, he is a Philly guy and, therefore, quite capable of protecting himself from naysayers. Instead, we are electing to praise the hockey-promoting efforts in which the WWE has recently engaged. Hockey blog Russian Machine Never Breaks addressed that growing attention, and while we respect the work that other teams have done to draw attention to their amazing sport, we, showing absolutely no bias whatsoever, are going to dub Gritty the winner as the best brand helper. Who can resist those googly eyes?
The WWE and Philadelphia, via the Wells Fargo Center, are not strangers to each other, so as the wrestling organization and the Flyers ponder ways to enhance their brands, put butts in seats and move merchandise, we definitely hope that Gritty becomes a constant element of their combined efforts when Raw stages a show here. Even beyond Raw, here’s hoping that WWE decides to give Philadelphia another shot at hosting WrestleMania, as the city has hosted only one of the 35 pageants, and that was way back in 1999. Just imagine what a branding victory it would be for all involved to incorporate Gritty into a match or a plotline for the early spring celebration! WWE, are you reading this? Please make it happen!
