Flyers mascot \u2018Gritty\u2019 engineered to terrify Twitter

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers have introduced an odd-looking new team mascot — a 7-foot fuzzy creature named Gritty with a wild, orange beard.

The creature is so bizarre that Twitter could not get enough.

The character’s debut triggered an outpouring of comments online, including, “Good luck sleeping tonight, Flyers fans,” and comparisons to ZZ Top and the Muppets. Twitter users created memes with Gritty taking the place of horror-movie villains and splicing his head onto other disturbing images.

The cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins tweeted, “lol ok” — to which Gritty responded, “Sleep with one eye open tonight, bird.”

Gritty’s first game did not go any better.

When he wasn’t falling on the ice, he was attacking others with the t-shirt gun.

The NHL labeled him “the ultimate Flyers fan who loves the orange and black, but is unwelcoming to anyone who opposes his team” in an online announcement. The name stems from his “possessing an attitude so similar to the team he follows,” the Flyers said.

The reaction seemed to be exactly what the Flyers were going for. Gritty’s final tweet of the day included the message, “Goodnight, internet,” and a photo of the crazed-looking mascot squeezing what looked to be Champagne out of a squirt bottle.

— With AP and Fox News