The Brief: As Joe Biden pulls ahead in Pennsylvania, memes featuring Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, are spreading online.

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Gritty election memes laud the mascot as a hero and give him credit for Joe Biden’s increasingly likely presidential win.

As of Friday afternoon, Joe Biden leads Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, a state that could lead him to victory, by over 15,000 votes with 96% reporting. With over 680,oo0 total votes coming out of Philadelphia, residents of the city, and supporters of Joe Biden are celebrating the lead. One way they’re celebrating is with memes praising the Philadelphia Flyers mascot: the large, orange, and fuzzy character known as Gritty.

Since his introduction to the world in 2018, Gritty has been claimed as both a symbol of the city of Philadelphia and as a leftist icon. Although the mascot doesn’t have any official political beliefs, many people have chalked him up to be a rebel, an underdog champion, and now an American hero.

Memes and jokes about Gritty’s role in pushing Joe Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania hyperbolically portray him as god-like, and as a key reason that Biden is winning in the state.

One of the most popular Gritty election memes draws parallels between him and Lady Olenna in Game of Thrones:

That meme has already made it to the streets of Philly in a hand-drawn sign:

Gritty himself has also been seen at a “Count Them All” rally:

Celebratory memes show Gritty in famous pro-Democracy iconography, in classic memes, and in U.S. government positions.

Big if true:

On The Dawn Of The Third Day, Look To The East from philadelphia

The New Cabinet from philadelphia

Gritty thirst TikTok is now a thing:

@meredith_dietz

#greenscreen if Biden wins PA, I swear I’ll do it. Stay tuned #pennsylvania #election #gritty

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