The Brief: As Joe Biden pulls ahead in Pennsylvania, memes featuring Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, are spreading online.
DEEP DIVE
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:
😂😂😂😂 😂😂😂😂😂
Those that know, KNOW! 😜 pic.twitter.com/Rmecg9rPTz— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) November 6, 2020
That meme has already made it to the streets of Philly in a hand-drawn sign:
Hours-old Gritty meme has already hit our streets 😎
Tell Trump don’t phuck with Philly#BidenHarris2020 pic.twitter.com/lpPcXWqX3J
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) November 6, 2020
Gritty himself has also been seen at a “Count Them All” rally:
The Flyers' mascot Gritty joined the "Count Them All" protest in Philadelphia and turned it into an old fashioned dance party.pic.twitter.com/pG1HlYDcqG
— Muhammad Lila (@MuhammadLila) November 6, 2020
Celebratory memes show Gritty in famous pro-Democracy iconography, in classic memes, and in U.S. government positions.
Made this just this morning pic.twitter.com/d2p0LyKGLZ
— Robert "BIDEN WINS!" Lyman🇺🇸🏴 (@steamrob42) November 6, 2020
Gritty, y’all. pic.twitter.com/T7UUqQUGmZ
— Airea D. Matthews (@aireadee) November 6, 2020
Deal is a deal…With Philly going to Biden, we’re going to pack the court with Gritty pic.twitter.com/imY803v4LY
— Razzball (@Razzball) November 6, 2020
Some of my favorite antifa gritty memes to celebrate PA going blue pic.twitter.com/JVLLT2KBN2
— allie ✨ (but thankful 🍂) (@ukulelecutie) November 6, 2020
Secretary of Defense Gritty addressing the nation in 2021 (AP) pic.twitter.com/IE4KvUKvXJ
— David Gardner (@byDavidGardner) November 6, 2020
Big if true:
I've never seen Fauci and Gritty together in the same room. Think about it. #PhillyVotes pic.twitter.com/64jTsfiagp
— Patrick Schumacker😷 (@PMSchumacker) November 4, 2020
On The Dawn Of The Third Day, Look To The East 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