It's been a little while since we've heard from Gritty. Partly because the Flyers and Eagles stink and suddenly all of those good Philly feels have come back to the mean a little bit, and partly because post-Halloween, giant orange monster popularity generally takes a bit of a dip. The Flyers' formerly lovable mascot seems to have sensed the sea change as well, taking to the ice earlier this week disguised as Santa to open up a can of Christmas whoop-ass on some unsuspecting Santas and reclaim his crown as Humanity's Favorite Nightmarish Myth.
From the looks of these vicious hits—and even a wreath lasso—Gritty may well have sold his soul to Krampus himself. In fact, decked out in all that red and white, taking cheap shots at anything that moves, one might even mistake him for Tom Wilson. But the truth, as the Flyers' social media team wisely points out, is perhaps more nuanced than that:
Gritty is not threatened by Santa nor frustrated by his beloved Flyers, but instead fed up with the seemingly interminable "Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?" debate. Didn't we, as a society, already answer this question? Can't we finally, for the sake of Gritty, move on to bigger, better questions…such as is Lethal Weapon a Christmas movie?