'I'm Back': NHL Allows Gritty To Be Inside Wells Fargo Center This Season For Philadelphia Flyers Games
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The National Hockey League has righted a wrong. Beloved mascot Gritty will be allowed at the Wells Fargo Center this season for Philadelphia Flyers games.
"I'm back," Gritty said in a statement.
Fans will be prohibited from going to games when the season begins due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this week, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman revealed the NHL will start the 2021 season on Jan. 13, but mascots were not included in his announcements. As we all know, barring Gritty from Flyers games is like telling Santa Claus he can't deliver presents to children for Christmas.
Due to the outcry, Gritty created a petition for the NHL to allow him inside the arena for Flyers games.
"Without me, where is the joy? Where is the artistry? Where is the downright tomfoolery that delicately balances with the on-ice battles and displays of athletic prowess? One cannot simply exist without the other," Gritty's petition reads. "I promised the world at the brink of quarantine that I would be the orange light of hope and those plans haven't changed. As a mascot, I have a duty, a responsibility, and I simply ask that you open your hearts to grant me permission to do what I love for the sport you all love. Let's get weird."
But now, the league has obliged and will allow Gritty's shenanigans and tomfoolery to commence at Flyers games.
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