Halloween is a time for scares, and while some mascots try to appear friendly to the fans, there is no helping some of them. This week, we asked the Scout Sports Staff who they think is the scariest of them all.
Gritty isn’t fun and games
By Caden Sexton
Have you ever been to a Philadelphia Flyers game? If you did before 2018, you wouldn’t be scarred for life.
Today, the orange blob with googly eyes and a hockey helmet walking around Wells Fargo Center is none other than Gritty. This big-bearded, seven-foot tall creature can and will scare you. I mean, google this guy and look at the images. It genuinely makes you uncomfortable.
The Phillie Phanatic might be the most iconic mascot in baseball, but Gritty instills tremendous fear into the kids of Philadelphia.
More of a trick than a treat
By Matt Lucas
Let me start off by saying that the sports world needs more unique mascots and nicknames, but the Kansas State Wildcats mascot is… an interesting way of dealing with that.
Imagine you took a football player and slapped a giant, gray, circular wildcat head on top. A wild idea maybe, a lazy attempt certainly, but no amount of laziness and wildness is too much in Manhattan, Kansas. I applaud the effort to not implement a full wildcat costume, but this human-wildcat hybrid is terrifying to gaze upon.
The Pelican from Hell
By Ethan Carbone
Pierre the Pelican is meant to symbolize the state bird of Louisiana, New Orleans and their French culture. Typically, mascots are supposed to be cute attractions for fans, especially at younger ages.
However, when you look into Pierre’s eyes you feel like your soul is being stolen. The other part about him that will easily spook you is his abnormally large beak. The beak opens wide like an actual pelican, however in this case one could fit a small child inside the mouth of the beast.
The Providence Fri(ght)ar
By Mason Klemm
If you don’t know what a Friar is, you’re not alone. However, you don’t need to know the four mendicant orders to understand how terrifying the Providence College mascot truly is.
The pale white face paired with the black abyss of a mouth, cemented in a crooked smile, provides an unsettling image for all fans and opponents alike. The black cowl and big, gleaming eyes do not do it any favors either. Their men’s basketball team made the Sweet 16 last season, and who’s to say the absurdity of their mascot didn’t play a factor in scaring their opponents to elimination.
The Sea Monster of Seattle
By Luke Kotcher
I had a few finalists on my list. Gritty and the Reds’ mascot, Mr. Redlegs, joined the Providence Friar to make for some scary sights. Ultimately, my pick has to be the new Seattle Kraken mascot, Buoy.
If I was an opposing team losing to the Kraken and I see whatever this is on the jumbotron, I would quit hockey then and there. Seattle has the best jerseys and color scheme in hockey and they went with a sea troll for their new mascot. Every hockey fan expected an octopus or a squid mascot, but we received a troll.
Kingsley may just burn your eyes
By Rodrigo Perez
Not all mascots are created equally, as Kingsley seems to have come out of an evil and distorted kids cartoon. Representing Scottish Premiership side Partick Thistle, Kingsley can be best described as an amalgamation between the angry sun from Super Mario World and Lisa Simpson.
Bred from the hands and mind of Glasgow-based artist David Shrigley, Kingsley is supposed to represent the angst of a Partick Thistle soccer fan. Any team with Kingsley as their mascot won’t have to worry about generating fear before a match.
Purdue Pete is not a treat
By Jonathan Michel
Mascots with plastic heads, rather than soft and furry heads, are always a gamble. In some instances, it works, especially if the harder helmet looks realistic like Oklahoma State’s Cowboy. However, Purdue Pete is just…hard to look at.
The dimensions of his face make it look like it was squished between two pieces of bread. The Boilermaker’s body and legs are a human’s dressed up in Purdue attire, but his blank, soulless eyes are enough to make Purdue fans look away in disgust, just as they’ve done for years after watching their football team.
