To me, this fluffy green mascot is the real star of baseball’s World Series.
I do not care much for America’s pastime.
And more than anything, I love the Phillie Phanatic.
If you’re even a casual sports fan, you know the guy I’m talking about. If not, you can spot the mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team this week by tuning in to the World Series. There, you’ll find him: an enormous green muppet with a trumpet face and a floppy gut. The Phanatic is known for galumphing wildly about Citizens Bank Park, high-fiving kids and hip-thrusting at players. A friend recently described the Phanatic as exhibiting “crazy demonic energy.” But to me, the opposite is true: The Phillie Phanatic is joy embodied. He represents unbridled enthusiasm, and undying loyalty to team and town. For the sports ambivalent, he is a delightfully devilish distraction. For all of us, the Phanatic is a reminder to not take anything too seriously.
The Phanatic’s aesthetic is endearing, but his antics are show-stealing. He thunders through the stands, belly jiggling, and pours popcorn on kids. He buffs the heads of bald Phillies fans, and barges into the announcers’ booth to spray Silly String and deliver snacks. Between innings, the Phanatic drives a red ATV around the field and shoots hot dogs out of cannons; he once sent a woman to the hospital with a mixed-meat torpedo, but she didn’t even seem mad! Thanks to that boisterousness, the Phanatic is allegedly the most-sued mascot in baseball.
The green guy’s entire MO is mischief, and I think that’s wonderful. He taunts members of the other team by dancing near their dugout, and he hexes them with a twirl of his finger-wings, which is called “whammy.” He “flashes” opponents by lifting up his tiny shirt to expose a naked green torso.
