Even Business Schools Are Talking About Gritty
By now, you know Gritty. You may even love Gritty. It may not be yet understood, but Gritty is accepted. He is one, and all, and nothing at once. A true enigma of our times.
Gritty, of course, the brand new mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers, the city’s NHL affiliate team. In a city that already boasts the Phillie Phanatic, perhaps the most famous mascot in all North American professional sports, introducing a new one may seem a little perplexing. Especially when one considers the fact that the Flyers had not used a mascot since the mid 1970s. Oh, also, people think he’s some kind of existential nightmare monster.
Since debuting in late September, Gritty has caught a huge public wave, perhaps because it seems so unsettling. The mascot has already been riffed on the late night comedy circuit, including on a recent episode of Conan, which debuted the “man” behind the mask.
So, the question remains, why has the new mascot seem to have taken off so well? Drexel University LeBow College of Business Associate Clinical Professor of Sport Management Lawrence Cohen, talking with the Drexel news blog, says, “Everyone knows who Gritty is. Gritty was all over social media, local and national news, and was even on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The Flyers got millions of dollars worth of publicity for free.”
“All of the publicity has been great for the Flyers,” Cohen says. “Gritty has more than 119,000 Twitter followers—that’s more than any other mascot in the NHL. The Flyers got publicity during a month in which the team usually receives no attention due to either a Phillies playoff run or the start of the Eagles season.”
The root of it all, according to Cohen, are these four pillars:
• “Be a reflection of the franchise.”
• “Serve as an ambassador for the franchise.”
• “Provide entertainment beyond the game action.”
• “Be recognizable.”
Gritty, in an incredibly short span of time, managed to capture all of that and then some. The perplexing new figure has even caught the attention of political movements, which drew some ire from the likes of the Wall Street Journal. Because why not?
You can check out the rest of Cohen’s recent interview with Drexel here.
Philly Schools React to Eagles Super Bowl Triumph
Philadelphia Eagles fans around the world rejoiced last night, taking home the first Super Bowl victory in the history of the organization. A handful of Philly business schools also joined in the jubilation after the upset of the New England Patriots, sharing a round of joyous reactions.
Drexel University and the LeBow College of Business was among the first to share their reaction to the Eagles victory, posting a celebratory video from University president John Fry.
On behalf of #Drexel Dragons everywhere, congratulations to our Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia @Eagles! #SBLII #SB52 #SuperBowlChampions #flyeaglesfly pic.twitter.com/VLtQkxezgn
— Drexel University (@DrexelUniv) February 5, 2018
Temple University and the Fox School of Business were a bit less formal in their congratulatory Eagles reaction, posting the following.
“True leadership is about action.” #FlyEaglesFly https://t.co/NSip55sAE6
— Fox School (@foxschool) February 5, 2018
Hey @Eagles,
That was fly. #FlyEaglesFly— Temple University (@TempleUniv) February 5, 2018
The West Chester Philadelphia campus took things a bit further, lighting up its buildings in heavy Eagles green.
WCU’s Philadelphia campus showing just a tad 😉 of Philadelphia @Eagles pride #flyeaglesfly #superbowlchamps #ramsup #wcuphilly pic.twitter.com/QsXFeio5Gr
— West Chester U (@WCUofPA) February 5, 2018
Villanova Business went a bit of a different direction, with students Michelle Maduras (’19 VSB) and Kriya Amin (’19 VSB) review the night’s ads in a live feed. Some of their favorites from Sunday night came from Mountain Dew, Doritos, and, of course, the New York Giants’ Dirty Dancing inspired tribute.
That's all from us! Thanks for following our SuperBowl takeover, and congratulations to the @Eagles, #FlyEagelsFly!!! pic.twitter.com/54q7KeFNee
— Villanova Business (@VU_Business) February 5, 2018
Out of Chicago, experts from the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management revealed their thoughts on the Super Bowl 52 ads, which you can check out over at Clear Admit.
Here Are the Front Runners For Amazon’s New HQ2 Campus
Last week, 20 cities in the United States and Canada were informed by Amazon that their bid to host the tech giant’s second headquarters, HQ2, was still being considered. Continue reading…
