Gritty, the Phanatic, and other mascots helped reopen I-95. Yes, Philly is a real place.

Before officials gathered for a news conference to officially reopen I-95 Friday morning, Philadelphians on social media were already calling for the city’s most beloved celebrities to be the first to traverse the repaired highway.

Some wanted Gritty, others wanted the Phanatic on his ATV. I dreamed of both, side-by-side, riding off into the great Northeast together.

As it turned out, in this case, government officials and Philly’s professional sports teams were well ahead of the game.

Shortly before noon, Gritty, the Phanatic, Swoop, Franklin the Dog, and Phang rode across the repaired highway atop a fire truck with members of the Philadelphia Fire Department’s Engine 38 and Ladder 20, to officially mark the reopening of the road in the most Philly way possible.

It was fitting that firefighters with Engine 38 and Ladder 20, who were the first to respond to the fire on June 11 that collapsed the highway and claimed the life of truck driver Nathan Moody, helped to reopen the roadway. Their hard work under the most difficult of circumstances undoubtedly saved lives that day.

And while our mascots’ participation in the reopening seemed completely on-brand to Philadelphians, some outsiders were left wondering why a furry orange whatchamacallit; a green whozeewhatzit; a flightless eagle; a blue dog; and a snake with legs were chosen to help mark this momentous occasion.

To those of you not lucky enough to call the Philly region your home, it’s because these are some of our most popular, beloved, and scandal-free citizens (OK, there was that one time Gritty was accused of punching a kid, but he was cleared!)

Perhaps nowhere else in the world are mascots more accepted as bona fide celebrities and everyday members of a citizenry than here in Philadelphia. If one of them walked into a polling location on election day, they’d not only be cheered, they’d be led to a booth to cast their ballot.

In fact, Gritty and the Phanatic regularly receive write-in votes in elections across the Philly region. This is because Philadelphians trust those who are unabashedly unhinged and deliver us free food, whether it’s through the Phanatic’s hot dog cannon, or by way of a sheet cake in the face from Gritty.

Both the Phanatic and Gritty have appeared as questions on Jeopardy! and made cameo appearances on popular TV shows (the Phanatic has been on the Late Show with David Letterman and 30 Rock, while Gritty has been on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Abbott Elementary). They’ve represented Philly in pop culture so much they probably have their own SAG cards.

In 2018, Gritty became the first mascot in Philadelphia to be honored with an official resolution by City Council, and earlier this year, he was awarded the Gold Medal by the Philadelphia Public Relations Association, which honors those who bring positive press to Philly (the Phanatic won the same award in 2017).

It was at Gritty’s Gold Medal ceremony, where I served as one of the speakers, that I learned that he was birthed into existence, in part, because of the Eagles Super Bowl win in 2018. When the team returned to Philly, all of the city’s other pro sports mascots were on hand to welcome them home, except for the Flyers, who didn’t have a mascot.

While we haven’t had a championship since then (though we came so close last year and so close again this year), we’ve now got a fantastic group of mascots who, when they band together, bring a sense of joy, hope, and a “what-world-am-I-living-in” wonderment wherever they go.

Sure, we could be calloused adults and just treat them like people in costumes, but in a city that faces so many challenges and so much pain, it’s nice to have a little magic to fall back on sometimes. Kids aren’t the only ones who need to get ridiculous, or believe in what seems impossible.

Believing in what seems impossible is how I-95 got repaired in 12 days, well ahead of schedule, and it’s why our mascots were on hand to help reopen it.