Union mascot Phang whoops it up as man smashes car on Philly street
"What do you expect? This is Philly," the Philadelphia Union said in a statement.
Philadelphia Union mascot Phang reveled in the wanton destruction of a vehicle at the hands of a man with a mallet on the streets of Philly this week.
It was just another Thursday in the city of champagne wishes and mascot dreams.
Video of Phang rocking out as an unidentified man in a gray hoodie smashed the red car was posted to Twitter by Pablo Maurer, a staff writer with The Athletic who covers soccer.
Erica Scheer, spokesperson for the Philadelphia Union, confirmed it was the real Phang in the video.
“We got an anonymous tip of a rival’s car in the city, so we called in a few friends to take care of it," a statement from the club said. "What do you expect? This is Philly.”
That statement was also posted to the team’s Twitter account, along with additional footage of a different person smashing the same car, also with Phang nearby.
Son of a Ben! Does Phang actually have some teeth or are we being sold snake oil?
Given that the video shows the street blocked off by a Philadelphia Police vehicle while the destruction occurs within eyesight, we’re sad to say it appears to be a promotional stunt.
On Twitter, the Sons of Ben seemed to indicate that the red car might represent the Union’s rivals, the New York Red Bulls.
But the idea of mascots going wild isn’t far fetched in Philly. Just two weeks after Phang debuted last year, Gritty came on the scene and immediately stole Phang’s spotlight and the hearts and minds of the city. Seriously, we think he has them in jars somewhere.
Just this week, Gritty continued to swear his allegiance to Queen Daenerys of House Targaryen, who burned an entire city to the ground.
And on Tuesday, a Rita’s Water Ice mascot went rogue (or cherry) and participated in an abortion rights protest on Broad Street.
In a woodered-down statement, Rita’s Water Ice said the employee who used the “Ice Guy” costume at the protest did not have permission to do so.
“Rita’s Italian Ice is not an active participant in the abortion discussion,” the company said.
While the new crop of Philadelphia mascots may want to watch the city burn like a dragon queen, one is still trying to put kindness first. Most of the time.
The Phillie Phanatic created a video about kindness with Pittsburgh’s Pirate Parrot this week for 143 Day, in honor of Mr. Rogers.
But don’t let the Phanatic fool you. He’s the original anthropomorphic mascot with attitude and he just might be the most-sued mascot in major league sports.
One thing is for sure. It’s Philly’s merry band of mascot pranksters vs. the world.