Gritty Nominates Self For Time's Person of the Year
TIMEMagazine revealed a lengthy nominees list for its annual Person of the Year honor on Tuesday. There are a handful of athletes up for ballot in TIME's online poll, including Lakers forward LeBron James, Olympic gymnasts and silence breakers Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, tennis player Serena Williams and activist Colin Kaepernick.
Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, however, was omitted from TIME's list. And he took notice.
TIME posted a tweet of the nominees list from its official account, and Gritty responded by tweeting a GIF including himself on a fake magazine cover, with "Time" rearranged to form "it me" below the "Person of the Year" title.
Perhaps Gritty has a valid case.
TIME says it decides on its Person of the Year by "identifying the person or group of people who, for better or worse, had the greatest influence on the events of the year."
In his first year of existence, Gritty's influence across the sports world has been evident, even if bizzare. The ginger blob has caught the attention of multitudes on social media. He has the trust of members of the public, as evidenced by the write-in votes he received in New Jersey's midterm elections. On Monday, he helped promote world peace by choosing not to fight with a child who took an apparent disliking of him.
Lover of fun. Friend of the people. Peacemaker. If Gritty isn't TIME's Person of the Year, he's at the very least in the running for whatever award is given to unique mascot personalities.