There has never been a greater time for mascots. Earlier this week, Mr. Met of the New York Mets caused quite the stir when he was caught flipping the bird to a fan.
Here in Minnesota, we have some pretty cool pro mascots: Viktor the Viking, T.C Bear, Nordy, Crunch.
On Friday, Deadspin ranked all pro-sports mascots but only two of our own cracked their top 70 list. Viktor the Viking was No. 22 and T.C. Bear was No. 52.
Nordy and Crunch were nowhere to be found. Nordy cracked Bleacher Report’s top 25 mascot rankings in 2015.
However, both Nordy and Crunch have been under the mascot microscope in recent months. In January, Crunch barreled into Karl-Anthony Towns’ father with a sled during a timeout gimmick. Around the same time, Nordy was under fire because of an incident where he beat up the Blackhawks’ mascot with a bat. The Chicago Tribune called the incident a “blow to the league’s family-friendly image.”
Even though the game of hockey involves checking, hitting and fighting, the Minnesota Wild ended up issuing an apology.
Still, saying Viktor is the best mascot in the state? He’s only been here since 2007 and it’s not like he’s heavily involved during Vikings games.
This is why we can’t wait for training camp and NBA/NHL free agency so we don’t have to update you on the latest mascot power rankings.
