The United States presidential election is down to the wire, as attention turns to the key swing states that will decide the winner. Arizona’s Maricopa County is now a weapon in everyone’s geography trivia arsenal. Georgia is on all of our minds. And we can’t help but wonder what’s taking Nevada so dang long to count.
In Philadelphia in particular, residents are preparing for the impact their city could have on the results. Once the state of Pennsylvania is called — which could come any time now — we’ll know who if former vice-president Joe Biden, who leads there, will secure its 20 electoral votes and, subsequently, win the election.
While Biden has several paths to victory through the swing states, Pennsylvania (and by extension Philly) is looking more and more likely to decide it on Friday. Throughout Thursday and Friday as Philly votes rolled in, U.S. President Donald Trump’s lead in the state began to shrink, eventually flipping to favour Biden early Friday.
And the city is going wild.
Philadelphia is home to a unique culture. It is, of course, a city where they had to grease lampposts with lard to prevent fans from climbing them following the Eagles’ 2018 Super Bowl victory (and here I will disclose that I am an Eagles fan and I 100 per cent would have climbed a lamppost if I could have.)
It’s full of passionate people, and thankfully the city has a figure to embody that passion: Gritty.
For those not in the cult of personality around the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers mascot, allow me to explain. The large orange monster was introduced as the hockey team’s mascot in September 2018 and quickly adopted as a symbol of socialist and anti-faschist movements, being dubbed “comrade Gritty”.
And now he’s become a symbol of Philadelphia’s possible role in the election and, apparently, the mortal enemy of Trump.
He’s been memed into “Game Of Thrones’” Olenna Tyrell ...
… and as Captain America.
Really, there’s just been a bunch of top-shelf memes out there.
An unofficial manifestation of comrade Gritty even showed up at “count every vote” celebrations overnight in Philadelphia. And he knew how to get down.
On Friday a version of Gritty even showed up in a klezmer band.
Many Gritty fans speculated what role the beast could play in a possible Biden administration, considering Philadelphia’s possible pivotal role in this election.
Others suggested Gritty should be the true winner of the election.
He is the symbol of this long, chaotic election we need and deserve. Nothing but respect for MY president, Gritty.