Let’s Talk About the Mascot

So a new mascot reveal happened today, and the reaction has been… well… split? Fortunately, I’m not afraid to tackle the hard-hitting news items like the unveiling of a new trigger mascot. 

For me, the idea of having a mascot is not all that surprising when you think about it. A lot of teams, ranging from high school to college to professional, have mascots and it was always something that I actually thought was missing from the Oilers game experience. Not that a mascot would have made a lick of difference over the past decade, but I still found it surprising that the Oilers didn’t have one. I guess the Oilers agreed. 

Most of the time, if done correctly, mascots create a link between the team and its fans and becomes an instantly recognizable piece of the team’s branding and community relations. To put it another way, mascots are like logos that are capable of posing for pictures, and high-fiving your kids after the Oilers score a goal. Makes sense, right? Of course, it does. Besides, who doesn’t love a mascot? With that considered, I’m not so much surprised that the Oilers wanted a mascot, but more so that they felt like they wanted one that looks like he’s tweaking. 

I know a lot of the youngsters reading this site won’t remember, but, when I was a kid, the Oilers had Critter (shown above) cruising around the rink and playing the role of the team mascot. He used to get on the ice between plays, throw out t-shirts to fans, and interact with kids in the crowd — you know, the usual mascot gig. As you can see from the picture, Critter is a more traditional type of mascot. He’s a friendly looking fella and highly unlikely to prevent you from sleeping at night. Pretty standard stuff, ya know? Needless to say, the Oilers went in a different reaction for their first full-time mascot and the new guy seems a little more… intense. 

Since none of us knew about Hunter the Meth Cat Lynx, I couldn’t help but wonder about some of the other, less terrifying options that they could have gone with. Here’s a few ideas I’m spitballing:

Why not a murderous clown? Sure, the idea of this guy lurking around the rink might be terrifying, but no more so than a predatory cat. Either way, if the Oilers were looking for a creepy mascot I can’t help but wonder if the Marty the Murderous Clown was left on the table. 

I can’t help but wonder if the Oilers missed an opportunity to use the creepy girl from the Ring as their new Mascot. Think about how fun it would be to have her counting down the days until the new season starts. How long now, terrifying murder child? “16 daaaaaaaaaays.” 

If “creepy” and “nightmare-inducing” were the goals for the new mascot then I don’t know how they Oilers missed Chucky. This “friendly” little guy was all the rage in the late 80s and early 90s and could have been a logical fit between respecting our past (glory days) and terrifying the children of today. Maybe next time?

One thing I saw when looking for reaction to Hunter the Lynx was the recurring theme of nightmares. Well, if nightmares are the Oilers thing then Freddy Kreuger would make sense, no?

While this guy isn’t wearing a costume, per say, he definitely has his own look and that’s really what we’re after here. Not only is this stylish gentleman equally as intimidating as Hunter the Lynx, he’s also capable of haunting the dreams of children and adults alike. With a bromeo like this available, you have to wonder why the Oilers spent so much money on that damned costume?

Right? Harambe. Enough said. 

For the Oilers historians in the audience, you are sure to remember Krazy George. Dubbed the father of the wave, Krazy George used to bang his drum as a means to fire up the Northlands faithful back in the 80s. George’s schtick actually took him all over the continent as he used his advance levels of cheerleading to fire up crowds ranging from hockey, to football, to baseball. While George may have been overlooked by the Oilers, he was not forgotten by all of us here at Nation HQ. 

Needless to say, the reaction towards the new mascot was… uhh… split? I put together a little sample of some of the best stuff I found on Twitter.

Maybe I’m being too hard on young Hunter? Maybe me bursting out in laughter the moment I saw a picture of the new mascot was a little bit excessive? Maybe I don’t know the first thing about mascot science? I’m prepared to admit that I may not know what’s good and what sucks in the world of mascotery, and that’s why I need your help. I want you to tell me what you think of the new mascot, and maybe even offer a suggestion about what they could have gone with instead. If you like Meth Cat the Lynx then jump in the comments section and tell me why I’m wrong. Agree or disagree, we’re all living this cat life together.