The "Baseball Is More Than The Game You Know!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Getting very anxious for the start of the baseball season which seems to be in jeopardy this year due to the COVID-19.  I began exploring some of the different sites online that talk about my favorite teams which are the Philadelphia Phillies and the Lancaster Barnstormers.  Found out that a few days ago the Phillies Phanatic celebrated his 42nd year of shenanigans on the baseball field.  It was on April 25, 1978 that he made his debut at Veterans Stadium when the Phillies played the Chicago Cubs.  The giant green creature was a big hit right from the start and actually led to many other teams creating their own mascot.

When the Phanatic first appeared he was wearing
a Rocky Balboa costume to honor Philadelphia.

For those reading my story today and have no idea as to what I am talking about, the Phillies Phanatic is a large, furry, green, bipedal, flightless bird with an extendable tongue.  According to an online account of him on the Phillies website, he is originally from the Galápagos Islands and is the Phillies' biggest fan.  His favorite foods are cheesesteaks, soft pretzels, hoagies and Tastykakes and his favorite movie is "Rocky".  He is the off-field star of the team who performs various routines to entertain fans during the games, first at Veterans Stadium and now Citizens Bank Park.  

The Philadelphia Phanatic!

He is one of the most recognizable mascots in North America sports.  It was during the winter after the 1977 season that Dennis Lehman and Phillies Promotion Director Frank Sullivan got together and decided the Phillies needed a team mascot much like the San Diego Padres Chicken.  So, they had a New York firm known as Harrison/Erickson, which had ties with Jim Henson's Muppets, create the Phanatic.  The character was named for the fanatical fans that the Phillies have.  Actually it wasn't the first mascot they had.  They had a pair of mascots  from 1976 through 1978 who were "Philadelphia Phil" and "Philadelphia Phillis", a pair of siblings dressed in 18th century garb to invoke the city's revolutionary spirit from 1776.  

Here he is enjoying a photographer.

The Phanatic was actually introduced on the locally produced children's show "Captain Noah and His Magical Ark" by Phillie catcher Tim McCarver who was still playing at the time.  At the time, the team could have bought the costume and copyright for the mascot from the company that designed it for $5,200.  They opted to just buy the costume for $3,900.  Five years later the copyright had expired and the mascot was so loved that the team had to pay $250,000 for the copyright.  If you have ever watched the Phillies on TV or visited the stadium for a game, you realize just how important this character is to the team.  It is much the same for my hometown team, the Lancaster Barnstormers who are a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.  

Cylo, the Lancaster Barnstormer's mascot.

They, too, have a mascot which is called "Cylo."  For those wondering why that name, it is a different spelling for the silo on a barn which happens to go with the team name of Barnstormers.  The name and logo allude to Lancaster County's agricultural heritage and its inclusion of Amish culture and lore.   Cylo is an anthropomorphic, red cow who wears the team's home jersey with stripped socks and retro-style sneakers.  He debuted on March 4, 2005 at the Mascot Roller Mill in the Lancaster County village of Mascot.  His full name is Cyloicious L. Barnstormer.  He too was designed by the same company as the Phanatic.  I sure hope those in Lancaster who wanted the mascot, paid for both the outfit and copyright at the same time.  I enjoy both mascots, but the Phanatic seems to have so much more charisma than Cylo.  I guess in time Cylo will begin to make a better impression on me.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

I searched for myself , but not sure I'm in the photograph.