The Atlanta Braves mascot, Blooper, got a heaping of Phillies fans' wrath on Friday ahead of the NLDS on Saturday.
Blooper, the Braves mascot who succeeded "Homer the Brave" in 2018, has quickly become a fan-favorite at Truist Park. Outside of Atlanta, he's considered more of a knock-off Phanatic (the Phillies mascot).
A day before the Braves are set to host the Phillies for Game 1 of the NLDS, Blooper tweeted, "One more day." That tweet quickly caught the eye of Phillies fans, who raised their pitchforks and struck Blooper down.
One Phillies fan wrote in reply to the tweet, "til your death." Blooper then joked about how "well-adjusted" Philly fans are and went after some other fans who called Blooper "We have the Phanatic at home," a reference to the popular meme.
In truth, there are a few major similarities between Blooper and Phanatic, mainly that the two are both large and fuzzy creatures.
Given that the Braves and Phillies are well-known division rivals, the two were bound to clash at some point, more so now in the hours leading up to Game 1 of the playoffs. It's just unfortunate that Atlanta's poor and innocent mascot, Blooper, has found himself in the crossfire.
Blooper gets body-slammed ahead of Braves-Phillies NLDS matchup
In 2022, the Phillies defeated the Braves in the 2022 NLDS, beating them 3-1. Philadelphia made an astonishing run to the World Series that year before falling to the Houston Astros in the championship.
In 2023, the Braves are World Series favorites having earned the No. 1 seed in the National League and finished the regular season with 104 wins. Can the Phillly underdogs bounce the Braves again? If so, Blooper's in for a whole lot more online harassment.
