New mascots on the block, Phang and Gritty hang out at Talen Energy Stadium

Gritty should hang out at Talen Energy Stadium more often.

The Flyers new mascot was hanging out with fellow new kid on the block Phang in Chester Saturday night and while he probably frightened a few kids along the way, he was treated to a lopsided 5-1 win for the blue and gold, which clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2016 and the third time in club history.

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

While Phang hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo two weeks before Gritty made his debut at the Please Touch Museum last month, the Flyers mascot has taken the internet by storm inspiring a countless number of memes while racking up more than 121,000 followers on Twitter.

Phang, on the other hand, was a talking point for a few days quickly overshadowed by Gritty’s arrival. While at first it seemed like Gritty’s not-so-great first impression would take some of the heat off of Phang for being a snake with arms, legs and hair, Gritty has since become a bit of a Philly folk hero thanks to the internet’s backlash to the backlash (do we call that a reverse Milkshake Duck?).

Fortunately, all the attention hasn’t gotten to Gritty’s rather large and googly-eyed head to the point where he’s forgotten the “little mascots” in his life like Phang.

Hanging out in the River End Saturday, the mascot BFFs added some extra excitement to a game where there was already so much happening on the field for the Sons of Ben to cheer and sing about.

Unlike the last time they made the playoffs in 2016, the Union aren’t limping into the postseason with two games left — even after an Open Cup final setback — and have their sights clearly set on fourth place, which would mean a chance to host a playoff game in Chester.

Should that happen, Gritty is more than welcome to come back if the Flyers don’t have a game that night.