We think about skits as grand productions on the field, performed for the entire audience.

Sometimes the setting, medium and audience are quite different, like this “skit” in Philly.  A skit that is atypical in nearly every way.

A Philadelphia Love Story @Phillies pic.twitter.com/vfmtNGSuTD

— Kevin Harden, Jr. (@KHJ_Esq) April 20, 2021

Here the Phanatic didn’t even create the production, it was a dad chronicling the evening with his daughter.

Like a good skit it had a beginning, middle and end and took the audience on a fun journey with a big ending.

While a skit typically is performed for the live audience, and many saw this, the real audience was thousands on twitter.  Viewed by a stadium-sized crowd online.

This was a nice reminder for mascots: On any given night, you might not have a big moment on the field/court for a skit …but you can produce a moment with nothing more than your assistant capturing your crowd work on their phone.

Your value doesn’t start and end with staged productions, it is anything you do, capture and share.  The medium doesn’t matter. The content does.

Side note: It is interesting that the Phanatic doesn’t have his own Twitter account (a rarity for sports mascots). However was a fun epilogue from the @Phillies account, which describes itself as “Phillie Phanatic’s burner account.”

we're not crying, you're crying.

(we are also crying)

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 20, 2021

You can learn a lot from this big green guy, including a lot here on Gameops.com.

• Phillie Phanatic Mascot Tips – A great video on the Phanatic includes fantastic tutorial on mascotting for teams and performers.
• Doing the Wave, Alone. – Phillie Phanatic does the wave. Alone. A sign of the times.
• Power of Fun by Dave Raymond – When preparing David Raymond for the Phanatic debut the general manager of the Phillies Bill Giles gave him some life altering advice. David shares it in his new book The Power of Fun.
• February 2017 Podcast – Rob Wicall and David Raymond join Cudo for the February Podcast. We talk about making moments and steps to improve mascot skit generation.
• January 2020 Party in the Back Podcast – David talks about how mascot bits can become institutionalized for your character to provide continuity for fans and repeatable content. Shares some thoughts about Caroll Spinney and relates how one of his early leaders at the Phillies set the tone for understanding how powerful fun can be. Cudo and Raymond also look at how David Stern reshaped the NBA expansion era with an interjection of fun and entertainment.
• January 2021 Party in the Back Podcast – Host Jon Cudo is joined by Tyler Scheuer star of Tyler’s Amazing Balancing Act, Emperor of Fun David Raymond and Game Presentation wiz Amanda Greco. It’s a balanced discussion about touring acts, whether mascots should wear masks, Joe Biden’s hair and playing Simon Sez via Zoom. In other words, it is a Party you won’t want to miss.
• June 2018 Podcast – Matt Coy shares how to engage fans on your videoboard, David Raymond talks about the current state of mascoting, Marc Taylor and Cudo reflect on the life of former NBA mascot Sadiki Fuller plus Cameron Hughes.
• May 2014 Podcast – Cudo talks with David Raymond and highlights promotions in sunny Tampa and how the Durham Bulls are using their promotional calendar to enhance the value of their in-game entertainment.
• David Raymond’s TED Talk Released – David Raymond discussed his TED Talk in the June podcast. It has been released and you can see it here now.