Philadelphia Phillies fans’ long national nightmare is over. The one, true Phillie Phanatic has returned.
For those unaware of the plight of Phillies fans over the last year and a half, the team unveiled a new, updated Phanatic design in February 2020. The reasoning? The Phillies organization was embroiled in a copyright lawsuit with the Phanatic’s original creators — Bonnie Erickson and Wayde Harrison — as the mascot’s rights were sold to the team back in 1984.
Due to copyright laws, after 35 years the deal was able to be renegotiated, which caused a stalemate between both sides after Erickson and Harrison threatened to obtain an injunction against the team, to which the Phillies organization sued them in return. However, on Monday, it was reported by Todd Zolecki of MLB.com that the two sides were able to reach a settlement, meaning the original Phanatic is set to return home!
On Tuesday, the Phillies tweeted out a simple, but effective, press release announcing the news, alongside a great meme to usher in the Phanatic’s return.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) November 16, 2021
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) November 16, 2021
As expected, Philadelphia fans were overjoyed to see the return of the team’s original mascot. The “new” Phanatic redesign did not go over well with the Philadelphia faithful, to say the least, but all is well now that the prodigal son has returned.
