Is this the scariest mascot in the world?
Scottish Premiership side Partick Thistle have unveiled their new mascot, but it's not quite what anyone was expecting.
Even die-hard football fans from outside of Scotland would have probably struggled to tell you anything interesting about Partick Thistle FC until today. Seemingly unable to make a name for themselves on the pitch (8th in last season’s Scottish Premiership), Partick Thistle, Glasgow’s fourth biggest club (probably), appear to have been looking for other ways of putting themselves on the footballing map, and on Monday unveiled their new mascot.
It certainly seems to have done the trick, if perhaps not entirely in the manner everyone at the club was hoping for.
Believe it or not, Kingsley, the name of this new mascot, was designed by turner-prize winning artist David Shrigley to celebrate a new sponsorship deal for the club, but while I appreciate my eyes may not be too artistically educated, it’s difficult to envisage this design winning too many awards, unless there’s one for scariest mascot perhaps.
Not surprisingly, the internet has been all over Kingsley throughout Monday. Here are just a few of the best tweets:
Partick Thistle have released images of their new mascot, which is also a stark anti-drugs message: pic.twitter.com/aPHjWlVu1C
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) June 22, 2015
Fixed that Partick Thistle mascot for you pic.twitter.com/v34PN4uRF7
— Tom Chivers (@TomChivers) June 22, 2015
Sorry Partick Thistle, someone had to do it. pic.twitter.com/RJSCBWBC8k
— Neil Slorance (@osmart) June 22, 2015
Imagine what Kingsley, the new Partick Thistle mascot, will look like during a minute’s silence. Imagine that. pic.twitter.com/DEZVoRNEIg
— Keith Foster (@Keef76) June 22, 2015
In amongst all the comparisons with Lisa Simpson and the terror inflicted by that mono-brow, that last tweet is particularly thought-provoking. What is Kingsley going to look like when a minute’s silence is being observed?
Having said that, while some people are saying the new mascot should be ditched, I wonder if Partick Thistle would be better off keeping it. After all, there is no such thing as bad publicity for a club like Partick Thistle, whose games last season were often only attended by around 3,000 people. Kingsley may be odd, but he may go some way as to increase a bit of interest in the club, unless of course he scares everyone away.
One can only imagine what Partick’s previous mascot; Jaggy MacBee, must be making of all of this.
