The Philadelphia Phillies Phanatic

Philadelphia Phillies fans may have been upset when the team achieved the dubious distinction of being the first baseball franchise in history to lose ten thousand of their games. Vendors quickly capitalized on the loss of the Philadelphia Phillies by selling t-shirts that bore the log, "Philly loves its losers." However, the baseball franchise of the city of brotherly love has something else to be proud of and a something no other team can claim. Their mascot, the fanatic, is one of the few major league mascots allowed on the field.

The neon-green sprout mouthed Philly fanatic is one of the few Major League Baseball mascots that is allowed on the field. He will often be found riding his ATV onto the fields and trying to knock other players off the bleachers in order to give his favored team the advantage. While the Phillie Phanatic is a fun way to add spice to the Philadelphia Phillies baseball franchise and possibly to distract Philadelphia fans from the teams dubious distinction of being the first major league baseball team to have lost ten thousand games, his name however comes from a term used to describe baseball teams early in the games history. The English word fanatic appeared in the 1500s. Etymologists debate whether first became used to describe people who follow celebrities in England or America first, but there is no doubt the term fanatic in its original usage in English and the Latin word from which it was derived meant an insane person. In the Nineteenth century, the word fanatic, which the misspelled Phillies Phanatic derives its name started to be applied to baseball fans.

Even though the Philadelphia Phillies franchise may not be the team to root for the fans who want to pick a winning team, the major league baseball franchise has lent the use of their mascot to many charity purposes and the Phanatic mains one of the most colorful sports icons in America. And I'm sure even the Philly Phanatic would agree that the Phillies fans can claim something Chicago. The mascot for the baseball team first appeared in 1978 and since then has been working to bring out the child in everyone.

Cubs fans cannot. The team he represents has won a won a world series in the last half century, and unlike the Vikings, the Phillies have had a winning season since 1066. (Minnestoa Viking fans do not send me comments about it, if you know that the Battle of Hastings in 1066 traditionally marks the end of the Vikings ear, you will get the joke. If you do not, well, you will understand why neither I nor Dennis Miller are cut out to be sports commentators.)

Sources:

http://www.mlbmascots.com/phillies.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_(aficionado)