Survey: Phillies Phanatic No Longer America's Most Popular Mascot

Since making his debut in 1978, the Phillie Phanatic has become one of the most famous mascots in the sports world. The big green mascot is beloved by Phillies fans for the gameday antics, including messing with opposing teams and umpires.

Even outside of the Philadelphia area, the Phillie Phanatic has been one of the most recognizable and popular sports mascots for years. But there is a new contender to the Phanatic according to a new survey of sports fans.

The website Casino.ca did a survey in which they got input from thousands of sports fans. Their research team surveyed 2,000 fans of each major sports league (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL for a total of 8,000) to find out who are the most popular mascots.

Where Does The Phillie Phanatic Rank Among Most Popular Mascots

According to the press release from Casino.ca, the result of their survey was that the Phillie Phanatic is the third most popular mascot in professional sports. The number one most popular mascot is Benny The Bull in Chicago.

Debuting in 1969, Benny The Bull is one of the oldest mascots in the sports world. For decades, Benny has been the most popular mascot in the NBA. His partner, Benji, is the second most popular mascot among sports fans.

Behind the two Bulls' mascots is where the Phillie Phanatic landed in the popularity rankings. Right behind the Phanatic at fourth overall is also from the City of Brotherly Love: The Flyers mascot Gritty is the fourth most popular mascot in professional sports and the most popular NHL Mascot.

The Phillie Phanatic is still the most popular MLB Mascot according to fans surveyed by Casino.ca.

Here is the list of the Top Ten Most Popular MLB Mascots:

1. Phillie Phanatic (Philadelphia Phillies)
2. Mr. Met (New York Mets)
3. Blooper (Atlanta Braves)
4. Clark the Club (Chicago Cubs)
5. Billy the Marlin (Miami Marlins)
6. Wally (Boston Red Sox)
7. Bernie (Milwaukee Brewers)
8. Pirate Parrot (Pittsburgh Pirates)
9. Oriole Bird (Baltimore Orioles)
10. Fredbird (St. Louis Cardinals)

At the High School Level, sports mascots are typically a hit-or-miss characature. Here are some of the weirdest New Jersey High School Mascots:

Top 5 Most Bizarre NJ High School Mascots

These are the most bizarre mascots in New Jersey that I can't wrap my head around!

Gallery Credit: Gianna

New Jersey high school graduation rates

The lists below show 4-year graduation rates for New Jersey public schools for the 2020-21 school year. The statewide graduation rate fell slightly, from 91% in 2019-20 to 90.6%.

The lists, which are sorted by county and include a separate list for charter schools, also include a second graduation rate, which excludes students whose special education IEPs allow them to qualify for diplomas despite not meeting typical coursework and attendance requirements.

Columns with an asterisk or 'N' indicate there was no data or it was suppressed to protect student privacy.

Gallery Credit: Michael Symons