Scorch. Has. ARRIVED! pic.twitter.com/WhupSXhidv
— Adirondack Flames (@AHLFlames) October 9, 2014
The Adirondack Flames, the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, unveiled their new mascot today, Scorch. Scorch, as one can tell, is a flame which makes sense given the team’s name. What makes less sense is that the team:
A) Felt compelled to give Scorch a back-story.
and
B) Felt that Scorch’s backstory should be that of the surviving ember of “the tragic fire that destroyed much of Glen Falls in 1864.” (because there is nothing like basing your mascot on a tragic fire!)
But wait! That’s not all!
The Flames also decided that a good way to stage Scorch’s debut was to showcase Scorch standing over a beaten fireman who tried to put him out:
In telling of his story, Scorch overpowered a firefighter. That happened. pic.twitter.com/ZIpW7Qmw5l
— Diana C. Nearhos (@dianacnearhos) October 9, 2014
Yeah, they’ve apologized.
“Earlier today we unveiled our new mascot Scorch. In an attempt to provide background material for the character who will be the face of our team, particularly with young fans, we crafted a story that Scorch was the remaining ember from the tragic fire that destroyed much of Glens Falls in 1864.
We also crafted a skit that helped to launch the new mascot – with the help of the Glens Falls Fire Department. While it seemed in good taste when it was on the drawing board, it is evident now that it was in poor taste.
On behalf of our entire organization we want to apologize for our thoughtlessness today. We have obviously turned something good, the launch of a mascot which we will use to entertain and encourage young fans, into something that is in poor taste. That was not our intention and again we apologize.
We would like to emphasize that we as an organization take seriously the dangers associated with fire, understand its potentially devastating effects and acknowledge that those in our nation who are called upon to face and fight fires on a daily basis are truly heroes.
We apologize.” – Brian Petrovek, President, Adirondack Flames.
