The Phillie Phanatic has a new look for the 2020 season, and he made his season debut at Sunday's Philadelphia Phillies home opener against Pittsburgh.
The Phanatic now has blue eyebrows, stars around his eyes, feathers on his arms and a blue tail. However, he still has that same prankster personality that he always had.
The story behind the new look comes down to a legal dispute between the Phillies and the original designers of the Phanatic mascot. The 35-year-old copyright agreement between the Phillies and the designers, Bonnie Erickson and Wayde Harrison, expires on June 15th of this year. The designers are hoping to renegotiate the rights to the Phanatic character, which is within their rights according to federal law. However, the Phillies believe they hold the Phanatic rights "forever". The Phillies seem to be hoping that the tweaks to the Phanatic's look will be enough to claim the character as their own design. We shall see.
[MLB. H/T Philly Voice.]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
