By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
You would think that a 7-foot-tall, furry orange creature with googly eyes and a hyperactive personality might frighten some little kids.
But GiGi Marrandino, 6, didn’t hesitate at all when she approached Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers goofy mascot, and exchanged high-fives with him like they were old friends.
“It was good. I’ve seen him before at Flyers games. He recognized me,” GiGi said amid laughter from her parents, Renee and Rocco Marrandino, residents of Ridley Park, Pa., who are vacationing in Sea Isle City.
Sea Isle turned into “Gritty City” for a day when the Flyers Community Caravan rolled into town Thursday afternoon with all the excitement of a three-ring circus.
Dozens of children filled Excursion Park just steps from the ocean to play games, practice their skills on an inflatable hockey rink and have their picture taken with the photogenic Gritty.
Adults and kids were able to collect autographs from some of the Flyers most popular former players, including Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, Bob “The Hound” Kelly, Brian Propp, Orest Kindrachuk, Doug Crossman and Scott Hartnell.
Steffen Klenk and his mother, Pamela Klenk, who live in Ocean City, brought their hockey sticks with them to collect autographs from the former Flyers. Hartnell was their favorite player.
“We’re so happy to be here,” Pamela Klenk said of the caravan’s family-friendly atmosphere. “It’s such a great way for the fans to show their support for hockey and for the Flyers to give back to the community.”
Luke Davis and his 12-year-old daughter, Avery, showed off all of the autographs they collected on a Flyers team photo. They live in Lafayette Hill, Pa., and are vacationing in North Wildwood.
They liked the Flyers caravan so much in North Wildwood on Tuesday that they decided to check it out in Sea Isle, too.
“It’s awesome,” Luke Davis said.
Davis explained that he used to be a huge Flyers fan but got away from hockey for a while. Now, his daughter is a big Flyers fan – her favorite player is goalie Carter Hart – and she is getting her father interested in the team again.
“We went to a lot of games together,” Davis said.
“It’s fun to see the games in person,” Avery added. “I like being close to the ice.”
The Flyers conducted a “Shore Tour” this week for community caravans in North Wildwood on Tuesday, in Ocean City on Wednesday and then wrapped things up with their stop in Sea Isle on Thursday. The caravans are a shore tradition now in their seventh straight year.
A long line stretched down and around the sidewalk at Excursion Park as fans waited for the caravan to start at 3:30 p.m. Fans also queued up to collect autographs from the former Flyers players.
“It’s flattering,” Kindrachuk said of fans still asking him for his autograph more than 40 years after he retired from the NHL in 1982.
Schultz, the bad-boy enforcer from the Flyers “Broad Street Bullies” championship heyday in the 1970s, said he could hardly believe that some fans can still recall specific moments of his career.
“They remember me scoring those goals,” he said.
Despite the presence of six big-name former Flyers, Gritty was clearly the headliner at the caravan. As he made his way around Excursion Park, he proved incredibly agile for someone who has a lumpy orange body, massive clown-like feet and comical eyes whirling around uncontrollably.
The kids didn’t seem afraid of Gritty at all, despite his imposing stature. He greeted them with high-fives and warm hugs while posing for photos and video shot by parents and grandparents.
Excursion Park was a sea of orange and black Flyers jerseys and other regalia. GiGi Marrandino and her parents are huge Flyers fans and were all wearing orange T-shirts in support of their favorite team.
“This is great. Everybody is here to support the Flyers community,” Renee Marrandino said.
