[1] According to his official biography, Gritty emerged after construction at the Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers' home arena, disturbed his secret hideout.

[7] Prior to the 2018–19 NHL season, the only two National Hockey League teams without an official mascot were the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers.

[15][16] Gritty was active on social media from his debut: his odd appearance and stunts on Twitter, such as seeming to threaten the mascot of the Pittsburgh Penguins and recreating Kim Kardashian's "Break the Internet" photograph, contributed to his rise in infamy.

[17] In his second appearance on ice, Gritty body-checked contestants in a goalie race during an intermission and shot a Flyers staff member with a T-shirt cannon.

[29] Gritty made a professional wrestling appearance at WWE's Extreme Rules event held on October 8, 2022, getting beaten by The Miz backstage who was looking for Dexter Lumis.

[30] Gritty appeared in season sixteen of FX's Philadelphia-set sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia in episode five, "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab".

[32] Gritty appeared on the Philadelphia-set finale of the thirty-sixth season of the CBS reality competition show The Amazing Race, which aired on May 15, 2024.

"[34] Response to Gritty's introduction was immediate and sharply mixed, with many fans on social media expressing bewilderment and some fright at his appearance.

[41] Gritty has been employed as a leftist icon, as activists identified with the mascot's "cheerful, unkempt, maniacal demeanor",[8] and googly-eyed, anarchic mirth.

"[44] When Philadelphia played an important role in determining the 2020 United States presidential election, social media users depicted Gritty as the city personified, defeating outgoing incumbent Trump, which included appropriating Trump's statement that "Bad things happen in Philadelphia!".