Adirondack Flames Discontinue New Mascot in Light of Controversial Backstory

Creating a sports mascot is difficult work. 

First, you need to make sure its appearance isn't founded on a variation of blackface. Next, you need to double-check that its name isn't based on a racist pejorative. After that, you still should do a background check to verify that your mascot hasn't faux-murdered any public servants in the past. 

The Adirondack Flames cleared all those hurdles except for the last one, and the franchise will be retiring its new mascot, "Scorch," in light of a regrettable, fake killing it penned into his made-up backstory.

The Post-Star's Maury Thompson reports that the team is pulling Scorch just days after unveiling the mascot. 

The team trotted Scorch out on October 9 for a photo shoot and, in an attempt to give it a uniquely local background, intimated that its flaming mascot was part of the great fire that burned down most of downtown Glen Falls in 1864. 

Per The Post-Star: 

"

[Scorch] is the lone surviving flame from the fire that destroyed much of Glen Falls in 1864. Scorch was supposedly a smoldering ember in Bride and Grown, which was originally Calvin Robbin's blacksmith shop (one of the few buildings in the Glen Falls business district to survive the fire). Scorch then overpowered a firefighter, showing his strength.

"

So, uh...you're telling me Scorch caught a body back in the day?

Yes. Yes he did. We have proof.

Since this declaration, the Adirondack Flames have apologized to fans and called the photoshoot and backstory "in poor taste."

Adirondacks Flames President Brian Petrovek followed the apology up on Tuesday by announcing that the team will be getting rid of mascot altogether.

"We're extinguishing Scorch," Petrovek told the Post-Star. "The misjudgment we made was such that we came to that decision."

It's a sad day for Flames fans who were gifted a true gem when the team held open tryouts for the mascot position in September.

Goodbye, Scorch. You were a strange, troubled soul from the very beginning, and it was only a matter of time until your ugly past caught up to you. 

But as a seasoned enemy of the state, you probably realize: It's all in the game, yo.

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