That is why Stinger is the perfect mascot for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Stinger is in a lot of ways the blank canvas for the fanbase. His insect identity is vague in the context of the franchise identity. His face looks less happy than most mascots and more like the grimace of someone who knows he is about to throw the first punch in a fight. When you look at Stinger it seems more like he quit his day job at an amusement park or at a creepily themed kid’s pizzeria, bought a jersey, and just started showing up to games.
That is how the fanbase reacted to the Blue Jackets. A group of people who wore scarlet and grey everyday, except for orange and brown or orange and black on Sunday’s, saw this beautiful game played on ice and not being quite sure what it was or how to enjoy it we jumped on board. We rooted for it, we let it break our hearts, we learned new terminology and a whole new world of superstars, heroes and villains.
I know a lot of people out there were into hockey before there was a team in Columbus. I wasn’t one of them. I followed this team not quite sure what I was getting into. My knowledge of hockey players was limited to the names Gretzky and Lemieux. I joined the 5th Line before some awesome nut jobs on Twitter gave it a name. I have highfived the guys who dress up like superheroes and come to games. I have marched from the R-Bar with a guy in full Union Soldier Civil War era garb chanting “C-B-J!” before the home opener. I have sat next to people ranging from hardened hockey fans who have the Coyotes back up goalie’s save percentage memorized to the dad who is half making up answers to his kid’s questions because he doesn’t fully understand the game himself.
For this odd, diverse grouping of a fanbase Stinger is the perfect mascot. We didn’t really understand what we were getting ourselves into with this team and we didn’t know how this fan community would evolve. Now, in 2015 it is safe to say that the identity has been established. We are the 5th Line. We are the fans who range from the professional coming to games after work to the face painting costume wearing crazies. We are a group that is growing in professional hockey IQ but brings the college passion every night. We are a unique fan base in the NHL. We are not the classic “Original Six” and we are not the standard non-traditional hockey market that comes to mind with Miami and Arizona. Like nearly everything else in the world Columbus and Ohio stand apart. With fans like this I can think of no better symbol of it’s uniqueness and personality then a grimacing lime-green wasp in a hockey jersey and tilted Union soldier cap on it’s head.