Hoping to take some of the sting out of weeks of staying at home, The Philadelphia Flyers sent Gritty into Delaware County Thursday evening atop a fire truck, writes Stephanie Farr for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The masked Flyers mascot made his first public appearance since everything was closed down by the coronavirus, and he chose Delco.

He was joined in a parade of first responders from around the county traveling through Middletown Township courtesy of the Rocky Run Fire Company in Media.

The parade went past Linvilla Orchards and Indian Lane Elementary School before ending in front of Riddle Hospital, where health care workers there were honored.

Gritty danced and threw Flyers sealed-in-plastic face masks to enthusiastic crowds.

Children had Gritty dolls, handmade signs and hockey sticks. Some wore Flyers jerseys. A few fans tailgated in an empty Barnaby’s parking lot.

Sean McDade,  a pharmacist, FaceTimed the parade to his wife, a respiratory therapist working at Lankenau Hospital.

“Look at this. It’s awesome! It brings back a sense of normalcy,” he said. “When Gritty is your baseline for normalcy, you know we’re living in wild times.“

Read more about Gritty’s appearance in this parade through Middletown, Delaware County, here.

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