New England Patriots’ Rivals Lose Mascot to Injury

Editor's note: This article was written by a Townsquare Media Northern New England contributor and may contain the individual's views, opinions or personal experiences.

It’s always unfortunate when a football team loses one of its stars for the season during a preseason game. But it’s even stranger when the star that goes down is your mascot.

That’s what happened to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night, when they lost their mascot, Poe the Raven, to an injured ACL. You read that right – the Ravens’ mascot is on the Injured Reserve List, according to (appropriately) the Baltimore Beatdown.

It happened at halftime during a Mascot vs. Youth game at halftime, when Poe was tackled behind by a young fan. In a scene out of “The Waterboy,” Poe lay writing on the ground for several moments with many thinking it was just part of a stunt. It wasn’t until he didn’t get up that medical staff tended to the situation. The Ravens’ doctor later stated that Poe would undergo a series of tests for a torn ACL (good luck getting that head inside the MRI machine).

Oddly enough, this may not be the most bizarre injury to a mascot in recent memory. Back on Easter 2017, the Easter Bunny himself came out of nowhere to lay out Teddy Roosevelt during one of the Washington Nationals’ President Races. Fittingly, word has it that it took Teddy about three days to come back to life.

And who can forget WrestleMania 15, when Kane removed the head of the Padres’ San Diego Chicken – revealing none other than Pete Rose, who promptly ate a tombstone.

Maybe Kane was getting revenge on the baseball manager community, as perhaps the most shocking case of mascot malice came at the hands of the Dodgers’ Tommy Lasorda, who’d finally had enough of the Philly Phanatic.

In sports, it seems the injury bug can be contagious. So with the way things have gone in Boston this summer, maybe it’s best for Wally the Green Monster to just rest up for spring training.