By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The new look of the Rockford IceHogs mascot has some fans averting their eyes.
The slimmer design of Hamilton E. Hog, in particular the new costume head, has been decried by some as “creepy” and “scary.”
But the IceHogs are standing by their man.
“We’re rolling with it,” said Mike Peck, vice president of marketing, content and operations for the Hogs.
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Peck made those comments late last week after radio appearances with our partners at B103, 95.3 The Bull and 104.9 The X. The IceHogs had largely kept quiet after unveiling the new look Hammy, but have been pressed to respond after hundreds of social media comments and an online petition that has generated more than 3,500 signatures as of Monday night.
“We appreciate the passion of the fans and the people here in town,” Peck said on B103 on Friday. “It’s reassuring that there’s that many people who have a passion for the Rockford IceHogs and Hammy.”
While Peck didn’t promise any switch back to the old look of Hammy, he did say the mascot will be tweaked in the future.
“Hammy evolves, and Hammy will continue to evolve,” he said in an interview with the Rock River Current. “The previous version of Hammy evolved a few times over the 20-some years, and I would expect this version of Hammy to evolve as well.
“Just like anything else, you have to keep making tweaks, keep making things better, and in our case keep having fun because that’s what we’re supposed to be doing.”
The Hogs were looking to create a more versatile and capable mascot, which was partially influenced by fan surveys, Peck said. They promoted the future slimmer look this fall with a four-part series of videos of Hammy working out at Peak Sports Club.
But they had braced themselves for criticism.
“We’re not surprised one bit,” Peck said. “We’ve had conversations with several different teams from around the industry — whether we’re talking the Philadelphia Flyers, who introduced Gritty a couple years ago, to the Blackhawks when they swapped their mascot out.”
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When the Flyers introduced Gritty in 2018, the 7-foot tall furry orange creature was subject to mockery from late-night TV hosts and social media critics. One TV news anchor said the children at the unveiling were “scarred for life.” John Oliver, host of “Last Week Tonight,” showed that clip while calling Gritty “horrific.”
“Every single photo of him is appalling,” Oliver said on the show four years ago.
But after the initial criticism, Philadelphia began to embrace its new mascot. Bleacher Report wrote that it went from loathed to a “lovable symbol of Philly.”
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In Rockford, a petition to bring back the old Hammy continues to grow. Some have signed the petition saying they’re OK with the slimmer look, so long as the head goes back to its old form.
“If you’re going to change the figure, keep the original head,” one petitioner wrote on Change.org. “The new face is quite disturbing!”
The man behind the petition, Lukas Burkon, also said he’d be find with the new slim look so long as the head is changed.
Some of the other petition comments included:
- “You should never change a good thing when it’s there.”
- “Don’t body shame Hammy, let him be a chonk.”
- “I don’t even have any words for the new one. A skinny hog? What!”
- “Old Hammy looked like an IceHOG. Now he looks like some guy with a creepy head on.”
The mascot is one of a multitude of changes made by the IceHogs. There’s a new video board at center ice, new LED ribbon board, new jersey crest and a renovated fan store, among other changes. But Hammy’s new look hogged the attention.
“For the first time in 24 years we changed our jersey crest, nobody noticed any of that stuff happened because we changed our mascot,” Peck said. “It’s funny this has been the one that stood out as much as it did.”
There was once a more slender-looking Hogs mascot, a biker-themed bad boy that went by the name Hammer.
“Hammer’s still retired,” Peck said. “At last report he’s happily been housed on a farm somewhere toward the Mississippi River.”
If you’re still puzzled about the hype surrounding Hammy’s new look, Peck has a recommendation.
“Come to a game,” he said. “You can judge for yourself.”
If you go
The IceHogs are at home Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday this week. You can see a full schedule and get tickets here.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.