CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hugo the Hornet needs our support, Charlotte. The Charlotte Hornets’ beloved mascot has made it to the final round of the Mascot Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 nominees.
We know you probably have a few questions, so let’s try to get you caught up.
For starters, yes, there is actually a Mascot Hall of Fame. It was founded in 2005 by the original Phillie Phanatic, David Raymond. Originally, it was an online-only hall, but in 2019 the hall officially opened its museum doors in Whiting, Indiana, which is about 30 minutes from downtown Chicago.
Currently, there are 24 mascots that have been inducted into the hall, including Benny the Bull from the Chicago Bulls, Mr. Met from the New York Mets, the Oriole Bird from the Baltimore Orioles and KC Wolf from the Kansas City Chiefs. Unfortunately, no mascots from the Carolinas have been inducted yet. Check out the complete list of current Hall of Famers here.
The selection process for the 2022 class began on Oct. 3, with 24 mascots under consideration that were narrowed down to 10 through the first round of voting from the public, annual members of the Mascot Hall of Fame and the Mascot Hall of Fame Executive Committee.
Homer the Dragon from the Charlotte Knights and Rameses from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were also in the running for the 2022 class, but sadly, neither of them advanced to the finals.
The 10 finalists were announced on Oct. 13 and fan voting began on Sunday.
Fans can vote once per day through Saturday at 11:59 p.m.
The other finalists include Butler Blue from Butler University, Fredbird from the St. Louis Cardinals, Globie from the Harlem Globetrotters, Harvey the Hound from the Calgary Flames, Iceburgh from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jaxson de Ville from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Southpaw from the Chicago White Sox, the Raptor from the Toronto Raptors and Wally the Green Monster from the Boston Red Sox.
To place your vote, click here.
The inductees will be announced Nov. 5 and an induction ceremony is scheduled to take place next June at the Mascot Hall of Fame.
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