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The Phillie Phanatic had lots of fun at jury duty

Liz Roscher
Staff writer

Let’s face it: jury duty, despite being a vital part of our justice system, isn’t a lot of fun. But you know what would make it a lot more fun? The mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies, the fuzzy green Phillie Phanatic. This isn’t a thought exercise — the Phanatic actually showed up to jury duty in Philadelphia on Monday morning, and people were amused (and probably a little confused).

The Phanatic wasn’t actually called up for jury duty, of course. He and Villanova University basketball coach Jay Wright were at the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia, PA to kick off Juror Appreciation Week, which recognizes the thousands of citizens in the area who serve on juries each year.

As you can see in the video above, the Phanatic went through the whole process. He went through a metal detector to get into the building, he had to stand in a bunch of lines, he got frustrated at having to stand in a bunch of lines, he tried to cut the line, he got his juror documents, and he struggled to find a seat in the jury room. Just like a regular, non-mascot person!

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 2: The Phillie Phanatic performs before a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on July 2, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Royals won 6-2. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
The Phillie Phanatic in his natural habitat. (Getty Images)

It would be incredible if the Phanatic really was called up for jury duty, though. Imagine an episode of “Law & Order” with him sitting in the jury box, looking intently at the witness with his skinny red tongue darting in and out of his trumpet snout. Hilarious, and probably distracting for everyone in the courtroom.

Come to think of it, mascots could make jury duty more fun for people everywhere. Let’s get the whole gang together and have them travel to jury rooms around the country, brightening the days of potential jurors everywhere! Mr. Met would be in New York, Billy the Marlin would be Florida, Slider and Mr. Redlegs would be in Ohio, and so on. I mean, wouldn’t YOU look forward to jury duty a little more if you knew your favorite mascot was going to be there?

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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher