I Thought I Had Blocked Him Out, But The 76ers Creepy Early 2000s Mascot Is Back

In the world of mascots, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a better city than Philadelphia.

You've got the Phillie Phanatic, a legend of the game.

The Flyers' Gritty, a modern pop cultural phenomenon.

The Eagles' Swoop, who is… also very good.

Then, the 76ers have a dog named Franklin, who is a solid mascot, but before him was arguably the creepiest mascot of all time, Hip-Hop, a weirdly buff rabbit with sunglasses and a durag. 

I regret to inform you that Hip-Hop is back.

Did you ever suddenly remember something from your youth and wonder, "Did that actually happen or did I imagine it?" That was me with Hip-Hop a couple of years ago. I thought there was no way a team would employ such a creepy mascot, but I was wrong; he was very real and was around for the team's Allen Iverson era in the early aughts.

Sorry. You can't un-see him. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

So, on the first night that the Sixers are dusting off their throwback jerseys from that era to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Larry Brown-led 2000-01 Eastern Conference Championship team, which featured Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo, Eric Snow, and Aaron McKie, they've also decided to bring back Hip-Hop.

That was a strange combination of heartwarming and horrifying. Like if you were reunited with a long-lost friend, only for them to immediately chase you around the house with a rusty machete.

I'm not sure what creeps me out so much about Hip-Hop. The teeth? The sunglasses? The fact that I know deep down he could kick my ass without even trying?

Who knows, but he's back in action, and he'll start haunting another generation of children.

That's a good thing, in my opinion. Kids have it easy these days because modern mascots aren't creepy enough.

A little dose of Hip-Hop will just build some character.