The Toronto Tempo of the WNBA introduced their eagerly awaited mascots at a game on Tuesday, but many fans aren’t rushing to embrace them.
Dez the snapping turtle and Dot the Arctic hare represent different paces – they reference Aesop’s fable about a race between these two animals. In fact, the only thing linking them is that they both serve as mascots for Canada’s sole WNBA team.
Like many mascots, they come with detailed backstories.
Dez (short for decibel), hails from Muskoka, has a laid-back personality, enjoys music, soft-shell tacos, and is a Taurus. Dot (short for Toronto’s nickname T-Dot), comes from the Arctic, full of energy, loves cotton candy and the Netflix F1 documentary series Drive to Survive, and identifies as a Gemini. They met when Dot followed the northern lights down to Dez’s area.
They realized they were meant to be friends.
“The two quickly discovered a shared love of rhythm – even if they approached it very differently. Dez brought patience and timing; Dot brought speed and fearless energy,” the Tempo said in a news release.
“Eventually, the pulse of Toronto drew them both to the city.”
However, much like other new furry representatives, their home city hasn’t immediately embraced them.
“These are some of the corniest, most poorly designed mascots I’ve ever seen in sports,” reads one comment on the team’s Instagram post.
Another commenter on Instagram feels that Raptor, the Toronto Raptors mascot, stands out more.
“Why did those guys get a dinosaur while we got characters from a children’s coloring book???!” they said.
A Reddit user reminded everyone that there was once a time when Raptor wasn’t well-received either.
“Do you have any idea how much hate the Raptors mascot got when it was first revealed? It was literally non-stop Barney jokes for years,” they wrote.
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Toronto Raptors team mascot the Raptor tries for a front flip slam dunk during a break in Toronto on Nov. 4, 2012. An Instagram comment compared Toronto Tempo’s two new mascots, Dez and Dot unfavourably with Raptor. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
Some found the mascots’ faces quite unsettling.
“I don’t like how Dot is looking at me,” wrote one Reddit user.</P
“They’re just.. staring into my soul,” wrote another. “Cool concept but those faces are NOT it.”</P
Whitney Bell, chief marketing officer of Tempo stated in their news release that their home country’s identity plays an important role in defining these mascots.
“We wanted our mascots to feel distinctly Tempo – rooted in who we are as a Canadian team,” she said.
But some critics online believe that these mascots don’t capture enough of what it means to be Canadian or Torontonian; many suggested choosing something like a beaver or raccoon instead.
“These mascots seem chosen by someone American who knows nothing about Toronto. A beaver or raccoon would have been perfect choices,” commented one Reddit user.
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Dot left and Dez are introduced during halftime of WNBA basketball action between Toronto Tempo and Indiana Fever in Toronto on Tuesday.(Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
The Tempo hasn’t responded yet to an email inquiry from regarding feedback about their mascots.<P<Not everyone was so critical.<P<"I lowkey like this – tortoise and hare vibes! I love this imagery," commented one Facebook user.<P<"10/10 would die for them," remarked another Reddit user.<P<Fans have also speculated about their relationship status-wondering if they're dating.<P<But according to TSN's beat reporter Chelsea Leite covering Toronto Tempo,
“I can confirm per sources that Dez and Dot, the Tempo mascots , are neither siblings OR dating. Just besties.” she posted on X formerly known as Twitter.
The franchise could use all luck their new mascots might bring since so far in their inaugural season they’ve had 10-25 record which includes losing twelve games straight. Their loss against Washington Mystics Wednesday eliminated them from playoff contention.
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