Partick Thistle are known to have made a few questionable signings over the years, however, their latest acquisition has proven possibly the worst to date.
Today the Firhill club unveiled their new bright yellow mascot and it has set social media alight – with some branding it “terrifying” while others labelled it a scary version of cartoon character Lisa Simpson.
The Scottish Premiership side introduced the world to club mascot Kingsley on their Twitter account today as it announced a new sponsorship deal.
But fans were quick to react to the spiky-haired creation, who comes complete with a thick black monobrow.
The mascot, designed by the Turner Prize-nominated artist and long-time Jags fan David Shrigley, became one of the most talked-about topics on Twitter this afternoon.
Comparisons were drawn with the Teletubbies sun baby while it was also described as “the Lisa Simpson of your nightmares”, but others did praise it as “genius”.
One user wrote: “Can’t stop laughing at the new Partick Thistle mascot, as well as being hilarious it is also terrifying.”
Another reacted: “The children of Partick Thistle fans aren’t going to be able to sleep at night after seeing the new mascot.”
However, the best reaction on social media came from the Hibs mascot.
.@ThistleTweet pic.twitter.com/R3yMcP34St
— Hibernian FC (@HibsOfficial) June 22, 2015
The club announced today that Californian investment firm Kingsford Capital Management has agreed a six-figure sponsorship deal.
It comes about after the company’s art-loving co-founder Mike Wilkins became a long-distance fan following a conversation with Mr Shrigley, who has a studio near the club’s Firhill stadium.
The pair met at a dinner in San Francisco several years ago and Mr Wilkins’s interest has since mushroomed to the extent that his company will be Thistle’s main sponsors for the next two seasons.
Mr Wilkins, who owns shares in NBA champions Golden State Warriors, said: “I had been looking for an opportunity to get involved with something like this in the UK for a while but hadn’t been able to find the right match.”