The Penguins are rooting for the Flyers. The ones at Adventure Aquarium, anyway.
They are already suited up, waiting for a Flyers victory.
The Adventure Aquarium penguins are setting the record straight: The Pittsburgh Penguins might be their kind, but the Flyers are their home team.
Wobbling through pompoms in the Flyers’ colors and swimming alongside orange balls, the aquarium’s African penguins are making it clear: When the first round of the NHL playoffs starts Saturday, the Pittsburgh Penguins can try their best, but the aquarium penguins are fins down Flyers’ fans.
“We demonstrate the true values of brotherly love and passion for our city, unlike those frauds across the state,” read a statement from the Adventure Aquarium penguins, signed with footprints in the Flyers’ colors
“We have been, and will continue to be, full supporters of the Philadelphia Flyers. As the puck drops for round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, we will only be rooting for our family in the orange and black,” the statement said.
Living across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Camden, these 24-to-28 inch fans are longtime neighbors of the Flyers, only nine miles from Xfinity Mobile Arena, the hockey team’s home. And they might love their team more than their fish because they are already suited up, waiting for a Flyers victory.
With the Flyers last making the playoffs in 2020, one can only imagine how the penguins’ braying will echo across the river if a victory is on the horizon. If not, there is still time, as this endangered species can live up to 30 years.
In between their fan duties, the aquarium penguins are celebrities themselves. Visitors can find them at pop-in encounters, Thursday to Sunday, at 12:30 p.m., 1:45 p.m., and 2:30 p.m.
