His Gritty-themed Jeep turns heads and corners in Philly

Meet Pedro Cancel and “Gritty,” the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited that Cancel decorated in honor of the Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot.

• How’s a Jeep like Gritty?: “It looks meaty.”

• Broad Street believer: “I’ve been a diehard Flyers fan since I was wee little and win, lose, or draw, I still support them.”

Though Gritty is beloved the world over now, when the Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot debuted in 2018, Pedro Cancel remembers the initial waves of shock and horror the wide-eyed, orange whatchamacallit sent rippling through the nation.

“When he came, nobody wanted him. They said he was ugly, there was always something said,” Cancel recalled.

There was only one natural response for Cancel, a Philadelphia native and lifelong Flyers fan.

“I kind of wanted to take that as a challenge,” he said.

And so Cancel, a 62-year-old appliance repair technician from North Philly, turned his 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited into a mobile homage to Gritty, the maniacal mascot who, by striking fear in the hearts of many, gained the hearts of Philadelphians.

Cancel’s silver Jeep, which he named “Gritty,” is plastered with decals of the mascot on the sides, windows, and hood, and Gritty’s name appears everywhere too, right down to the plastic door handles and the “GRITTY-0″ license plate. Every detail that can be orange is — from the tow hooks to the rearview mirrors on the exterior and from the vent fans to the steering wheel on the interior.

Atop the hood, there are two tiny plastic Gritty HoodSkulls whose beady eyes burn bright orange, and the grill is shaped like a cobra’s face with orange fangs and eyes.

But what really ties the whole thing together is the full-face Gritty mask Cancel keeps over the passenger’s side headrest, which makes it look like Gritty is riding shotgun next to him.

On a recent sunny day near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, people smiled in wonder as Cancel drove around in Gritty and they stopped to take pictures when he parked.

“That’s hot yo! I saw it from all the way over there,” said Elias Diaz, 53, of Lancaster. “I don’t know what a Gritty is, but I like it.”

Given Gritty is his everyday driving vehicle, Cancel is used to the attention. He’ll often come out of a store and find people taking pictures of Gritty in the parking lot, or he’ll spot people gawking at Gritty in his rearview mirror while driving.

“One time, a guy got out of his car in traffic on Bustleton Avenue just to take a selfie with Gritty,” he said.

Gritty is one of three themed cars Cancel owns. He also has a Flyers-themed 2014 Mini Cooper Coupe S he calls “PHL Flyers” and a Beatles-themed 2006 Mini Cooper S he named “Abbey Road.”

Cancel, who’s a member of both the PhillyMINI club and the 13th Child Jeep Club, said even though his vehicles of choice vary wildly in size, he loves the freedom they all provide.

“In the Jeep, there’s no stopping you, it doesn’t make a difference whether it snows or rains, you get around,” he said. “With the Mini Cooper, it’s the thrill you get when you get behind the wheel. There’s no other feeling like it.”

Cancel grew up at 11th and Brandywine Streets, where he developed a love for hockey and the Flyers at a young age. He was 13 when the Flyers won their first Stanley Cup and 14 when they won their last one.

“I was at the parades and I got to go to one of the games,” he said. “It was just unbelievable.”

After graduating from South Philadelphia High, Cancel went to an electronics school and community college before getting the opportunity to take photographs for a local magazine. That eventually led to him getting part-time work as a photographer for the Flyers and their AHL affiliate team, the Phantoms.

“It was something you don’t always get to do that comes along maybe once in a lifetime,” he said. “I was enjoying every moment of it.”

Though that gig dried up in the 2010s, Cancel’s love of hockey and the Flyers did not. He coached regular and roller hockey teams and continued to proudly and loudly advertise his love for all things Flyers on his cars.

But in Philly, even the most conspicuous cars aren’t safe. While Cancel keeps his PHL Flyers Mini Cooper in a carport on his property, he has to park Abbey Road and Gritty on the street nearby. His Beatles car has been broken into twice and a few weeks ago, somebody tried to steal Gritty, but the alarm scared them off.

Cancel has no idea what the thief was thinking.

“They couldn’t get around the corner in Gritty without someone noticing,” he said. “Gritty draws a lot of attention.”

So far, Cancel hasn’t had the chance to introduce the real Gritty to his automotive namesake, but he hopes to someday. He believes the Flyers will get another Stanley Cup win in his lifetime and when that happens, he’d be honored to drive Gritty in Gritty in a parade down Broad Street.

Until then, Cancel will continue to modify his Jeep in honor of the team he loves and the mascot he thinks captures the soul of Philly.

“Gritty is always a work in progress,” he said.

Ain’t that the truth.

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