Oh, Harry the Hornet, what a being you are
You walk around the sideline on your hind legs like Rory Calhoun, soaking in every last bit of joy, love, pain and vitriol you evoke from the watching supporters in the stands.
You dive in front of professional footballers in a bid to mock them, and you celebrate with the Watford players when they score a goal, like you’re one of them, rather than a hornet.
You have also managed to get under the skin of one of football’s most mild-mannered managers, Roy Hodgson.
He hates you, Harry the Hornet. Roy Hodgson hates you. He has called you “disgraceful” and mentioned you in the same interview by saying “Harry the Hornet, who I presume is the mascot”.
Football is so, so, so good. Here’s Roy Hodgson calling a man dressed as a hornet “disgraceful”, look. pic.twitter.com/0qR0e84XYG
— MUNDIAL (@MundialMag) August 25, 2018
All in all, you’ve done what few other mascots could even dream of, and things that would make Manchester United’s Fred the Red wince with fear.
You court controversy in your unofficial role as basically the Conor McGregor of football mascots and, as such, it was perfectly normal to see you on Sunday, walking out across the Vicarage Road turf prior to Watford’s home match with Crystal Palace, strutting brazenly.
Harry the hornet is a…………#CPFC pic.twitter.com/CU9mkZ7CDP
— Chrissy Palace (@ChrissyPalace) August 26, 2018
As the Palace fans chanted “Harry the Hornet is a wanker”, you decided to pull off the famous McGregor strut which was popularised by the Irish UFC star, before being copied by NBA star Marc Gasol and Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos.
You are now in that pantheon of legends Harry. Enjoy it.
