If ever there is evidence a moment is iconic, it’s when goofy sports mascots recreate it.
The Raptor, the Toronto Raptors mascot, famously recreated Beyoncé’s now legendary Coachella opening in 2018. Mascots for the Denver Nuggets recreated the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
And now they are recreating a new iconic event: The moment a “kiss cam” at a Coldplay concert captured now-former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron embracing the company’s chief people officer, Kristin Cabot.
At Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Friday night, for instance, the mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team was shown on the jumbotron mimicking the viral incident.
The Arizona Diamondbacks also had a field day with the meme.
The stadium’s “kiss cam” caught team mascot D. Baxter the Bobcat locked in an embrace with a St. Louis Cardinals fan, before the pair also took evasive action.
Posting a clip of the spoof on X, the Diamondbacks wrote: “Ok now listen, are you two a couple? Are you two a legitimate couple?”
It’s not just mascots — fans across the country have also seized on the moment. Footage posted to social media shows couples at America First Field in Utah and Truist Park in Atlanta showing off their own versions of the moment.
SportsCenter commentators Gary Striewski and Randy Scott also recreated the viral clip.
During their show’s cold open on Friday, cameras panned to Scott holding Striewski by the waist. Scott drops to the floor, and Striewski covers his face as the camera pans to them.
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“It’s time to ‘Kiss It Goodbye,'” Scott says as they move to the next segment of the show. “Baseball’s probably not the only thing you can say that about.”
The jokes were also flying at Busch Stadium in Missouri, where two popular exhibition baseball teams — The Savannah Bananas and The Party Animals — competed this week.
A video shared by the Savannah Bananas on Saturday showed people reenacting the Coldplay “kiss cam” moment on the stadium’s jumbotron.
At one point, the camera panned to The Party Animals mascot, Pharty, warmly embracing Princess Potassia, the mascot for the Savannah Bananas. The two costumed characters quickly ducked out of the way, eliciting cheers and laughter from the crowd.
Astronomer, the New York-based tech company where Byron worked, announced on Friday that the CEO had been placed on leave and that it had started a formal investigation into the incident. In an update Saturday, the firm said Byron had resigned from his position as CEO.
In a statement shared on X, the tech company said its leaders were “expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability.”
“And recently, that standard was not met,” it added.
