Sports

MASCOT THROW-DOWN: Can Charlie Join Wally and Pat the Patriot as Symbols of Boston?

This week the MBTA debuted its own mascot. Have you seen it? Will "Charlie" join the pantheon of Wally the Green Monster and Pat the Patriot?

It's fair to say the MBTA doesn't have a cute and cuddly image. But the transit agency tried to soften its public persona this week with the debut of Charlie — a plush mascot.

He's modeled, of course, on the famed character from the song "Charlie on the MTA," who couldn't afford a fare hike and was doomed to ride the rails forever.

This week he came to life as a $5,000 fedora-wearing suited commuter. The cost of the suit was underwritten by Mass Bay Credit Union, according to the Globe.

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Charlie will be seen at events around Boston. Can he become as much a symbol of Boston as Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster or the Patriots' Pat the Patriot?


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