Pierre The Pelican Returns with Friendlier, Less Terrifying Look

Earlier this season, the New Orleans Pelicans unveiled their first ever mascot, and it struck fear into the hearts of many. Appropriately enough, Pierre made his debut during the Halloween season, which was just the perfect time for the loathsome creature to scamper into our nightmares and haunt us in our sleep.

For a while, it seemed as if the Pelicans themselves were perfectly content with their grotesque mascot, as Pierre spent half of the NBA season terrorizing adult fans and small children, alike. However, Pierre’s tenure as mascot came into question when he met with an “unfortunate accident” during a “mascot pickup game” a few days ago. From the Pelicans press release (!!!!) on the matter:

The injury occurred late in the pickup game as Pierre drove to the basket and was fouled by Grizz on the play. He sustained a broken beak after running into the padded stanchion on the goal.
Later today, Pierre will have surgery at Ochsner Medical Center to reconstruct the broken beak. Pelicans Team Physician Dr. Mathew McQueen will perform the surgery.

The Memphis Grizzlies’ mascot must have done a real number on our freaky feathered friend as this is what Pierre looked like immediately following surgery:

From another press release on the aftermath of the surgery:

“Pierre…he is hardcore. He’s already put as much into his rehab as I have seen any athlete put into his rehabilitation. He had a lot of help from his coworkers, supporters and fellow mascots,” McQueen said. “He’s already quicker, faster, and stronger. I haven’t seen anything like this in my life. Maybe there is something about bird recovery that is special. I wish we could see this in all the people we treat. It is amazing.”

The very next day, Pierre was declared 100% healthy and ready to unveil his new look to the world and we have to say, it’s a massive improvement.

Pierre The Pelican now looks goofy & ridiculous yet cute & whimsical at the same time, which is exactly what you want in a mascot. This is a striking change in facial aesthetics from his previously terrifying looks before his injury. Much credit has to be given to the ~~Pelicans organization~~surgeon for doing a good job in improving Pierre’s look.

However, do you agree with the notion that this was an improvement? Or do you actually believe that Pierre should have his surgery reversed and that Grizz did the world a disservice by injuring the poor, misunderstood bird. This is an extremely important issue so be sure to express how you feel about this in our comments section!