The Indianapolis Colts mascot, Blue, has been named the 2023 NFL Mascot of the Year. It is the third Mascot of the Year award Blue has won since he was introduced in 2006. Blue received his first Mascot of the Year award in 2016 and his second in 2019. The award is voted on by the NFL mascots at the NFL Mascot Summit each year and given to the mascot who achieved the highest success overall.
Blue was also awarded the 2023 Anchor in the Community award, his third as well, given to the mascot who has the greatest impact on their community. Throughout the 2022-23 season, Blue participated in a Christmas giving that sees Blue teaming up with family and friends to provide Christmas for 12 families in need. He became the face of the Indiana Donor Network, whose mission is to save lives through organ donation, and the Indiana Blood Center for a blood drive campaign throughout the state of Indiana. Blue also spearheaded 21 Days of Kindness in a partnership with the Irsay family initiative, Kicking the Stigma. Each day was spent sharing a different act of kindness with the Indianapolis community including, buying groceries and gas for shoppers, delivering food to students and teachers for Hispanic Heritage Month and buying shoes for families in need.
The Colts mascot earned Social Media of the Year honors as well. In one year, Blue has accumulated 474.1 million views, 17.1 million likes and 421.8 thousand shares across all his social media platforms. He has seen growth on all of his accounts, the biggest coming on Tik Tok where Blue sits at 8 million followers, making it one of the largest followings among North American sports teams. Blue saw a following increase of 19.4 percent increase from 2021. You can follow him on Instagram @bluecoltsmascot and @blue on Twitter and Tik Tok.
Blue debuted as the official mascot of the Indianapolis Colts on September 17, 2006, and has provided a unique brand of game day entertainment, skits and sideline antics for Colts fans. When he's not at Lucas Oil Stadium, Blue is busy performing 300 appearances a year across Indiana, including more than 125 free school shows, during which Blue has reached 100,000 students with an educational, yet fun message that engages students and supports the lessons they are learning in school.
In his school shows, Blue stresses the importance of many topics, ranging from health and fitness to reading to conserving energy. In 2018, he introduced a new show, "Choose Love," where Blue takes off his mask, encourages students to stop hiding behind their own masks, embrace themselves and treat others with respect.
