'NOT it': Some fans cry foul over new Toronto Tempo mascots

The Toronto Tempo of the WNBA revealed their much-anticipated mascots at a game Tuesday, but many fans aren’t rushing to give them a hug.

Dez the snapping turtle and Dot the Arctic hare move at different tempos — they’re a reference to Aesop’s fable about a race between the two animals. In fact, the only thing they have in common is that they’re both mascots for Canada’s only WNBA team. 

Like many mascots, they have elaborate backstories.

Dez (short for decibel), from Muskoka, is cool-headed and likes music, soft-shell tacos, and is a Taurus. Dot (short for Toronto’s nickname T-Dot), from the Arctic, has a lot of energy, likes cotton candy and the Netflix F1 documentary series Drive to Survive, and is a Gemini. The two met when Dot followed the northern lights south to Dez’s stomping grounds. 

They realized they were perfect for each other.

“The two quickly discovered a shared love of rhythm — even if they approached it very differently. Dez brought patience and timing; Dot brought speed and fearless energy,” the Tempo said in a news release.

“Eventually, the pulse of Toronto drew them both to the city.”

But, as with many new fuzzy brand ambassadors, their home city hasn't immediately welcomed them.

“These are some of the corniest, most poorly designed mascots I’ve ever seen in sports,” reads one comment on the team’s Instagram post.

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Another commenter on Instagram feels that the Raptor, the Toronto Raptors mascot, is superior.

“Why did the boys get a dinosaur and we got characters from a children’s colouring book???!” they said. 

But one Reddit user recalls that