Was Billy the Marlin robbed?

OK, not literally. Although back in 1997 the home of the original Billy the Marlin was the target of burglars who took off with his University of Miami championship rings from his days playing Sebastian the Ibis, but I digress….

No, was he robbed of the 2008 Mascot Hall of Fame induction?

Billy, you see, was the winner of the popular online fan poll voting for the Mascot Hall of Fame, but he did not secure induction into the Hall.

Call him the Al Gore of mascots.

That’s right, he won the online fan voting, but missed out on the Hall induction. The public vote plays only a small role in the voting. Nominees must receive at least 75 percent of the ballots cast by the hall’s executive committee.

This year’s inductees on the professional sports side are Rocky, the Denver Nuggets mascot, and Slider, of the Cleveland Indians. On the collegiate side, Smokey of the University of Tennessee won induction with both the Hall and the popular vote.

So, Billy edged out Slider in the popular vote, but missed out on induction. Something fishy there…. Do you think this is another sign of the “small market” Marlins being ignored nationally?

The winners were announced Monday - watch the announcement here: