Thanks to Boise Ed for sending this in, and affirming that the surface joke is puny but obvious. (That this exec is trying to hold the mascot responsible for the team’s poor performance.)
But then, what kind of a mascot is that, anyway? The writing says Colts, twice, but the costume is a bird. Red because Cardinal? Sharp beak because Raven? Is that confusion a reason the poor thing has failed to energize the fans, and they in turn have failed to energize the players?
Comics I Don't Understand 
Not only is he holding the mascot responsible, he’s doing it in the middle of the game. And doing it in his office instead of on the field. Very unusual.
Not necessarily. Many leagues rank teams based on a point system. A team 9 points down could be out of playoff eligibility by 9 points. The football on the desk would suggest otherwise and the most obvious and best interpretation is that this is in the middle of a game, as Powers said.
There are many examples of mascots that don’t reflect an actual animal or thing at all. The philly phanatic comes to mind. Having a bizarre, cartoonish mascot is not at all the reason the fans aren’t energized. If anything, it isn’t bizarre enough.
For those who are interested (quite possibly only me!), thishttps://99percentinvisible.org/episode/la-mascotte/podcast about mascots was, well, interesting.
The only thought I had regarding Colts, bird mascot, the ball and TedD’s comment is perhaps that rugby was intended? (Unger lived in Barbados, as I recall and some rugby leagues use a point system like soccer/football.) But searching on the interwebs produces nothing for me…but the Indianapolis Colt mascot. (Who has tongues come out of his nostrils‽)
There aren’t many mascots under 1 meter tall.
According to Wikipedia, British-born Jim Unger lived in the Bahamas (not Barbados) for a few years, between two stints in Canada.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Unger
@6: At time of his death, Unger was living in British Columbia. I always wondered why we had shared the same dermatologist in Seattle so I guess he used to drive down from BC. One of the rooms in the doctor’s office had signed portraits of various celebrities (Elvis, Mike Mansfield, Tennille, the King of Saudi Arabia, etc.) that he had treated over the years. For Jim Unger, it was a signed original cartoon.
Maybe its a cousin of the turducken — a CardRavColt, or a ColdRaCar.
@ Powers (1) – The reason that the conversation is happening in the office is because “nine points down” wasn’t in the original caption:
P.S. In addition to the “which team” question, the original publication date (7-Jan-2008) leaves the question of “which league” wide open. College football is (or was) effectively “over” on New Year’s Day, and a pro team can’t stay in the playoffs after losing even one game, let alone three. I assume that Unger drew this one in December, and let it run despite the fact that his lead time delayed it past the end of the regular season.
P.P.S. @ ootenaboot (6) – That article revealed that Unger has been dead for nearly a dozen years. GoComics says that he “passed the comedic torch to cartoonist David Waisglass and illustrator Roly Wood”; perhaps it would have been better to choose someone who would not unnecessarily fiddle with (and diminish) his original material.
Unger? At first I thought – “A relative of mom’s?” But my grandfather came from Russia to the US as did several other relatives and I never heard of anyone in the family going to the UK.
Garry Unger was a Canadian hockey player. He was with the St. Louis Blues for eight and a fraction seasons. For a long time he held the “Ironman” record of consecutive games played.
Thank you Brian.