Saskatoon's White Ninja comic goes viral during Super Bowl urging Patriots to win

A Saskatoon comic character went viral on Sunday, urging the New England Patriots to perform better in a Super Bowl game that was, for a while, going very much not their way.

The image featured a sad-looking White Ninja, once a popular online comic, poking the Patriots' logo with a stick and saying, "C'mon, do something."

They did. The team came back to beat Atlanta in overtime.

• Brady leads Patriots' historic rally to beat Falcons in OT

There is zero evidence to suggest thememehad anything to do with the team's storybook win, andMVP quarterback Tom Brady did not thank the WhiteNinjais his post-game remarks.

It's not the first time the cartoon character has popped up during sporting events.

"It was trending during the World Cup as well, and often during playoff times you'll see him poking various teams' logos," said creator Scott Bevan.

From the mind of a boy

The comic began humbly, in the mind of a Grade 7 boy.

"I was probably trying to impress a girl or something," recalled Bevan.

They couldn't care less;I tell them I used to be famous and they just don't believe it or don't care.- ScottBevan

The White Ninja eventually grew into a job for the Saskatoon cartoonist, who ended up working with comedy legends like National Lampoon and Cracked. Bevan found himself at times rubbing shoulders with the comic world elite and greeting celebrity fans at ComiCon.

"It was the everyday meandering of a ninja who really didn't do ninja things: more like he's get divorced or everyday things like that," said Bevan.

The ninja is on hiatus, although you can still read the archives online.

Bevan has left behind his career as a cartoonist for now to take up teaching high school at Bedford Road Collegiate. His past exploits, Bevan said, do not give him any special credibility with his students.

"They couldn't care less;I tell them I used to be famous and they just don't believe it or don't care."

So can the White Ninja stage a Patriots-like comeback?

Bevansaid he hasunpublished comic strips now piling up on his bedroom dresser. Someday, they may make it onto the website.