The Top 10 Coolest Olympic Mascots

by Joshua Khan

Aside from representing a team or an organization, a mascot’s main purpose is to entertain sports fans. The Olympic Games has tried to grasp this concept, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out.

For example, look at the mascots for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. All five of them represent something important, but their image is kind of scary and a bit weird. Involving heritage in the process of creating a mascot is vital, but sometimes it takes away from the design aspect. But it is safe to say, there are some cool mascots from past Olympic Games.

The following list highlights 10 mascots; their ranking is determined by design, originality and a “cool factor”. Many of these mascots can be cool in their own sense, but which one will prevail at the top as the “Coolest Olympic Mascot”?

Cool Olympic Mascot #10. Howdy and Hidi

The polar bear siblings were the faces of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. With both names expressing a feeling of welcome and brotherhood, they symbolized the warmth of Canadian hospitality.

Cool Olympic Mascot #9. Hodori

Tigers and marketing seem to go hand in hand and the animal was perfect for the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. Hodori was designed as good-natured tiger and portrayed the friendly and hospitable traditions of the Koreans.

Cool Olympic Mascot #8. Sam

With the Summer Olympics being held in Los Angeles in 1984, Walt Disney decided to design a mascot. His creation: Sam, a cartoon eagle who’s not afraid of showing his true colours.

Cool Olympic Mascot #7. Vuchko

Despite looking a bit stubborn, Vuchko was a cheerful wolf who was the face of the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics. The mascot helped to change the frightening image of the animal which was present in the region.

Cool Olympic Mascot #6. Waldi

The colourful dachshund was claimed to be the first official Olympic mascot at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich. Along with representing athletic qualities such as resistance, tenacity and agility, Waldi’s colours also symbolized the joy of the international event.

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Comments

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

Izzy your BEST mascot?

Are you farking kidding? Izzy was the biggest embarassment of the 1996 Olympics... just slightly ahead of the Moroccan bazarre that downtown turned into with countless street vendors trying to charge people $5 for a bottle of water (it was down to $1 by the second week) and $30 for a crappy t-shirt.

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

What about Springy from the Springfield Olympics?

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

Wow

That was dumb. Sam the Eagle deserves to be #1. Not only was he cool looking, but he's a rep of the USA! Where's your freakin' patriotism?? With Izzy? This was 2 minutes I'll never get back.

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

Jager

Izzy is a cop-out. Very lame!!

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

In agreement with everyone

In agreement with everyone else...Izzy should not even be in the top 10, let alone the #1 spot.

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

spermy the mascot.

i agree, izzy should be number one. with all the underage sex and pregnancy in the country, we should have a blue ring laden sperm as a mascot!! give jimmy-hats to the athletes!

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

You, Norton, are a mentalcase.

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

You forgot the best one

Fatso, the Fat arsed Wombat, the unofficial mascot for the Sydney Olympics. Every Aussie was cheering for Fatso. He was so popular they ended up building a statue of him at Homebush.

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

I cringe every time I read

I cringe every time I read Joshua Khan's articles.. Am I the only one?

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

no springy the springfield

no springy the springfield spring?!

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

Everyone has a different

Everyone has a different taste and opinion. Mine would be to disagree with the author's diss on the Beijing mascots. While they may not be the best design ever, they are way cooler than Howdy, Hidi, and definitely Izzy.

How did Waldi get on the list anyway? It's like one of those $4 beanie babies on the CVS racks by the cashier.

Jul 29, 2008
by Anonymous

izzy tops all mascots simply

izzy tops all mascots simply because he had his own Sonic-esque video game for Sega Genesis back in '96. Look it up. Even the people that designed the game didnt know what he was.

Jul 30, 2008
by Anonymous

Like him or not I think Izzy

Like him or not I think Izzy is probably the most memorable mascot that any olympic committee has ever come up with. That's got to be worth something.

Jul 31, 2008
by Anonymous

Lock

That hare/coyote/bear combo kicks ass. The eagle is stupid, the only thing stupider is the mindless patriotism that created it.

Jul 31, 2008
by Anonymous

How about Fuwa?

Dont you think that Beijing Fuwa is the loveliest and most meaningful one?

Jul 31, 2008
by Anonymous

Misha, anyone?

I am appaled to see that this list has left out Misha, the Moscow Olympics bear, the one who cried (through choreographed cards in the crowd) at the end of the games. Unforgettable! Obviously, since the USA boycotted the games that year, it could only follow that an American site would ignore it...

Aug 1, 2008
by Anonymous

So many bad picks

I thought for sure this item was an excuse to rip on the overwhelming worst mascot of all time "Izzy". Imagine my horror then when Izzy came out #1. Based on some of the other lame picks, I'm hoping this list was tongue in cheek. I'll take the Chinese power-puff mascots over this list any day.

Aug 1, 2008
by Anonymous

power puff

I take back what I said, the power puffs are way cooler. These look more like megaman baddies.

Aug 3, 2008
by Anonymous

Khaaaaaaan!

You're an idiot.

Aug 4, 2008
by Anonymous

Hello

I like the chinese olympic dolls, they're cool

Aug 5, 2008
by Anonymous

the aussie

i htink that the australia's mascot shoul be the number one but i do not know how to place a vote so that they can be number 1. so if you know how to vote can you get back to me

Aug 5, 2008
by Anonymous

i think that ollie syd and

i think that ollie syd and millie should be number 1

Aug 5, 2008
by Anonymous

they are madd arent they

jessie mcpherson from shepparton australia

Aug 5, 2008
by Anonymous

aussie aussie aussie oi oi oi

australians rule

Aug 5, 2008
by Anonymous

ello

AUSTRALIA RULE THE WORLD FOR EVER

Aug 8, 2008
by Anonymous

wow

The Beijing mascots are better than all of em!
"scary and a bit weird"?
um you can't say that for izzy?
that guy looks like a freak on cocaine

Aug 8, 2008
by Anonymous

NO WAY! Not top ten material!

Sam should never be considered for the top ten! He was mearly a capitalistic middle finger to the Russians, If I were the Russians I would have boycotted it as well! The fine line of Patriotism and international snobery was crossed. Thankfully Sam is where he belongs now, in the annals of time at the LA dump.

Aug 8, 2008
by Anonymous

what about Torchy the

what about Torchy the Flamer, from when the Olympics were in San Francisco?

Aug 8, 2008
by Anonymous

WTF? that thing instead of

WTF? that thing instead of Misha? You got to be fucking kidding.

Aug 8, 2008
by Anonymous

lazzy was not

Lazzy was not the biggest embarassment of the 1996