Olympic Mascots

So we went to McDonald's today, and for a variety of reasons wound up getting some Olympic mascot toys.

I know people have given them a hard time since they came out, but I kind of like them, and at the very least am fascinated by the design aspect of them. Olympic mascot-making is big business. Here's some history:

The first official mascot was Waldi, the dachshund dog at the 1972 Munich Olympics. It apparently represents Resistance, Tenacity and Agility. I swear that I have a stuffed dog that looks a lot like this somewhere.

He was pretty awesome, as was Amik the beaver for the Montreal Olympics. I mean, I know it's obvious and all, but the simplicity of the design is great.

The 80s mascots were pretty obvious, with the USSR selecting a bear and the United States selecting a bald eagle. The bear is far more win, though:

Seriously, look at this giant balloon at the opening ceremonies:

This was followed by another contender for best mascot ever with Hondori, the Korean tiger in 1988:

The winter Olympics have had some pretty terrible mascots, though:

As did the summer Olympics throughout the 90s and into the 2000s:

We all remember the Beijing mascots, of course:

And these are the first mascots I remember-- the Snowlets of Nagano:

Apparently, they were originally going to have a snow weasel, but no one liked him. I would have liked to have seen it.