And then there was Kinas...

This is all where it started for me, way back in the day.  We'd arrived in Portugal for the European Championships in 2004 and a crazy guy called Kinas met us at the airport.  What a great welcome!


Anyway, you can see from the site banner how much excitement we all had at meeting a bona fide mascot star.  However this was only a large plastic Kinas.  Imagine how cool it was to see the real Kinas at some football match:

I think it's safe to say that those of us who were there won't be forgetting that half time in a hurry...

First sight of 5 Yangs - the Asian Game mascots

I've been planning to write about these guys for a couple of days now...  The Asian games start soon in China and they've gone for 5 goats.  5 mascots huh - talk about raising the stakes.  I hope these guys are not 'kidding' around.




I'll be back soon to tell you more about them.

Finding Guri

Hi guys - I need some help here. I'd heard of the Maccabiah before. This is the so-called Jewish Olympics - it's actually the third biggest sporting event in the world. There's not much online about it (unless you can read Hebrew I guess) so I only have the one reference to their mascot, Guri the Lion Cub:

Juniors and veterans join in 12th Maccabiah: "Athletes planted 3,000 trees in the Maccabi forest in Modi'in and Israel's postal service created a series of commemorative stamps for collectors. The 12th Maccabiah ended with a grand closing ceremony that featured a helicopter carrying the Maccabiah mascot 'Guri the Lion Cub,' intricate performances by athletes and a fireworks show."

Has anyone heard of this little dude and do you know where I can find out more? Man, I'd LOVE to get him and Shera together!

Shera's Song

The Wall Street Journal's take on Shera

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/09/28/whats-in-a-games-mascots-name/


Not too much in there really...  However I didn't know he had his own song.  More on that soon.

Germany 2 - World 1

Just put together the latest poll and realised that only the Germans have launched a mascot double act - and they've done it twice.

What does that tell you about the Teutonic mindset huh!

Cricketworld.com | Mascot Stumpy Revealed 200 Days Before World Cup

Cricketworld.com | Mascot Stumpy Revealed 200 Days Before World Cup

Bit of an advanced heads-up here. Stumpy is on his way.

Weird name. For some reason reminds me of a guy with one arm.

PIB Press Release

PIB Press Release: "The official Mascot of the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010, Shera called on the President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan today. The President gave her best wishes for the successful conduct of the Games to Shera, as well as to the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010, Shri Suresh Kalmadi. Shri Kalmadi said he was confident that the Games would be a success."

Awesome news.

Shera in the dumps

Good to see that Shera is lifting the spirits of the builders trying to save the games...

Commonwealth Games 2010 - Shera

Now, they may have cocked up the accommodation, transport and sporting venues but, credit where credit is due, Delhi were bang on the money with their mascot, Shera:

He's a pretty good looking tiger huh?  His name comes from the Urdu word Sher – meaning tiger. Shera is said to represent the modern Indian; he is an achiever with a positive attitude, a global citizen but justifiably proud of his nation’s ancient heritage, and a fierce competitor but with integrity and honesty. Shera is also a ‘large-hearted gentleman’ who loves making friends and enthusing people to ‘come out and play’.


I wish I was a large-hearted Gentleman too.