Going beyond etymology, where mascots generally are clubbed with Good Luck, they carry much more significance. A mascot can be a symbol to unite the whole country or the world. There genesis is not quite known but it is attributed to American Sporting structure at Universities. Mascots play a symbolic role in keeping up the spirit of the competition.
Seldom in Cricket has a mascot been popular. I remember Madhav Rao Scindia kicking off the 1996 World Cup at Eden Gardens, Calcutta with Googly, the them mascot. This world cup has Mello as the mascot but you see, nowadays it doesn't matter much. What matters more probably is which Cola brand comes with you, or should you let tobacco and liquor brands enter sports?Mascots are quite popular in American Sports like Basketball and American Football. Here is one of my favourite one from there.
(Charlotte Hornets Mascot - Image Source: www.nba.com)The most famous mascot in sports history remains Misha. All of us remember a bit of him from our childhood days when he showed up as an animated series on Doordarshan. Also one my cousin's had a Misha stuff toy which she liked quite a lot. Its also quite a part of popular culture. Misha was the mascot for the troubled, much boycotted Moscow Olympics.
(Misha, Mascot for 1980 Moscow Olympics, Image Source: www.wikipedia.org)Whatever be it, mascots will keep on coming and surely will ensure that they stay in our memories forever.
As Luthra suggested I did a big mishtake in missing out Appu, the mascot for Asiad 1982, which also has a entertainment park Appu Ghar named after him. So updated this post.
Technorati Tags: Misha, Olympics, Sports Mascots
