Olympic Mascots

These are the Olympic Mascots this year. They are supposed to be a fish, antelope, panda, swallow and the Olympic Flame. In the 1984 Olympics, the mascot was Sam the Bald Eagle. He was awesome. I did a portrait on him in watercolor on the back patio of my parents home that year. He eventually faded enough that I scrubbed him out. I usually love mascots. When we had the Portland Fire (women's professional basketball team), the mascot was Spot. My jersey for the Fire had Spot's name and number on it. He was very cool and I hated to see him and the team go. Maybe I'm just not as used to the Chinese style of mascots. There is a good description of them and the meanings/intention of them here http://en.beijing2008.cn/spirit/beijing2008/graphic/n214068254.shtml . When I did research to make sure that the Summer Olympics really did happen in 1984, I found out that it was the first year that China participated since 1932. Interesting. Our house missed the grand entry this year. We have watched some horse stuff, women's soccer, men's gymnastics and women's beach volleyball. I prefer regular volleyball, but who can resist the cute little uniforms??