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Hares, coyotes and bears, oh my! Salt Lake Olympic organizers unveil trio of mascots
Posted: Monday May 17, 1999 11:55 AM
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A snowshoe hare, a coyote and a bear -- all characters in western Indian myth -- will be the mascots for the next Winter Olympics, 1,000 days from now. The cuddly mascots were introduced Saturday night to more than 15,000 onlookers, many wearing parkas to fend off the unseasonably chilly, 47-degree weather. The crowd cheered wildly as man-sized models of the critters were unveiled on stage. An 18-foot high arrowhead-shaped clock to count down the days also was unveiled in a long-awaited celebration in this city rocked by Olympic scandal. The mascots were scheduled to debut in February, but revelations over the excessive wooing of International Olympic Committee members by Salt Lake bidders earlier this decade stalled the festivities. But memories of the scandal didn't keep away the crowds. Barbara Butler, a retired schoolteacher, admitted her enthusiasm for the games has been dampened by the bribery revelations, but said she didn't want to miss a chance to be part of the first good news for Utah's Olympics for quite some time. "It's a great organization that has been blighted," Butler said. "We can get it on the right track again." Moments before the unveiling, Indian storyteller Billy Daydodge -- encircled by dancing children and lighting that brought to mind a desert campfire -- explained the three mascots' place in Native American myth. Each mascot wears a charm around its neck fashioned after the ancient rock drawings of two Utah tribes. When the lights came on, revealing a snowy mountain backdrop, some of the children on stage threw themselves into the arms of the giant creatures for hugs. Tammy Gergen, who came from Boise for the ceremony with her children Rhandi, 17, and Autumn, 14, said it seemed the smaller children liked the bear best. "He looks like he's ready to hug them, with his arms wide open," Gergen said. But her teens said they preferred the coyote and the hare because, "they're cute." Adults liked the mascots too, which look more like cartoon animals than far-out design for Izzy, the mascot of the Atlanta games. "It's nice to have something real instead of looking like strange creatures," said Gerri Camden, who came with her husband Rob and 3-year-old daughter. But Rob Camden was disappointed "I was looking for the Jello man," he said, poking fun at Utah residents' reputation as the country's greatest consumers of Jello. In fact, an Olympic pin modeled on green Jello sold out within days of its introduction. Despite the lack of Jello, spectators lined up by the hundreds at booths to buy hats, pins and T-shirts bearing the mascots' images. That was good news for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, which will depend on the critters to bring in a good share of $40 million to $50 million in merchandise sales. SLOC president Mitt Romney thanked the crowd for showing up to the festivities -- and pitching in their dollars. "You're buying things, that helps too," Romney said. "We've had a bit of a drought. People were a little nervous." Choosing three mascots instead of one trebles the marketing opportunities, an approach favored by recent Olympic Games. Romney said the hare, coyote and bear represent the land and culture of Utah and the American West and the Olympics' Latin motto of Citius, Altius, Fortius -- or swifter, higher, stronger. "Their stories are a wonderful translation of a Native American legend into the symbolism of the Olympic movement," he said. "The theme of swifter, higher, stronger crosses the boundaries of time." The organizing committee made its choice of mascots 1 1/2 years ago after consulting five American Indians, including experts in ancient rock art, as well as focus groups in Phoenix, Milwaukee and Salt Lake. The IOC approved the mascots last December. Utah schoolchildren will begin voting on names for the mascots on Monday, and a national mascot-naming contest is planned this summer. The first known Olympic mascot was Smoky, a dog who likely wandered into the Olympic Village at the Los Angeles Games in 1932. But it was not until 1968 that organizers began using characters to market the Olympics. The 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble, France, used Schuss, a bubble-headed creature on skis, and the 1972 Games in Munich used Waldi the dachshund. The last Winter Olympics in the United States, at Lake Placid in 1980, used Roni the raccoon. Calgary was the first to have multiple mascots -- Hidy and Howdy in 1988. Nagano, Japan, had the Snowlets, four cartoon owls, last year, and Sydney's 2002 Summer Games have Oly the kookaburra, Millie the echidna and Syd the platypus. Sunday is actually 1,000 days before the games, but in this city
conscious of setting aside that day for rest, worship and family,
the celebration was planned the night before, ending at 11:30 p.m.
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