Y'all, I am pumped about the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. I am pumped because rugby will be back in the Olympics for the first time since 1924 (where the U.S. took home the gold - USA! USA! USA!). What got me thinking about the 2016 Olympics this fine morning? On Monday, the 2016 Rio Olympic Games mascot was announced.

According to resident Trademarkology expert, Dr. Wik I. Pedia, the grand tradition of naming an Olympic mascot began in 1968. Let's to a trip down memory lane to look at the trademark (not necessarily trademarked) mascots from Olympic games past.

1. Sam (the bald eagle)

Sam was the official mascot for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. For what it's worth, the United States Olympic Committe, which owns hundreds of federally registered marks, has a registration for GAMES OF THE XXIIIRD OLYMPIAD LOS ANGELES 1984. Carl Lewis was the breakout star of the games, winning four gold medals in track and field. Like I said earlier, "USA! USA! USA!"

2. Wenlock (the drop of steel with a camera for eyes)

Wenlock was the official mascot of the 2012 Olympics in London. It was named after the village Much Wenlock in Shropshire, which hosted a predecessor to the modern Olympics in the 1800s. At one time, the mark THE MUCH WENLOCK was registered in the United States, but the registration was cancelled in 1990, long before the mascot's rise to fame existence.

3. Izzy (the first computer generated mascot)

Izzy was the official mascot for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Izzy is the first and only mascot on our list that almost founds its way to federal trademark protection in the United States. Indeed, the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games filed three separate applications for the mark IZZY for a wide variety of goods and services. Ultimately, all three applications were abandoned.

4. Fatso ("the Fat-arsed Wombat")

Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat was the unofficial mascot of the 2000 Sydney Games. Fatso was created to spoof the official Olympic mascots for that year and to protest the commercialization of Olympic mascots. Of course, Fatso became the most popular mascot that year and possibly most commercialized. While there were not any trademarks filed for Fatso, the sculpture pictured above did sell at an Olympic Aid charity auction for over $50,000.

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