I feel better about Izzy

As a native of the area (Decatur) I can still remember the crushing blow that was dealt to us by the unveiling of the mascot Whatizit (unaffectionately known as "Izzy") before the '96 Olympic games. The world no longer saw us as Southern-fried hayseeds, they saw us as moonshine-addled crackheads. If you need to refresh your memory, or mercifully didn't see it in the first place, here "it" is. But I wouldn't click on that link unless you are mentally able to deal with another look at the little blue sperm.

Now the Brits have outdone us! Their new Olympic logo (I'm putting in all these links so I'm not struck down by the Olympic mafia, plus, you gotta see the various color presentations) is....well, unusual. A post on the BBC's Sports Editors blog summed it up: "I have vomited better logos". Other witticisms from the posters: "reminds me of a bad migraine attack", " a prehistoric earth...land mass", and "a drunk sitting on a toilet, sticking his finger down his throat". And those with dirty minds see...uh, never mind. The overall effect is very '80's, prompting the comment "I keep expecting Simon Le Bon to jump out of it." One pronounced it "codswollop". I think that translates into American as "bullsh*t."

In the spirit of the 21st century, the Olympic organizers have designed an animated version for digital platforms. One concerned poster hoped it wouldn't trigger epileptics to have seizures. Those Limeys are nice people, underneath their bad teeth and all.

UPDATE: oh, you just knew that the outcry would prompt Patriotic U.K. 'ers to design their own logos. Good thing there is a morning radio show to help them rectify the assault on their nation's honour.