It took an angry-looking bird to get Brazilians hooked on their World Cup mascot.
The team’s new mascot — a yellow canary with an angry face that represents some of the fans’ frustration after losing the tournament at home four years ago — has become a huge sensation everywhere it goes in Russia.
Fans unofficially dubbed it the Canarinho Pistola, which translates to “Pissed Off Little Canary.”
Photo: AP
“Man, what a character he is,” Brazil coach Tite said. “He has his own charisma.”
The bird, always dressed in Brazil’s yellow and blue uniform, resembles an angry-faced Tweety, the Looney Tunes character from Warner Bros.
It boasts a “bad boy” attitude and a tough-looking walk, contrasting to the cute image of the unpopular canary that had always represented the national team.
Brazil historically never fully embraced the tradition of mascots in sports, but things changed when the Brazilian Football Confederation — inspired in part by the Chicago Bull’s Benny the Bull — turned its nice little canary into a mad-looking figure to try to bring fans closer to the Selecao ahead of this year’s World Cup.
“We wanted to represent this desire of the Brazilian to always want to win in soccer,” confederation marketing director Gilberto Ratto told reporters. “The mascot has the face that every Brazilian puts on when they are about to go play soccer, always with that determination to win.”
The angry-looking Brazilian mascot, created in late 2016, also became popular outside of the realms of soccer, as it represents the population’s overall dissatisfaction in a nation facing an ongoing political crisis, increased violence and unstable economy.
The confederation last year tried to use a mascot with a nicer face in social events, but it quickly had to give up on the idea, because everyone kept asking for the meaner mascot.
The new canary is not allowed to appear in matches in Russia because of FIFA’s rules protecting the official mascot, but it accompanies the squad almost everywhere they go, appearing outside stadiums before matches and in some training sessions.
Fans loudly chanted the mascot’s name as they waited for Brazil players to arrive at the team’s hotel for a game in Moscow. They went crazy when security guards — apparently thinking the mascot was a supporter trying to sneak in — took it away from the reserved team area in front of the hotel.
The canary did not think twice and joined the partying fans, playing the drums with them and taking dozens of selfies before being allowed back inside after a quick intervention from Brazilian officials.
The mascot, which already has hundreds of fake profiles on social media, also often displays its soccer skills by doing kick-ups to impress fans.
The confederation does not officially call the mascot Canarinho Pistola, sticking only to Canarinho, but it basks in the popularity of the character’s unruly demeanor, constantly using its image on social media and promoting it every chance it gets.
The canary has already made appearances on television shows and toured some of Russia’s most famous locations where Brazil has played.
Players have also embraced the mascot.
Neymar and Philippe Coutinho had plenty of fun playing a prank on the bird during a training session last year, when Neymar sneaked behind the canary and Coutinho pushed it back against him.
Fans loved it, just as they have been loving their angry mascot.
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