The Mascot Finalists For The 2018 World Cup Are Shrewd And Sporty

Yesterday, FIFA announced the 10 finalists in the running to be the mascot of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. According to the FIFA statement, the finalists were selected through an online fan vote that drew over 50,000 participants. Voters also listed the qualities they wanted to see in a mascot, such as "sporty" and "honourable," and even picked what accessories they thought the mascot should have. The top results included a whistle, a backpack, and gloves.

With the FIFA report came an accompanying video in which Russian children were seen entering an official Russian mascot voting dome to select their favorite mascots, and the emerging finalists are as follows:

-Amur tiger. Also known as a Siberian Tiger, Amur tigers are native to a small region in Eastern Russia and there are only about 500 Amur tigers in the wild. One of the young Russian children in the video said she chose the tiger because she likes tigers. Her friend agreed, saying, "Me too."

-Bogatyr. A bogatyr is a brave and knightly character common in Slavic legend and epic poems. He is often depicted riding a horse. A famous bogatyr of legend is Ilya Muromets, who in one tale destroyed all of the steeples in Kiev after Prince Vladimir didn't invite him to a party. None of the children in the video were seen advocating for the bogatyr, though three young girls fought a losing battle on behalf of the mascot potential of the "tsarevich," an 18th century Russian prince. Russian children are the best. America is falling behind.

-Wolf. In the old Soviet Union days, there were a few vast exterminations of wolf populations. The wolves are resilient though, as there are once again about 25,000 throughout Russia, and I'm still marveling at a group of 9-year-olds being hyped about an 18th century Russian noble representing a soccer tournament.

-Far Eastern leopard. Also known as the Amur leopard, there are less than 60 of these leopards left in the wild. It faces a tough road ahead if it wants to become the mascot, as it's not even the strongest entrant in the Obscure Feline From a Remote Region In Eastern Russia Division.

-Firebird. Another common element in Russian myth, the firebird looks sort of a like a peacock, has some fire and different magic and stuff associated with it, and is often the object of pursuit in legends. Again, none of the children seemed enamored by it, though one girl said she would choose a falcon that she would name "Best Player," adding, "He is going to be very fast because speed is very important for football." It was unclear if a falcon was an option on the ballot.

-Alien. Hell yeah.

-Cosmonaut. A few days ago, Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka set the record for most time in space, spending 803 days at the International Space Station. There's also a Wikipedia page titled "Lost Cosmonauts" that is pretty bizarre. It's unfortunate that none of the children gave their thoughts on the conspiracy theories around the Soviet space program.

-Cat. I don't know, man.

-Robot. There doesn't seem to be any description anywhere of the robot mascot. In fact, there isn't even a robot shown in any of the depictions of the mascot group. It's likely that these Russian kids just cast a lot of write-in votes for "robot."

-Bear.