Are you bummed out that the World Cup is over?

In addition to sweat, action, a groovy buzzing sound, and an excuse to skip work to go out for drinks, the World Cup also offers something else we love – logos.

Each World Cup tournament boasts its own logo. And each of these logos incorporate elements of the time period and location of the particular World Cup. We’ll guide you through a handful of neat ones.

A Walk Down Logo Lane

If you take a gander at the 1994 logo, for example, you’ll recognize the red, white, and blue color scheme that is a shout out to the good old USA, the host country that year. The red stripes are even drawn to look like the American flag and the blue soccer ball is strategically placed where the blue part of our flag would be. Crisp, bright, and very American looking. Nicely done.

Or check out the logo from the 2002 World Cup held in Korea and Japan. The contoured shapes in the logo remind us of similar shapes in the South Korean flag, and the logo includes plenty of red, which is found in the flags of both nations. The flavor of the whole logo is similar to that of traditional Asian art. And the feeling of divided pieces making up a whole works well for the first World Cup hosted by two nations. All in all, a sweet logo.

But our personal favorite? Mexico ‘86. The Mexican flag colors are in full effect, but the reason we like to look back at it is that it’s so scrumptiously 80’s. The stripey font makes us think of the 80’s Pepsi logo, which in turn makes us think of the Pepsi ads starring Billy Crystal. And then we get that happy little piano tune from the jingle stuck in our heads, and then we start thinking about Saturday Night Live from days of old…all of which is just marvelous.

Yes, it’s true…if we can’t be watching the World Cup, checking out former World Cup logos really is the next best thing. (Well, that, and devouring nachos like the ones we would have ordered if we were out watching a game.)