CHAMPION THE WORLD CUP BEAR

In April 2002 Ty introduced a brown bear called Champion. This bear is a licensed product of the 2002 World Cup. He wears a giant tag (the collector's nightmare to protect) to prove it.

Champion comes in 32 variations, one for every country in the 2002 World Cup Finals. There are two additional Champions over and above the 32, one each for the host countries Japan and Korea with the tags written in the native language of those countries. The bears are distinguished by their noses which bear their country's flag. These bears also have their own hang tags - with Champion the Beanie Baby on the front, and the poem inside replaced by facts about the country they are representing in the World Cup.

There has been much debate as to whether some will ultimately prove to be rarer than others. In the US they seemed to arrive in batches largely made up of US Champion and a few others. In Europe however there seemed to be much more choice - as many shops in the UK boasted huge displays of all 32 bears.

Another factor in the debate on which (if any) would be the rarest was the Ty policy of retiring the bear of that country as soon as that country lost a match - would this make the early losers more rare? This policy meant at the start of the competition up to three or four retirements a day. The last to retire were Brazil and Germany, neither of whom fortunately lost a match on their way to hte World Cup finals!

See the 2002 World Cup results here

Go to Champion Checklist