NEW YORK -- Take that, Pokemon. On Sunday, the Japanese prime minister turned up at the Olympics closing ceremonies to promote the 2020 Tokyo games dressed up as Mario , the eponymous hero of the popular video game series created in 1985.Who is Mario and how did he come by his global appeal? Heres a closer look.---WHY SUPER MARIO?Japanese animation and game characters from Hello Kitty to Pac Man also made appearances in the closing ceremonies. But none of them may have the global reach of Super Mario, the game franchise that was a hit when Nintendos video game system and Game Boy burst onto the scene in the 1980s.Prime Minister Shinzo Abes appearance as Super Mario was a crowd-pleasing reminder of how much the game helped spur on the videogame revolution in the U.S. and globally. Abe emerged from a green pipe in a big red Super Mario cap and costume, holding a glowing red ball kicked to him by famed manga soccer star Captain Tsubasa.---HOW DID SUPER MARIOS APPEARANCE COME ABOUT?Tokyo 2020 organizers said in a statement that the Super Mario idea came up during a brainstorming session. Staff at Nintendo would say only that the government asked to borrow the character for the show.---MARIOS BACKSTORYThe franchise began in 1981, when Donkey Kong debuted as an arcade game. Donkey Kong soon became the hottest selling arcade game in the business. In that game, a character called Jumpman, similar to Mario, tried to save a damsel from a big ape. Super Mario came a long four years later, packaged with the Nintendo Entertainment System, popularizing the side-scrolling videogame format.Marios first job was carpentry, but later he became a plumber, and in many games he travels up and down in a world of underground pipes. In his book Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered the World, David Sheff wrote that Mario was named after Nintendos U.S. landlord, who was demanding back rent from the companys fledgling U.S. arm. Nintendo doesnt confirm or deny the story.---BY THE NUMBERSThere are more than 100 games, for various gaming systems, ranging from Donkey Kong to Super Mario Kart, in which Mario is the primary character, and many more in which he makes appearances. Mario Brothers is the best-selling video franchise of all time, with more than 490 million units sold since 1995, according to research firm NPD. Patrick Mahomes Super Bowl Jersey . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. Christian Okoye Super Bowl Jersey . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth-Darrel-Williams-Chiefs-Jersey/ . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. Cameron Erving Super Bowl Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Emmanuel Ogbah Super Bowl Jersey .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Indias Jeev Milkha Singh made a strong start to his campaign in the European Tour Made in Denmark event on Thursday, scoring 5-under 66 after 18 holes. This placed Jeev in tied-8th place, with Joakim Lagergren of Sweden, Englands Tom Lewis and Belgiums Thomas Pieters leading with 9-under 62 after completing their first rounds in Farso, Denmark.Indias SSP Chawrasia found himself tied-73rd with a level-par 71, while Shiv Kapur shot 4-over 75 to end the first day in tied-131st place.Jeev began his campaign from the front nine with birdies on three of the first four holes, which saw him rise quickly to the top two of the leaderboard at that stage. He then registered his first bogey of the day, dropping one shot on the 433-yard par-four 5th. He recovered with a birdie on the 379-yard par-four 8th, before registering two further birdies on the back nine on the 644-yard par-five 11th and the 392-yard par-ffour 15th.ddddddddddddJeev had missed the cut at this European Tour event in 2014 and could only finish in tied-53rd position last year.Chawrasia, who began from the back nine, played 17 near-perfect holes, sinking birdies along the way on the?471-yard par-four 9th and later the 342-yard par-four 3rd. His final position would have been much higher but for a double bogey on the?461-yard par-four 18th.Kapur also began from the back nine, and scored a birdie on the 644-yard par-five 11th, but then dropped one shot on the par-four 12th. He would score four more bogeys for the first day -- on the par-four 15th, the par-four 18th, the par-four 3rd and the par-four 9th. Kapur will now need a big effort on Friday to continue making the cut in Denmark, as he did in 2014 and 2015. ' ' '