That is true, but its also worth pointing out a bit of context: the gopher was created by Rob Pike's, one of the creators', wife, who happens to be a professional illustrator.

Point being, its not like it was contracted to a professional design team. They took a very efficient programmer-like path: have a relative who knows design make it. And I love that as a geek, and I love the gopher, but from the perspective of a design professional its time the language got a true logo in addition to a geeky mascot.