Alma Otter

#78      
Illinois-
Indiana-
Iowa- Herky the Hawk
Maryland- Testudo the Terrapin
Michigan-
Michigan State- Sparty
Minnesota- Goldie Gopher
Nebraska- Herbie the Husker
Northwestern- Willie the Wildcat
Ohio State- Brutus
Purdue-Purdue Pete
Penn State- Nittany Lion
Rutgers- Scarlet Knight
Wisconsin- Badger

An otter doesn't seem that out of line when we've got a Bager, Gopher and Turtle in the conference. Its been 14 years since the last dance. The only way this was going to happen was organically and if this is what it takes to move on, so be it.
 
#79      

BluesBro

Round Lake, Illinois
The I-Beams. The strength of any building; made of steel (or incredibly strong fake wood :)), and ties to the Universities Architecture program and the skyscrapers of Chicago. Not advocating for it, but trying to suggest something...ANYTHING...beside an exhibit at every aquarium in North America.

One of the cadet companies at West Point (I4, I believe) are called the I Beams and have a mascot that looks a bit too much like Purdue Pete. The Steelers also have a mascot that carries around an I-Beam (below).

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#80      
Every single mascot listed is tied directly back to the school's nickname. These schools are not reinventing themselves with something completely unrelated to their past traditions. If Illinois went with the otter it would be like the Atlanta Braves having Blooper perform. It may well work great but it's not a Brave. Like Illinois in this age of sensitivity, they can't. It is simply something to distract the people from the game in front of them.


Thats a good point but the Alma Mater is perhaps one of the biggest traditions/symbols the University has. I think tying it there with the name/pun solves the problem of reconciling a mascot with tradition.

Distracting people from the game in front of them does to me sound exactly like the point of a Mascot.

We've had 14 years of no symbol/mascot which have really been 14 years of de facto chief limbo, which has left neither side happy.

On the precipice of what look to be two big seasons, winning games with the introduction of the Alma Otter just might be the best mix for us as a community to move forward.
 
#81      
Illinois-
Indiana-
Iowa- Herky the Hawk
Maryland- Testudo the Terrapin
Michigan-
Michigan State- Sparty
Minnesota- Goldie Gopher
Nebraska- Herbie the Husker
Northwestern- Willie the Wildcat
Ohio State- Brutus
Purdue-Purdue Pete
Penn State- Nittany Lion
Rutgers- Scarlet Knight
Wisconsin- Badger

An otter doesn't seem that out of line when we've got a Bager, Gopher and Turtle in the conference. Its been 14 years since the last dance. The only way this was going to happen was organically and if this is what it takes to move on, so be it.
13 years right? The last dance was my freshman year which was 2006/2007. Its just semantics, not trying to cause a big fuss or be super correctional or anything.
 
#82      
Is it possible to sneak a live otter into SFC? Surely there is a fraternity on campus capable of such hijinks.

Delta House.

Boon: No! Just gonna be you and me. And Otter and another girl.
Katy: Is this really what you're gonna do for the rest of your life?
Boon: What do you mean?
Katy: Hanging around with a bunch of animals getting drunk every weekend.
Boon: No! After I graduate, I'm gonna get drunk every night.
 
#83      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
#87      
This is 1,000 times dumber than the otter.

I would have liked it if this is what they switched too immediately after the chief. That logo is trash, there's another mock up one floating around with the full bird on it that's much better. And changing to the "flying illini" is also a trash idea.

But they didn't do it, and now that there's an otter on the table instead of being school 1,000 with a generic bird mascot. Alma Otter 4 life
 
#88      

ivwilsoniv

Aurora, IL
This is 1,000 times dumber than the otter.
But eagles live in Illinois, so they're qualified as a possible option!

All seriousness, the more I think about all of this, the more this seems unnecessary and pointless. What's the purpose of the otter? What's the purpose of any "mascot" really? Do we need someone in a costume dancing around on the sidelines to excite fans? No - Illinois basketball and football just need to start winning again.

I think the "ghost" of the Chief is cooler than any otter (or other) mascot. I've actually taken some pride in the fact that Illinois doesn't have a costumed character running around, and while I get the comedic aspect of the Otter proposal and appreciate the pun, the whole idea of a mascot is vastly overrated.
 
#90      
As a current UIUC student that is passionate about Illinois sports, I can tell you that this is not something supported by the students. Everyone I personally know hates it. There are some students who like it, but by far the majority (from everything I have heard) hate it and think it's monumentally stupid. I made sure to vote against it this morning.

Also interesting to note, included on the same ballot as the Alma Otter vote were students running for the student government, each with a link to their "mission statement". Several of them stated as one of their priorities something along the lines of trying to force the University to adopt a new mascot. I made sure not to vote for any of them.

Personally I am ok with the Chief being gone, but I am strongly against any new mascot as dumb as this one. If a decent option happens organically, so be it. But this is too forced by a very small segment of students and hated by the majority. I would much rather have no mascot than one as terrible as this. There's a great article on The Champaign Room about it that came out a couple days ago.
 
#91      

Epsilon

M tipping over
Pdx
Not sure what it means for a mascot to "happen organically," but I have a feeling that anything anybody comes up with ("organically" or not) will feel "forced" by some segment of the student and alumni population.
 
#93      

KrushCow31

Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
As a current UIUC student that is passionate about Illinois sports, I can tell you that this is not something supported by the students. Everyone I personally know hates it. There are some students who like it, but by far the majority (from everything I have heard) hate it and think it's monumentally stupid. I made sure to vote against it this morning.

Also interesting to note, included on the same ballot as the Alma Otter vote were students running for the student government, each with a link to their "mission statement". Several of them stated as one of their priorities something along the lines of trying to force the University to adopt a new mascot. I made sure not to vote for any of them.

Personally I am ok with the Chief being gone, but I am strongly against any new mascot as dumb as this one. If a decent option happens organically, so be it. But this is too forced by a very small segment of students and hated by the majority. I would much rather have no mascot than one as terrible as this. There's a great article on The Champaign Room about it that came out a couple days ago.

I'm reminded of the vote a few years ago in like 2013 when they had a mascot contest vote. It's always the crazy student government that pushed it. They originally didn't have none as an option but we made them add it. The final results were
1. None.
2. None of the above.
3. Chief

Needless to say, we didn't adapt a new mascot.