Alma Otter

#51      

Hoppy2105

H
Little Rock, Arkansas
Hoppy2105
I’m hoping the otter isn’t our actual mascot. Like, we won’t be the University of Illinois Fighting Otters or anything right? What I’m hoping is that we are the Fighting Illini, like always, and simply have a goofy mascot, for the kids/entertainment, running around. If that is the capacity of this funny character, and we don’t change our name to the Otters or something, I’m okay with this.
 
#53      

bert1991

B
bert1991
Illinois grad / fan living in Madison.....true story, my 5 year old daughter just saw me looking at this and goes...."Ooooh, Bucky Badger!!!"
 
#54      

BananaShampoo

B
Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
BananaShampoo
I'm pretty sure that even if this goes through we will still be the "Fighting Illini". That's not gonna change. This would unofficial, much like the Stanford 🌲.
 
#57      

Poe's Law

P
Poe's Law
Never noticed it before, but that jacket does look like it might be orange and navy plaid. I don't know about you but I'm not going to hang around this thread and listen to you bad mouth the United States of America.
Otter.jpg
 
#58      

KrushCow31

KrushCow31
Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
KrushCow31
Myself and all my other friends who graduated in the last 5 years also hate it. Cause it's dumb. Next? Indiana doesn't have a mascot. Why do we need one? We never had one before.
 
#60      

KrushCow31

KrushCow31
Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
KrushCow31
mattcoldagelli said:
Didn't you, uh, regularly dress up as a cow for basketball games?
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Yah and all I got for it was a $150 gift contest gift card and some Sportscenter appearances. We didn't start a petition to make me the official mascot of Illinois.

Idk which is better.
 
#61      

Illiniaaron

I
Geneseo, IL
Illiniaaron
wILL-INI said:
Cause we do this every other year, it seems. Chicken, Owls, Lincolns, Soldiers, Eagles, Otters, Granges, Squirrels, Corn-things, amphomorphic letters...
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Maybe we could have a guy dressed like a farmer riding a John Deere lawnmower around...
 
#64      

Deleted member 16340

D
Guest
Deleted member 16340
bert1991 said:
Illinois grad / fan living in Madison.....true story, my 5 year old daughter just saw me looking at this and goes...."Ooooh, Bucky Badger!!!"
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I had the same initial thoughts...guess I'm 60 going on 5!😋
 
#65      

BackThatPassUp

B
BackThatPassUp
As a non-dues paying member of PETA, I do not approve! Enough with objectifying the bodies of beloved animals. Even faux fur is harmful to society as it perpetuates the belief that animals are to be adorned as articles of clothing. I much rather you objectify humans since Illinois has such a great accounting program, how about you use an Auditor as a mascot. They're pretty scary. If you don't believe, take a bunch of write-offs before April 15th.
 
#66      

The Sprouting Divot

The Sprouting Divot
Invisible and Bulletproof
Miracle Mile
The Sprouting Divot
I've long felt that we should strive to offend everyone equally with whatever comes next - the University of Illinois Fighting Butt Pustules or similar. But this Otter idea is so transparently and aggressively inoffensive that I'd be okay with it too.
 
#67      

redwingillini11

redwingillini11
White and Sixth
North Aurora
redwingillini11
Glad to see there has been quite a lot of vocal opposition to this dumb idea over the past weekend. Hopefully our administration has a bit more common sense and awareness than the ISG does.

As I've said. If someone in the Krush wants to dress up as an unofficial otter mascot, go right ahead. But it better get no where near official status.
 
#70      

IanKEvans2

IanKEvans2
IanKEvans2
JFGsCoffeeMug said:
We could do a lot worse than an otter.

mascotsmallerversion3501.jpg


A lot worse.
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Haha, nothing wrong with the Banana Slugs. I don't recall seeing UIUC get any promotional shots in Pulp Fiction. (Edit: Credit to BirdDog9048 for just beating me to the punch).
film-pulp_fiction-1994-vincent_vega-john_travolta-tshirts-uc_santa_cruz_banana_slugs_shirt-595x335.jpg


In a somewhat serious note, I think UIUC should take a page out of the obscure mascot handbook of minor league baseball teams. There's got to be something better out there. I'm not anti-otter, but there's some sense of panache missing with it.
 
#74      

oldman

O
oldman
I prefer the Orange Krush mascot of all the suggestions. It has tradition. It communicates strength. Strong history of philanthropy. Something we immediately recognize as a symbol of our athletic teams. And as far as I can tell, it doesn't offend anyone.