The Kingfisher

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#26      

TheChiefRises

TheChiefRises
TheChiefRises
Get a more professional artist on it and make the Kingfisher's body have the football field design that the Chief logo used to have and I'm in. They're a predatory bird, there are species of it that live in Illinois, naturally orange and blue and apparently no one else has it as their mascot. If the Chief can't come back, this is the best attempt at a new mascot I've seen so far.
 
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#27      

Gary J

G
Gary J
I like that no other school has the name. I am in favor and if the students want it, count me in favor.
 
#28      

NJILLINI

N
Castle Pines, Colorado
NJILLINI
The teams have been an embarrassment enough for more than a decade. Then, just as we start to see light at the end of the tunnel for both football and men's basketball, somebody proposes this and it passes unopposed out of committee? Please don't add insult to injury by allowing this ridiculous cartoon to represent our university.

Self-inflicted wounds are the worst. It should be the Chief or nothing.
 
#29      

McBrush

M
McBrush
Not a fan. It has zero connection to the university besides being orange and blue and some live in Illinois. They do not have to bring back the Chief, but at least have the mascot relate somehow to the university. I still like the alma otter, which has some connection. Heck, there are some orange and blue butterflies that are native to Illinois and no other school has them as a mascot.
 
#31      

FoxesFan

F
FoxesFan
No,No, no, mascots. We have a sacred team name. That’s good enough. Don’t diminish it with a student dressed up in a costume with a foam rubber head on.

And why should human beings who had the good fortune to be born approximately 1998 to 2022 have the sole right and authority to govern this choice, which will impact university alumni going back 80 years and going forward forever. Well over half of these students have never seen a football or basketball game.

Bad idea and an even worse method of approving it.
 
#34      

Rap73

R
Rap73
Who came up with this stupid Idea? From the chief to a bird is ridiculous.
 
#35      

illinifan4249

I
Space Coast, FL
illinifan4249
Thing this is another bad idea from student government. They always seem to be trying to get a mascot when they aren't even involved in school athletics...

My preference is no mascot anyways. I am a Packers fan and they don't have a mascot and it doesn't take anything away from gameday in my opinion. As the saying goes, "winning cures everything."
 
#37      

wpr

wpr
wpr
illinifan4249 said:
Thing this is another bad idea from student government. They always seem to be trying to get a mascot when they aren't even involved in school athletics...

My preference is no mascot anyways. I am a Packers fan and they don't have a mascot and it doesn't take anything away from gameday in my opinion. As the saying goes, "winning cures everything."
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I agree. We get caught up in the frivolous.

I took my dad to a minor league baseball game. Between innings they had all kinds of activities. When they got to 2 fans spinning around a bat then trying to run, he got a little cranky. "What's all this stuff have to do with baseball?" (This is the clean version.) I told him the teams are trying to entertain the fans. He thought the game itself was entertaining enough. I told him times have changed.
That's almost 20 years ago.
I personally think most of the sideshow is a waste of time and effort but someone must like it or they wouldn't keep doing it.
 
#38      

chief53

C
chief53
We have never had a mascot and don't need one now. It is another feeble attempt by the small group of faculty and their minions to wipe out all vestiges of the CHIEF. He is still there every game day and always will be.
 
#39      

Rap73

R
Rap73
The chief was an inspirational symbol for the program, nothing else.
 
#40      

SnakePlissken

S
SnakePlissken
wpr said:
I agree. We get caught up in the frivolous.

I took my dad to a minor league baseball game. Between innings they had all kinds of activities. When they got to 2 fans spinning around a bat then trying to run, he got a little cranky. "What's all this stuff have to do with baseball?" (This is the clean version.) I told him the teams are trying to entertain the fans. He thought the game itself was entertaining enough. I told him times have changed.
That's almost 20 years ago.
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Totally agree with your dad, even before I got old :) . I specifically don't attend the local minor league baseball games because they are constantly playing music, leaving very little quiet time for conversation and just enjoying the environment. Baseball is a slow game. One of the main draws for me was conversation with the family. Take that away and you're just left with....a slow game.

wpr said:
I personally think most of the sideshow is a waste of time and effort but someone must like it or they wouldn't keep doing it.
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small children? non-sports fans who came along because someone else wanted to see the game?
 
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#41      

bluemountain

B
bluemountain
wpr said:
I agree. We get caught up in the frivolous.

I took my dad to a minor league baseball game. Between innings they had all kinds of activities. When they got to 2 fans spinning around a bat then trying to run, he got a little cranky. "What's all this stuff have to do with baseball?" (This is the clean version.) I told him the teams are trying to entertain the fans. He thought the game itself was entertaining enough. I told him times have changed.
That's almost 20 years ago.
I personally think most of the sideshow is a waste of time and effort but someone must like it or they wouldn't keep doing it.
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Agree with your dad, although I do like the sumo wrestlers! We've gotten to the point in our society where we have to always be entertained and we can't tolerate any quiet time
 
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#42      

champaignchris

C
champaignchris
The university has marketing people. Hell, it has a pretty fairly respected marketing major.

They have to have studies on this. Show me that a mascot increases student interest and participation. Show me that continued use of the "Fighting Illini" name is keeping students away. Show me that divorcing the program from its Chief past will increase student participation. Show me how this is a better long-term play for the program than not doing it.

This is an athletic department with a nearly $100MM a year budget. Show me that you're doing something with marketing and presentation other than blindly flinging darts at a dart board.
 
#43      

Fr8trn16

F
Fr8trn16
How about the mascot just be the block "I" itself... as a character with arms and legs?
 
#44      

dbeaverfg

dbeaverfg
dbeaverfg
Fr8trn16 said:
How about the mascot just be the block "I" itself... as a character with arms and legs?
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Sure, why not, the IHSA already has this.
1582827364765.png
 
#45      

Bverdec

B
West Palm Beach, FL
Bverdec
This mascot is ridiculous. And we never really had a "mascot" anyway. I really hope the students don't vote in favor of this.
 
#46      

ROFOIllini

R
ROFOIllini
Bverdec said:
This mascot is ridiculous. And we never really had a "mascot" anyway. I really hope the students don't vote in favor of this.
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It's my largely uninformed opinion (perhaps slightly influenced by hope) that it's unlikely to pass. Just last year Alma Otter lost. Unlike Alma Otter, the Kingfisher doesn't have the pun/meme factor that will be needed to attract the typically indifferent student to vote. I can't imagine that the pulse of the student body has changed so much in a year that they would vote for this because, sans meme factor, they actually like it or think it'll heal the community or whatever it is they want it to do.
 
#47      

VictoryIllinoisVarsity

VictoryIllinoisVarsity
Chicago Suburbs
VictoryIllinoisVarsity
JFGsCoffeeMug said:
If this passes, I assume we will become the "Fighting Illinois Kingfishers" or "Fighting Illini Kingfishers."

Both sound pretty horrible to me.
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Just like the Purdue Purdue Petes and the Wisconsin Bucky Badgers. Mascot and nickname are two different things. Regardless, I don't remember any students taking the Student Government seriously when I was in school, so why would they now? They already voted down their last mascot idea.
 
#48      

Illwinsagain

Illwinsagain
Cary, IL
Illwinsagain
The only thing that I can do (as an old alumnus) to justify this, is to think of the Auburn Tigers, who also have a War Eagle, as a mascot. Keep the Fighting Illini, but have a trained bird (not a Hawky character) fly around the stadium prior to game, halftime. Can a Kingfisher be trained?
 
#50      

SycIllini

S
Sycamore, Illinois
SycIllini
Probably because I’m old but, shouldn’t alumni have as much or more say in this than current students? There are a lot of stakeholders in a school especially a public, state university. Even beyond students and alumni. Seems like all would want a voice in something like this.
 
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