I’ve always liked this idea, but you’ve gotta be careful with “Galloping Ghost” logos and mascots, lest they too closely resemble galloping Klansmen.
The mascot debate/fandom thread
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
At the risk of repeating myself again, how does that work at a basketball game?
Get creative. Make it work. Have fun with it. If you want to stand behind "The Kingfishers," go for it. It's a lot easier to explain the term "Galloping Ghost" & it's meaning than a bird.
Are there really kids clamoring for a mascot?
I honestly can't relate. I grew up and followed the Cubs so not having a mascot was the norm (and I personally didn't care as I was more interested in the players/game).
To that point, most of the kids now don't have any connection to a mascot at U of I... Do they even know the difference or care about it?
I honestly can't relate. I grew up and followed the Cubs so not having a mascot was the norm (and I personally didn't care as I was more interested in the players/game).
To that point, most of the kids now don't have any connection to a mascot at U of I... Do they even know the difference or care about it?
It's terrifying how much AI can get right and yet so wrong.
Sure wish that D1 hockey team / arena thing had worked out. While I like the nickname 'galloping ghost', I've always been partial to his original one 'the (Wheaton) Iceman'. Logo could even incorporate a nice Block I, but somebody better than me with graphics or AI can try that if they're interested.
I have always wondered why this whole (create a mascot) thing is happening. It feels like they are finding a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.
Like if Josh Whitman came out said “Hey Illini Nation, here is the analytical (or maybe empirical?) data showing how our athletic department is suffering because of a lack of mascot,” I’d take more notice.
To my knowledge he hasn’t started that capital campaign right?
The amount of effort and drive behind the kingfisher mascot campaign doesn’t scream “casual fan that thinks it would be cool to entertain kids at games/represent the UofI in mascot related media/events.”
It feels like there is a long term agenda to normalize it for future expanded use. I mean, it got on that NBC tweet before someone (probably the UofI) told them to take it down. That wasn’t an accident.
Or maybe it’d stop at goofy mascot status. Who knows? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
I stand behind "we've never had a mascot, we don't need one".
And FWIW, there's plenty of kids at our games. I really don't see the need to stoop to furries or trying to force a football image into a campus-wide mascot. "Nothing" is a completely viable option.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
I mean, obviously not. Kids don't know what they don't know. But what parents know - and have pointed out in this thread - is something like a mascot plays a non-zero role in a wider swath of people having more fun at a game. My kids can follow a basketball game on its merits now, but there was a time when they mostly wanted to watch Benny the Bull mess with people.
To be clear though, this isn't just a sop to toddlers, it's about not leaving a branding opportunity on the table. For as long as I have been posting on the Illinois internet, the central Problem To Be Solved has always been building stronger identity and loyalty for the university's sports teams within the state (i.e. "Why can't UIUC be to the state of Illinois what UW-Madison is to the state of Wisconsin?"). Will a mascot be the one weird trick that fixes this? Clearly not.
Will it help a little on the margins by being able to sell a stuffed animal to a kid or add a new photo op for young adults at something like the B1G 10K? Maybe!
We need all the maybes we can get our hands on (beer deals at the stadium! better tailgating setups! EVENT STAFF not being butts! games in Chicago!) and we need to stack them up.
Walt Moore, Mannie Jackson, and Govoner Vaughn for Basketball. Ghosts of Basketball past?
UIUC isn't like WISC because since Barry Alvarez in 1990, WISC has won ~2/3 of their games while IL has won ~40% of theirs.
UIUC will probably never have as strong an in-state identity as WISC for no other fact than WISC accepts more in-state undergrads as a percentage of their state's overall population than IL does.
With conference realignment and super-conferences a real possibility, the next five-seven years might be the most important time period for IL football to be good in the history of the program. This mascot debate runs a huge, massive risk of displeasing more fans than it will please in the short term. Now is the last time that I think we need to take a gamble that the long term gains of kids maybe liking IL more because of a bird mascot outweighs the risk of the disunity this will cause in the short term. It also isn't good branding if ESPN, announcers, talking heads, rival fans, etc. are mocking it, which is a real possibility with Kingfisher.
Let's just change to the "reds" and use Red Grange for football and Red Kerr for basketball. /s
SKane
- Tennessee
How about the Pioneers?
Since we can't have the first human occupants be our symbol, maybe the second occupants could be our symbol.
You could have men or women. However, both would need to carry a rifle so maybe pioneers would not work.
Or you could have Abe Lincoln carrying an axe (for splitting rails).
Since we can't have the first human occupants be our symbol, maybe the second occupants could be our symbol.
You could have men or women. However, both would need to carry a rifle so maybe pioneers would not work.
Or you could have Abe Lincoln carrying an axe (for splitting rails).
Abe Lincoln as the Rail Splitter is the best outcome imo. Offers plenty of opportunities for fan engagement, is a symbol of strength/machismo and yet also the strongest moral compass of anybody in Illinois history, universally beloved, clear linkage to Illinois, giant top hat, etc., etc.
I had always thought the thunderbird would make for a good mascot, with a nod to our school history and yet not overtly insensitive. Alas, I think even the thunderbird would die a quick death these days.
Is that a horse ghost?
No... kids are not clamoring for a mascot. But when they see one, their eyes light up and they form a connection. To the young kids of right now, they don't know anything about what Illinois did or didn't have in the past. But if there's a Kingfisher or an Otter or whatever at the game, it's new and exciting to them and THEIR eyes light up.
Again... mascots aren't about us adults. They are -- and always have been -- for the kids.
Actually.... THAT would be very cool!
This one probably wouldn't fly, but it would bridge the gap. 
If this is all about kids eyes lighting up, why not an Orange dinosaur, like Barney in a color that doesn’t suck.
Or maybe this would get campus socialists to fill the stadium. We could probably get the real thing to come and lecture the fans. That would certainly increase sales at concession stands.
The push for the bird, however, is just to drive another spike into the coffin of Chief illiniwek. It is NOT about bringing the campus together or whatever lane rationale proponents publicly espouse. And to that add the elimination of “Illini” from campus, despite a connection almost as old as the university itself.
I myself would be satisfied with a change of regalia for the Chief and honoring Native culture with an annual appointment (at a substantial stipend from enthusiastic alumni base) of a champion fancy dancer who would be proud to share his culture with the university and, by association, with America and the world. Alumni would also gladly donate for the new regalia. It’s a solution that would make almost everyone happy. It would be true to the long self-association of the university with Native Americans, who in turn could be proud of the association with a world class university. It would eliminate the concerns about the lack of authenticity, about a white bit in Indian clothes doing an Indian dance, etc, etc, and rather than causing Native American youth to kill themselves would be aspirational and a point of pride. Can you imagine THIS on the field at halftime?
Or maybe this would get campus socialists to fill the stadium. We could probably get the real thing to come and lecture the fans. That would certainly increase sales at concession stands.
The push for the bird, however, is just to drive another spike into the coffin of Chief illiniwek. It is NOT about bringing the campus together or whatever lane rationale proponents publicly espouse. And to that add the elimination of “Illini” from campus, despite a connection almost as old as the university itself.
I myself would be satisfied with a change of regalia for the Chief and honoring Native culture with an annual appointment (at a substantial stipend from enthusiastic alumni base) of a champion fancy dancer who would be proud to share his culture with the university and, by association, with America and the world. Alumni would also gladly donate for the new regalia. It’s a solution that would make almost everyone happy. It would be true to the long self-association of the university with Native Americans, who in turn could be proud of the association with a world class university. It would eliminate the concerns about the lack of authenticity, about a white bit in Indian clothes doing an Indian dance, etc, etc, and rather than causing Native American youth to kill themselves would be aspirational and a point of pride. Can you imagine THIS on the field at halftime?
chiefini
- Rockford, Illinois
I agree, @1970 John, and as you and I both know, this concept of an authentic fancy dancer was proposed to the Chancellor and BOT a few years ago, but it was ignored. Maybe if enough supporters voiced the idea again, it could gain ground?If this is all about kids eyes lighting up, why not an Orange dinosaur, like Barney in a color that doesn’t suck.
Or maybe this would get campus socialists to fill the stadium. We could probably get the real thing to come and lecture the fans. That would certainly increase sales at concession stands.
The push for the bird, however, is just to drive another spike into the coffin of Chief illiniwek. It is NOT about bringing the campus together or whatever lane rationale proponents publicly espouse. And to that add the elimination of “Illini” from campus, despite a connection almost as old as the university itself.
I myself would be satisfied with a change of regalia for the Chief and honoring Native culture with an annual appointment (at a substantial stipend from enthusiastic alumni base) of a champion fancy dancer who would be proud to share his culture with the university and, by association, with America and the world. Alumni would also gladly donate for the new regalia. It’s a solution that would make almost everyone happy. It would be true to the long self-association of the university with Native Americans, who in turn could be proud of the association with a world class university. It would eliminate the concerns about the lack of authenticity, about a white bit in Indian clothes doing an Indian dance, etc, etc, and rather than causing Native American youth to kill themselves would be aspirational and a point of pride. Can you imagine THIS on the field at halftime?
You take kids to see the game. If you don't take them to see the game and learn about the game, why spend the money to go? For the record, I hate the Cubs mascot too, it is a complete waste of time. Went 100 years without a mascot for the Cubs, but then had to get one because kids now don't have any attention spans.