GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
Haha perfect. 
The mascot debate/fandom thread
Let the poor kingfisher go back to terrifying minnows in lakes and streams. He surely won't scare Wolverines and Badgers. They're already laughing at the prospect.
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
Since you brought up McDonald's just throwing this out there: McDonald's Grimace Mascot Helped Boost Sales Over 11%
And from this CBS story:
"Grimace's Birthday is all about paying homage to the amazing, fun moments we all share," Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and customer experience officer at McDonald's USA, said in a statement about the occasion. "Grimace is the perfect lovable icon to have McDonald's meet our fans at the intersection of nostalgia and culture."
It's almost as if...fun things should be fun? And that fun things being fun can generate some enthusiasm, both among existing fans and potential new ones?
Terrible take.
I'm ambivalent about the kingfisher itself, but the program should never, ever stop catering to kids, and a mascot is a tried-and-true method for appealing to kids.
Kids are the adults of the future. A kid that goes with his parents to an Illini game and has a great time is a future fan, possibly a future Illinois student, possibly even a future highly-ranked basketball or football recruit. Those kinds of experiences mean a lot to families and can foster a real, lasting connection with a team. And (sorry to cheapen the sentiment) real, lasting connections are often the key to a person's wallet. Ticket sales, merchandise sales, contributions to the NIL fund. We want those to continue.
I mean, this entire thing is 18-23 year-olds playing the same games my 5-year old plays at recess and gym class. I think those of us that are twice the age of the players or more need to keep things in perspective sometimes.
Love them, but prefer not a live animal.
I would love to see the kingfisher as our mascot. we older adults need to think what is best for the young families and kids. It is hard to breathe when your head is stuck in the sand.
Do you think kids going to a Florida State game will forget it? Will a foam headed cartoon character inspire the same awe as Chief Osceola? I wasn’t “introduced” to Chief Illiniwek until I went to my first football game as a freshman. Instant Illinois Loyalty…like this forum is named. That’s what it’s all about. Kids will remember that two minutes of the Chief dancing on the field longer and stronger than what any cartoon might inspire.
I guess I don’t get the intangibles of a goofy bird…or maybe I do and that’s why I don’t like it.
I guess I don’t get the intangibles of a goofy bird…or maybe I do and that’s why I don’t like it.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
Your time has expired! Now stop that clapping!
Actually the Chief is still here. He never REALLY left. Never will.
Woke Minority...you know... the self-righteous, faux-moralizing, virtue-signaling, emotional parasites that latch on to any cause to inflate their status and influence to make themselves feel better about themselves. You know the ones?
I still yell “Chief” at every game and have such fond memories of something that made the university so unique and, honestly, made me more knowledgeable on the history of the Illini tribe than I would have been otherwise.
That said, I’m reaching the point where it would be okay to introduce something as a mascot. We took our daughter to the game Saturday and sat in the horseshoe. We were shocked that, at 4 and occasionally a timid kid, she wanted to go down and high five the Terrapin two different times. It made her day, along with getting the ILL-INI chant down. There’s something to be said about what that can do for engagement in young fans.
Before I get to what I'm going to say, let the record show that your reply was to a post that was made more than a year ago.
Now, while I'm sure that the Chief never left and never will for some, he is not going to come back as an official mascot of the university in any way, shape, or form. If it was going to happen, it would have shortly after it initially left. This many years later, it's a longshot at best and that's probably being generous.
And people who use the "woke minority" phrase are just doing so as a defensive reaction because they know that the opinions of those that they disagree with are actually valid opinions.
Tell that to all those rebel yelling CHIEF at football and basketball games. That alone is proof that the Chief is still in town.
Yes, this. Mascots are for kids, and kids are good. Bringing kids to games is good. Kids enjoying games is good. Not just because they're future fans and $$$$ and all that. But also because isn't this kind of what we want to be as a society? Welcoming and supportive of kids and families?
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
Alma Otter or nothing...
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
I've always been a pro chief guy but would be fine with a mascot of some sort. It needs to be some sort of intentional comedy IMO. Like picture the Western KY red blob. Something like that or the Stanford Tree. Anything that is presented as something 1/2 way serious will be rejected by a lot of the alumni & fanbase in general.
Do something just completely goofy for the kids & it has a solid chance of catching on. Years ago someone did a photoshop of the Western KY blob & they called it Illie. Something like that would work if done right.
Do something just completely goofy for the kids & it has a solid chance of catching on. Years ago someone did a photoshop of the Western KY blob & they called it Illie. Something like that would work if done right.
band camp
- STL City
Ignoring his first sentence is weird.
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
Blocky the I or nothing.
TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
If the Chief is coming back, it will be soon.
BTW the Kingfisher will never ever be the mascot.....
BTW the Kingfisher will never ever be the mascot.....