GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
Or Blocky the I.
The mascot debate/fandom thread
Shane Walsh
aka "Captain Oblivious"
- Cynthiana, Kentucky
My Turn | Hail to the kingfisher
"Let’s stop the curmudgeon class from denying young students and grads of a mascot they can cheer with, and associate with their time in Champaign-Urbana," Mark Toalson writes.
In the grand spectrum of symbols or mascots, the Chief is still in the top rung with the USC Trojan, Chief Osceola and Sparty. A doughboy would be great in that it would be pretty unique and has a direct tie in to the Fighting Illini. A kingfisher would be as generic as bucky the badger or the Northwestern wildcat - nothing great, but at least innocuous. Probably the best thing that can be said about it is that it isn't as ridiculous as a tree or an orange. In other words, I guess it could be worse.
dgcrow
- Kelso, WA
Possible beginning for the return of The Chief?
A group referred to as "NAGA" on their own website.Possible beginning for the return of The Chief?
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
1. I don't mean to be too critical of a debatably minor thing, but it is distracting when a spelling error and grammatical error are front and center within the first two paragraphs ... lol, it might have made me a bit biased from the start.My Turn | Hail to the kingfisher
"Let’s stop the curmudgeon class from denying young students and grads of a mascot they can cheer with, and associate with their time in Champaign-Urbana," Mark Toalson writes.www.news-gazette.com
2. I do not think it is comparable to say that we never changed our name to "the Fighting Chiefs" when we had the Chief, so no one should worry about getting rid of the nickname, "Fighting Illini." For one, the Chief and the Fighting Illini were arguably very connected ... the Kingfisher would be in effect starting over, and it's a totally rationale concern that some people who don't say anything about the name Illini now would eventually view the nickname as archaic, somehow offensive and worthy of being ditched at a future time. The War Chant was in no danger of ever being removed in 2007 when the Chief was because "it was just a song," and here we are. This isn't a political comment as it can apply to those on the left and the right, but most activists do not rest easy when they achieve their stated goals ... they check it off the list and move on to something new. To effectively gaslight people concerned about losing the Fighting Illini nickname and tell them they have nothing to worry about indefinitely is very disingenuous, IMO.
3. On that note, I think any new mascot (and I do NOT think we need one!) has to be unique to our identity as Illinoisans and/or people associated with Illinois' state flagship school (i.e., mostly alumni). I will give the Kingfisher that it at least tries in this regard, but very few will draw any kind of connection. A World War II/military reference is the most direct way to pivot toward some type of continuity with the broadest of meanings for "Fighting Illini," but I understand that many (rightly or wrongly) will find some issue with this. So, if we MUST have a mascot, I am all aboard the Abe Lincoln train. He is arguably the most famous person to ever come from this state, ESPECIALLY Downstate Illinois. I'm sure someone somewhere would find a reason to be offended by using Honest Abe, but at some point we have to not really give a crap.
No one should be under any delusions of what mascots are or aren't possible with a liberal university in a liberal state. And I will give the kingfisher crew credit for coming up with something that is unique, an animal that I'd never heard of before. But if you roll out a kingfisher mascot for the first time at a men's basketball game during a timeout or at halftime it will get booed. Likely booed really really badly and that isn't good for anyone. I'll also echo the sentiments that believe this is an underhanded way to replace "fighting illini" with "kingfisher". But then again I've been jaded with the admin ever since they threw out my vote and didn't let a gnome represent me in student government.
The end game is to absolutely get rid of the Fighting Illini and replace it with something deemed more appropriate. Enough is never enough with activists
Oskee67
- Champaign
The answer to everything is very simple... We either have a Lincoln mascot and change our name to the Thinkin Lincolns or make Alma (just Alma, not the otter) the new symbol/mascot.
First option is mostly for jest, but the second is a serious suggestion. She's beloved by everyone associated with the university, there's already a prominent statue of her on campus, and (I haven't done any research on this, so take my next statement with a grain of salt) would likely be one of the only, if not the first, female symbols/mascots in the country. Why can't or shouldn't we make this happen?
Also, here are a couple more cents to ponder...The doughboy idea is neat on paper, but how do you make that into a cute/fun/goofy mascot in the stands or on the field, which is the whole point of this discussion? The closest comparison I guess would be sparty, but Spartan soldiers were around thousands of years ago. To make a charicature of a US soldier into a mascot is awkward at best, and, at worst, offensive to a certain segment/s of society for multiple reasons. Lastly, Kingfisher works from a color scheme, feather design, and is a bird found in Illinois, but so what? I get that a mascot doesn't have to match a university's nickname (see Ole Miss' Landshark or Stanford's cocaine tree), but if we're going to go that route, why not lean all the way in and get super random with it? Why settle for something that seems forced because it fits into some arbitrary lines?
First option is mostly for jest, but the second is a serious suggestion. She's beloved by everyone associated with the university, there's already a prominent statue of her on campus, and (I haven't done any research on this, so take my next statement with a grain of salt) would likely be one of the only, if not the first, female symbols/mascots in the country. Why can't or shouldn't we make this happen?
Also, here are a couple more cents to ponder...The doughboy idea is neat on paper, but how do you make that into a cute/fun/goofy mascot in the stands or on the field, which is the whole point of this discussion? The closest comparison I guess would be sparty, but Spartan soldiers were around thousands of years ago. To make a charicature of a US soldier into a mascot is awkward at best, and, at worst, offensive to a certain segment/s of society for multiple reasons. Lastly, Kingfisher works from a color scheme, feather design, and is a bird found in Illinois, but so what? I get that a mascot doesn't have to match a university's nickname (see Ole Miss' Landshark or Stanford's cocaine tree), but if we're going to go that route, why not lean all the way in and get super random with it? Why settle for something that seems forced because it fits into some arbitrary lines?
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
Alma Mater is a phrase used by every university everywhere. We'd be a laughingstock.
Champ just doesn’t come off as a fun mascot
It’s never, ever happeningPossible beginning for the return of The Chief?
illini80
- Forgottonia
Dislike.
Who/what is the Kingfisher Task Force and who is funding them? Is this a one man show trying to make a name for himself or actually a real campus organization with enough members to do things? I suspect this will show up at some football games and I hope it goes as poorly as that last bird.Good God that costume looks f#*$ing stupid.
I’m not for the Kingfisher by any stretch so I’m not saying they SHOULD have redesigns, but if they do I hope that first design iteration is 1 of about a million.
Woof.
I’m not for the Kingfisher by any stretch so I’m not saying they SHOULD have redesigns, but if they do I hope that first design iteration is 1 of about a million.
Woof.
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Who funded the kingfisher costume that has been prancing around campus. It was professionally designed and constructed, and certainly cost thousands of dollars from conception to completion. Let’s not kid ourselves. The money for that came from the university, and most likely goes all the way up to the chancellor’s office. I don’t for a minute believe this is sort of groundswell of student enthusiasm.
The Daily Illini should investigate this…or perhaps change its name. Where is the chancellor on that?
The Daily Illini should investigate this…or perhaps change its name. Where is the chancellor on that?
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal
I mean, for what is clearly a home-brewed costume, that's pretty impressive.
I would love to have the Kingfisher as mascot. We would be like most of the other teams in our conference, Purdue, MSU, PSU. Iowa,NW,Wisconsin, etc. That would be a fun mascot that would not offend some people. I am supporting the idea 100%.
This whole debate is about whether we are replacing our name or simply adding a goofy mascot.
If it truly is the latter, that thing does not look goofy or playful or mischievous. Like Ramrod said, it looks like a washed up 35 year old that just stumbled out of its parents nest and is high out of its mind.
There is a 99% chance my kids would run from that as opposed to take a picture with it. (It’s mostly the head…like I said, woof)
If it truly is the latter, that thing does not look goofy or playful or mischievous. Like Ramrod said, it looks like a washed up 35 year old that just stumbled out of its parents nest and is high out of its mind.
There is a 99% chance my kids would run from that as opposed to take a picture with it. (It’s mostly the head…like I said, woof)
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
Several questions for the Pro-Mascot crowd:
1. Will a mascot cause you personally to attend more football games? Or conversely, does the lack of a mascot (NOTE--Chief was not a mascot) keep you from attending games?
2. Will a mascot increase attendance overall?
3. Will a mascot improve the quality of our football program? (in other words, how many extra wins per year will a mascot bring?
4. Will a mascot boost the national profile of the football program and the university in general?