The mascot debate/fandom thread

[LouDou]

Saw this on reddit

NO

 

[SuperMetroid]

Prepare to toggle: https://www.news-gazette.com/news/l...cle_5239e44d-f741-5527-a7d1-1bef757185b2.html

Love it. Let's do it. Or Alma Otter. Whatever. Move on and join 2023.

Anything to not have to hear the Chief dead-enders whine about a 2 decades-gone stupid tradition that has no chance of ever coming back.

 

[1970 John]

Love it. Let's do it. Or Alma Otter. Whatever. Move on and join 2023.

Anything to not have to hear the Chief dead-enders whine about a 2 decades-gone stupid tradition that has no chance of ever coming back.

Yet here you are, whining about people who you accuse of whining. The easiest way to not hear it is to not read it. You have a choice.

 

[redwingillini11]

"We need a mascot."

Lol.

 

[Gary J]

Bring on The Kingfisher. I too am tired of the chief whining. Ain’t coming back. Ever.

 

[Ransom Stoddard]

Love it. Let's do it. Or Alma Otter. Whatever. Move on and join 2023.

Anything to not have to hear the Chief dead-enders whine about a 2 decades-gone stupid tradition that has no chance of ever coming back.

You think the people that whine about the Chief are going to stop when the university adopts the offspring of Woody Woodpecker and the Toronto Bluejay? The last 16 years will be nothing compared to the howling you're gonna get when that travesty shows up at a game.

Moving on from Chief and moving on to a mascot with no relationship to the university are two different things. Trust me, there are plenty of people not clamoring for the return of Chief that are also opposed to a furry, and most of them that I know are donors.

 

[LocalChief505]

Bring on The Kingfisher. I too am tired of the chief whining. Ain’t coming back. Ever.

Can we name him Chief?

 

[SnakePlissken]

Bring on The Kingfisher. I too am tired of the chief whining. Ain’t coming back. Ever.

Anything to not have to hear the Chief dead-enders whine about a 2 decades-gone stupid tradition that has no chance of ever coming back.

What behavior is it that you're expecting will change if and when a Kingfisher is adopted as the official mascot?

 

[AZILL]

What behavior is it that you're expecting will change if and when a Kingfisher is adopted as the official mascot?

Do you really expect an honest and straightforward answer to this question? I have my doubts...

 

[mattcoldagelli]

What behavior is it that you're expecting will change if and when a Kingfisher is adopted as the official mascot?

I mean, there are a lot of people in this very thread/on this board saying they will stop going to games/stop giving money/take some other route of lessening their involvement. So unless they are just being whiny blowhards, I'll take them at their word.

 

[LocalChief505]

I heard there is a kingfisher like mascot in iowa city if youre into that kind of thing.

 

[bluemountain]

I mean, there are a lot of people in this very thread/on this board saying they will stop going to games/stop giving money/take some other route of lessening their involvement. So unless they are just being whiny blowhards, I'll take them at their word.

Very few people will stop going to games or donating just because we add a mascot. Similarly, while some on this board think there will be a massive surge in attendance and interest if we add a mascot, I don't see that happening either. On the margins, having a dumb mascot like a kingfisher or otter makes us look a little sillier, but that's about it

 

[Ransom Stoddard]

Very few people will stop going to games or donating just because we add a mascot. Similarly, while some on this board think there will be a massive surge in attendance and interest if we add a mascot, I don't see that happening either. On the margins, having a dumb mascot like a kingfisher or otter makes us look a little sillier, but that's about it

I think more than a few will stop donating. I've spoken with a number of Ifund members across the spectrum of giving, and there's a lot of opposition to the bird--and it isn't because of Chief, it's because the bird has nothing to do with the university, its traditions, or its alumni. It feels forced, and a fair number of those donors have said they'll reduce or stop their giving if the university adopts this bird. Maybe that's a lot of talk, but giving dropped off drastically when Chief was retired, so I tend to believe it.

Personally--I don't know that I'll stop going to games, and my giving level isn't such that my opinion matters to the DIA, but I do know that I'll boo and razz this creature at every opportunity, just as I did last Saturday.

 

[mattcoldagelli]

Similarly, while some on this board think there will be a massive surge in attendance and interest if we add a mascot, I don't see that happening either.

I don't want to speak for anyone else, but just to be clear, I absolutely do not think this. I think it could make the game environment slightly more fun for some people, could result in some fun merch, and give us something else to use for brand awareness. All good things, even in small doses.

YMMV, but I also welcome the departure of donors whose vision of a successful athletic department is so blinkered and self-interested that they would tie their involvement in it to whether or not there is a mascot at a game.

My spicier take is that this actually is a step towards protecting the name "Fighting Illini" but you all can go back and read this thread and hear some extremely bitter and paranoid people tell me why it's just the opposite and part of a larger effort that "They" are undertaking to remove that, too.

 

[Big Jack]

I had a great thought at the Ottawa game Friday night when I looked up at the scoreboard at center court and saw the pic of a German Sheppard..

I say we get a German Sheppard and name him Oske Wow Wow.. Works for me and isnt some stupid Otter or Bird

Guess we could name him Chief for short

 

[1970 John]

What behavior is it that you're expecting will change if and when a Kingfisher is adopted as the official mascot?

I have good friends who are Penn State and Michigan State alumni and fans and they’re having a field day, laughing about the potential of playing the Kingfishers (and with the nose of the. camel under the tent, Fighting Illini out the door is inevitable. And as far as that goes, why the heck not? It’s what “they” want.

 

[Ransom Stoddard]

I don't want to speak for anyone else, but just to be clear, I absolutely do not think this. I think it could make the game environment slightly more fun for some people, could result in some fun merch, and give us something else to use for brand awareness. All good things, even in small doses.

YMMV, but I also welcome the departure of donors whose vision of a successful athletic department is so blinkered and self-interested that they would tie their involvement in it to whether or not there is a mascot at a game.

My spicier take is that this actually is a step towards protecting the name "Fighting Illini" but you all can go back and read this thread and hear some extremely bitter and paranoid people tell me why it's just the opposite and part of a larger effort that "They" are undertaking to remove that, too.

I'm very concerned that you believe people who don't agree with you are bitter and paranoid. It is not unreasonable to think that those who wanted the Chief retired also want "Fighting Illini" retired, and it is also not unreasonable to think that the acceptance of a specifically named mascot (i.e. "The Kingfisher") could lead to a push to rename the athletic teams to "The Kingfishers".

It is also not unreasonable to accept the retirement of the Chief and not want to be represented by a bird that very few (in my poorly conducted research) have ever actually seen in real life.

To be even more clear, for many people CFB is about traditions. Illinois, even without the Chief, is heavy with tradition--the Block I (move them back to the East Main ASAP), the Marching Illini, having the first Homecoming, singing 'Loyalty' at halftime, etc. Alumni in particular are in touch with and value those traditions, and forcing a new one simply for the sake of doing it rubs a good number of people the wrong way--whether Chief is part of the algebra or not. Whether you think those people are blinkered and self-interested is irrelevant--those people cherish their traditions, and a blue version of Woody Woodpecker isn't part of their traditions.

 

[Ramrod2010]

I don't want to speak for anyone else, but just to be clear, I absolutely do not think this. I think it could make the game environment slightly more fun for some people, could result in some fun merch, and give us something else to use for brand awareness. All good things, even in small doses.

YMMV, but I also welcome the departure of donors whose vision of a successful athletic department is so blinkered and self-interested that they would tie their involvement in it to whether or not there is a mascot at a game.

My spicier take is that this actually is a step towards protecting the name "Fighting Illini" but you all can go back and read this thread and hear some extremely bitter and paranoid people tell me why it's just the opposite and part of a larger effort that "They" are undertaking to remove that, too.

I went back and looked, but didn't see anything apologies if I missed it, but what is the argument to be made that this would further protect the name "Fighting Illini"?

 

[hooraybeer]

I went back and looked, but didn't see anything apologies if I missed it, but what is the argument to be made that this would further protect the name "Fighting Illini"?

I think the implication is if "they" are allowed to instill a new mascot, it might end there. If not, this could snowball into "them" coming for the "Fighting Illini" name as well

 

[BRucks]

I mean, there are a lot of people in this very thread/on this board saying they will stop going to games/stop giving money/take some other route of lessening their involvement. So unless they are just being whiny blowhards, I'll take them at their word.

The Chief was jettisoned in 2010. Average home football attendance that year was 54,188. Successive home attendance since then:
49,548
45,564
43,787
41,549
42,647
45,644
39,429
36,151
859 covid
35,347
43,048

Correlation, yes. Causation? You tell me. If you want to know if the fans still remember the Chief just listen to their chant at the end of the Three-In-One at every home game in every sport where it is played.

 

[mattcoldagelli]

I'm very concerned that you believe people who don't agree with you are bitter and paranoid.

Your concern is noted/appreciated, but I'm not saying people are bitter and paranoid due to their disagreement with me, but rather noting that several (but not all) of the people I am finding myself arguing with seem to be bitter:

When I was a child, we were taught to stand, clap along and sing along. If we didn't, we faced the consequences. That is the real issue IMO. Entitled parents teach entitled children that they can do whatever they want.

1) The history and tradition of Illinois football has been destroyed by the cowardice of the University.

2) The current composition of the student body, created by the greed of the University's administration, has, if not ruined, severely impaired, the spirit of the student body participation and enthusiasm for football.

and/or paranoid:

Enough is never enough with activists

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.

 

[Mr. Tibbs]

I had a great thought at the Ottawa game Friday night when I looked up at the scoreboard at center court and saw the pic of a German Sheppard..

I say we get a German Sheppard and name him Oske Wow Wow.. Works for me and isnt some stupid Otter or Bird

Guess we could name him Chief for short

or Oskee Bow Wow ?

I had a golden retriever named Chief. he passed in 2019 , when he was just 8 due to cancer .
he was a AWESOME dog. the nicest dog ever. He never encountered a stranger, just a friend he hadn't met yet.

 

[AZILL]

Are any of those you quoted wrong? I didn't find anything said to be false, sure, some is speculation perhaps, but not demonstrably wrong. I also don't see the bitterness/paranoia. Fully embracing change for the sake of change alone doesn't sit well with most people and therefor they resist it unless given good reason to alter their views/behavior. Resisting to some degree is human nature. Personally I question most everything in life, lol, I need to have a firm grasp/understanding of something before I even consider adopting it. It's an interesting debate, honestly I see zero value in a Kingfisher...

Your concern is noted/appreciated, but I'm not saying people are bitter and paranoid due to their disagreement with me, but rather noting that several (but not all) of the people I am finding myself arguing with seem to be bitter:



and/or paranoid:

 

[Illinoise]

The kingfisher is pretty cool. The students there now and in the future deserve to have something to identify with and create their own lasting memories just like so many did with Chief. Is the Kingfisher goofy and hokey. Maybe. How about Brutus the Buckeye? Goofy and hokey? In spades! Try telling that to an OSU alum. New traditions take time and won’t be welcomed by all but if your lasting connection to the University is through the Chief or the name Fighting Illini then I say your connection wasn’t really to the University.

 

[Gary J]

The Kingfisher

Been patiently waiting for some new mascot merch or to meet the mascot in-person? Then join us (alumni, faculty, current students and local artists) this Friday, October 27th from 2:30-3:30 PM at...

www.facebook.com

Your chance to meet the Kingfisher and get a tshirt!