July
17
2007
What should replace the Chief at halftime?
5:49 pm —
After the retirement of the iconic figure, the marching band has announced it will still do the “Three-in-One” during halftime performances. Seems kind of pointless to me. A “Three-in-One” with no Chief is like singing “Jingle Bells” in July.
So what should the University do instead? Thoughts anyone?
July 17th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
I have a great idea. Let’s bring back the Chief.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
That’s the kind of talk that doesn’t advance the conversation forward. It was sad to see the Chief go, but we need to move on. Honor the Chief by letting him rest in piece.
How about a realistic suggestion, Krush?
July 18th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I second Krush’s suggestion.
July 18th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Honor him by letting him rest in peace? Honor him by suggesting something could actually replace him?
No sir.
The Chief’s the only one that belongs there and anything else is a disgrace.
I will do my best to be sure to continue my support of the teams and the band. But when that part in the Three-in-One comes up, I’ll be booing as loud as I’ve ever booed in my life.
Nothing can replace the Chief. Nothing should have to.
I know you want to “advance the conversation” but that just can’t happen on something like this. Fact is, the Chief is the only thing that’s right at halftime. And the least they can do is leave it “boring” and not replace him with anything stupid.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:07 am
Why not have the marching band stand in a formation that spells out “Chief” when they play?
July 20th, 2007 at 7:26 am
their is no substitute for chief illiniwek. the university governors have clearly demonstrated their lack of illini pride and honor by their disgraceful actions.
i would hope the crowd at the games will indicate illini pride still stands tall by loudly expressing their displeasure at the chiefs absence.
July 20th, 2007 at 10:08 am
It recently occurred to my wife and me, alums and big fans, that a fun and an undeniably POLITICALLY CORRECT mascot would be named “Illini Ike.” Ike’s costume would be a large blue “I” (the alphabetical character) with an orange border outline, sort of a Gumby type deal, with his/her arms out the side wearing overized gloves to wave at all the Illini fans in “Block I” who would instantly adore him/her.
Whilst I might be chastised for forwarding what will seem to some a silly idea, I encourage you to think of a better alternative. I can think of more absurd, such as the large orange… Oops! That’s already taken!
July 20th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
In the very first response, Krush said all that needs to be said: bring the Chief back; retire Miles Brand.
July 20th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Ok, first, the Chief’s retirement was years overdue, and the fact that people got so bent out of shape about the demise of a bloody mascot speaks to the race issues still present at this university. Secondly, this is a land-grant, research university. They only have students and athletics to help pay the bills. Pride in this university comes from the impact it has on the sciences, social sciences, public discourse, and the intellectual development of its students. If your pride in this institution rests solely upon how well its semi-pro athletes can move a pigskin around a field, then I’m sorry for how shallow your appreciation for this place is.
Myself, I’m a big fan of honoring the Great Emancipator, our state’s favorite son, Abraham Lincoln. Who wouldn’t want to see four score and seven college students with beards and stovepipe hats at UofI sporting events?
However, the Chief, like any loved mascot, came about spontaneously. So, instead of having something official imposed from above, why not just let something develop organically from the student population. I’ve already mentioned the Railsplitter, but what about “The Phantom Battleship,” referring of course to the bell of the USS Illinois, a battleship scrapped before completion at the end of WWII, but not before its bell was founded and later given to UIUC NROTC, or for those who insist on drunkenly yelling “Chief” during halftime, we could have someone dress up as Master Chief from Halo. In any case, it’d be more interesting to see what develops than to declare one thing or the other to be our new mascot. Besides, having some breathing space will allow some of the current students whose aforementioned shallow school pride is bound up with a white kid hopping around in Sioux Indian regalia to leave and be replaced by those whose school pride is more readily accepting of something new.
July 20th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Also, while I think of it, the first two songs of the Three-in-One were written specifically because of the Chief, and their lyrics (that nobody knows, even though they’re printed in the ibook every year) are just as offensive. Since we’re jettisoning the Chief, why are we keeping his racist theme music around?
July 20th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
I say nothing can replace the chief too, however when the 3in1 is played the student section should do the Illini logo with cards and maybe a depiction of the chief as well. Paint your faces and ham it up!
July 21st, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Squire…
How exactly are the words to “The Pride of the Illini” offensive?
We are marching for dear old Illini,
For the men who are fighting for you.
Here’s a cheer for our dear Alma Mater,
May our love for her ever be true!
While we’re marching along life’s pathway,
May the spirit of old Illinois
Keep us marching and singing, with true Illini spirit,
For our dear old Illinois.
I’m not really sure what is “racist theme music” about this.
Additionally, like it or not, college athletics is a part of almost all land grant universities in today’s culture. While not all schools have a large 1-A program, most will rally around the sports of that school. Because lets face it, not everyone understands why the cheer from 3rd Rock from the Sun “Sine, cosine, cosine, sine 3.14159″ is funny.
July 23rd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
the chief is really not about any one sport or even sports at all. illini pride extends to the whole student body and to the whole university. it covers all aspects of a great university, and is not limited to one subject or even to students. it includes faculty, students, alumini. unfortunatly it does not include the governing body of the university who have removed the very embodiment of illini pride,spirit,and honor.
as for the original question there is no substitute for chief illiniwek. it seems unlikely the band or card section will be allowed to do any sort of tribute, and it even if they did it would not be the same. if - the band plays the 3 in 1 we should all rise and vocally express our displeasure at the chiefs absence: chief
this should happen at the football, volleyball, and basketball games as well.
” keep us marching and singing, with true illini spirit, for our dear old illinois” chief
July 23rd, 2007 at 10:02 pm
I believe I have come up with a successor to Chief Illiniwek that both pro and anti Chief people will not find objectionable.
Over the years, many civilizations have honored their dead warriors with a riderless horse. In the Native American tradition, a horse drawn cart carrying a coffin is followed by a riderless horse, called a “spirit horse”. Some cultures place his boots backwards in the saddle, showing that he will never ride again. A headdress draped over the coffin would be appropriate to our situation. “Spirit Horse” might be an awkward nickname. Does anyone know the Native American word for “Spirit Horse”?
If the objection was to Native American imagery, this could be stripped down to the horse drawn cart with coffin followed by the riderless horse with Native American symbols removed, since many civilizations unrelated to Native Americans have used it throughout history (see attached). We would all know who’s in the casket. I don’t think a funeral procession could be thought of as disrespectful.
This would keep alive the spirit of the Chief. Hopefully, it would also please the politically correct anti Chiefers by symbolizing the 80-year tradition that they killed off. It would also honor the WWI dead who were originally called the “Fighting Illini” to whom Memorial Stadium is dedicated.
For maximum effect, this should come out at football half times, unannounced with a silent lap around the field. For basketball games, it would probably have to be outside the Assembly Hall.
In any regard, we should have no mascot as nothing could match our former tradition. I would be embarrassed by a wacky wolverine, goofy gopher, or worst of all, a nut with legs.
Steve Hubbard ‘68
10413 Grandview Dr.
La Mesa, CA 91941
(619) 579-5562
stevehubbard@cox.net
July 24th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Squire, you might want to check your facts. I believe that March of the Illini, the lyrics quoted by deeznutz, was written before the Chief tradition was started, which makes the song not related to the Chief at all, looking past the fact that the lyrics make no reference either. You can find the original song that was adapted on to fit into the 3-in-1 at this URL: http://www.fightmusic.com/big10.html
It’s titled Pride of the Ilini on there (and by deeznutz), but FightingIllini.com has it labeled as March of the Illini, which I had originally thought too. Pride of the Illini was written after the Chief tradition startd and obviously sounds like it was written for it, but that shouldn’t disgrace it’s musical integrity or the fact that it too is a long tradition of hte University as part of the Three-in-One.
July 25th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Squire: in his 80+ years of existence, the Chief certainly did NOT “come about spontanesously,” nor was he ever a “loved mascot.”
The Chief and his routine that you refer to came about only after decades of evolution from the original Chief, who made his first appearance at the 50-yard line of Memorial Stadium in 1926. After his dance, Illiniwek met his white counterpart, who was dressed as a Quaker, and offered him a peace pipe.
The Chief went on to become a true symbol of pride in Illini athletics that only a thin-skinned know-it-all like yourself could lump together in the same category as fake fur-clad, charicaturized gophers, buckeyes and Spartans.
What you and your ilk always conveniently fail to mention is that the National Collegiate Athletic Association has no business policing cultural sensitivity in the first place, and has wielded its own “mascot” edict in a most inconsistent manner.
That inconsistency was best summed up by Gene R. Nichol, college president of William & Mary: “I am compelled to say at the outset how powerfully ironic it is for the College of William & Mary to face sanction for athletic transgression at the hands of the NCAA. The Association has applied its mascot standards in ways so patently inconsistent and arbitrary as to demean the entire undertaking.”
Incidentally, William & Mary didn’t make the NCAA’s short list because of their mascot or a student dressed in as a Native American, but because of two feathers used in its team logo.
Forgotten in the tirades of the indignant is the simple fact that justice for one is justice for all, except in the eyes of the heavy-handed NCAA, which maintains that Florida State’s Osceola is NOT “hostile and abusive,” but that Illinois’ Chief Illiniwek IS.
Among the “Core Values” listed in the NCAA’s own Mission Statement is this little gem:
“The Association - through its member institutions, conferences and national office staff - shares a belief in and commitment to RESPECT FOR INSTITUTIONAL AUTONOMY AND PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES.”
Here’s another little gem for you:
“The power and the ways are given to us to be passed on to others. To think otherwise is pure selfishness. We get more by giving them away, and if we do not give them away, we lose them.”
- Oglala Sioux Chief Frank Fools Crow, referring to the authentic native American Indian regalia he was in the process of presenting to the University of Illinois during halftime of a football game in September, 1983.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
How anyone could interpret the Chief as offensive is way over the edge. By the way does anyone have a means of contacting Miles Brand? He seems to exist in space–no phone availability etc. By the way Nancy Cantor is alive and well at Syracuse stirring up her usual multiculturalism garbage.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Perhaps we can get over this emotional political correctness and anxious-to-be-offended era by simply eliminating the focal point of all the Chief controversy: NCAA athletics at Illinois. When scholarships were invented for athletics they gave kids with no money a chance to get a college education. What we really need to dispell is the notion that current college sports have anything at all to do with education. The graduation rate is pitiful, and organized athletics serves the fundamental purpose of the University in no way whatsoever. If the only reason you give money to the Big U is for sports, you’re a total bonehead and are interested only in funding the gladiators who perform for your pleasure and who have been sold the lie of getting an education at the expense of their broken bodies.