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?

This entry isn’t for me, it’s for you.

I’ve enjoyed watching the Chief since the moment I got here. Let’s get that straight first. However, I do feel that the time was right for the Chief to be retired among all the controversy and problems that arose since the NCAA first deemed it “hostile and abusive.”

Standing in my nosebleed seat in the C-section, I was able to see the entire stadium during the final performance. I was touched and moved by the way the Chief left and thought it was the most honorable sendoff the University could have given him. The maturity of the fans and students and how they handled the final performance was an overwhelming sight and truly captured everything that is great about this University.

But that’s just me. How about you?

Putting aside all political ideologies and personal vendettas, what did you think of the Chief’s last dance and the way in which he left?

(For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, here’s the video: The Last Dance . Watch it and let us know what you think.)

Thursday night, breaking news came in about the future of Chief Illiniwek. The rumors that authorities at the University would retire the Chief dance on Friday came mearly hours after the two students who portray the Chief filed suit against the NCAA. There has been several sources who will confirm the report and the future of the Chief looks far from positive.

So when the Chief is retired, as it undoubtedly will be, how will this affect the athletics programs here at Illinois, specifically football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball, the events where the Chief perform?

Ummm, how about: not at all?

The only way the Chief can make any difference at Illini games is if the students, alumni and fans let it. If the students organize a massive boycott of basketball games or the Orange Krush says they will sit down for the entire game, then sure, the Chief has greatly affected the teams. Not having homecourt advantage in our own house would definitely make a difference in the result of the game, especially in college basketball when teams feed off their crowd.

But any student fan group or alumni organization that is willing to watch the Illini suffer over the Chief isn’t really a fan at all. Trying to save an arbitrary figure at the cost of the athletic department’s success is, well, completely selfish.

Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the Chief. His halftime dances are always enjoyable and it’s fun to watch the students rally around the team because of it. But watching the Chief always leaves me feeling entertained, never proud or courageous or anything else the Chief is meant to represent. When it comes down to it, the Chief is a show for the fans, albeit a show with immense tradition and deep roots. But I think because it has been here for so long, people are more concerned by what could possibely replace the Chief than the character’s actual dismissal. But schools like Stanford and Syracuse have both found replacements for their “hostile and abusive” masoct that, in time, have down the job. And though the immediate reaction may be an outcry, students who really care about the University will continue to support their athletic program, regardless of who dances during halftime.

What’s worse is the Chief has actually hurt the majority of Illinois athletics. The men’s gymnastics, women’s soccer, men’s tennis and wrestling programs are all perennially nationally ranked. However, none of these highly touted programs have been able to host postseason events since the NCAA ruling. Last season, the women’s soccer team was forced to play in St. Louis for the first tw0 rounds of the NCAA tournament, despite being the second seed in its bracket. Tennis, even with top-notch facilities (and more coming), hasn’t been able to hold NCAA tournament events either.

Both head tennis coach Brad Dancer and head soccer coach Janet Rayfield have spoken to the Daily Illini about how the Chief has negatively affected their programs in terms of not having home court in the post season in addition to hurting their recruiting abilities.

If the Chief retirement doesn’t negatively affect the programs it performs at, but it positively aids other programs, then why keep it around?

The Chief is an arbitrary symbol of the University. We could be the Illinois Cornfields and in ten years true fans will rally around it just as passionately. For students to threaten other students and for alumni to claim they will withhold donations because of a symbol is absolutely insane. The University was right to get rid of the Chief because a symbol is not worth this much time and energy. It’s definitely not worth sides exchanging death threats. In time, I think most people will realize this and those who don’t aren’t really fans of the Illinois athletics, they’re fans of a dance.