My Turn | Hail to the kingfisher
Aug. 8—It's time for the kingfisher!
After reading all the negative letters to the editor (and Loren Tate's take), I feel compelled to provide an alternate opinion. The kngfisher mascot would be great for the University of Illinois and our community, and I think now is the time to bring her forth.
Ten or so years ago, via a letter to The News-Gazette, I offered the idea of a "Galloping Ghost" as a potential mascot for the University of Illinois. While I still think that proposal intriguing, my main point back then was simply that it was time for a new mascot.
An acquaintance of mine had said, "But they should always be the 'Fighting Illini.' And a recent letter writer ridiculed how we would become the "Fighting Kingfishers." I was as dumbfounded today as I was all those years ago to encounter this argument. Throughout the entire history of the Chief, our team was never, never referred to as the "Fighting Chiefs."
Our team has been, is and will remain the "Fighting Illini" — no matter what the mascot. No one is proposing otherwise.
I was similarly stunned to read another writer ridiculing the idea of a bird for our mascot. Well, instead of listing the very large number of collegiate sports teams with a bird as a mascot, I will name only a few from the professional level: Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans, Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins and so on.
Oh, and I believe the United States of America has been magnificently represented by a bird for over 200 years. Birds as mascots are well — very well — accepted.
OK, but a kingfisher? Yes, a kingfisher. We would be original, adopting a bird that other teams don't already have, and I would certainly take it over a duck, penguin, oriole or pelican any day.
Kingfishers are cool-looking birds that are native to our state. The female of the species sports our orange-and-blue color scheme. They aren't easy to catch a glimpse of, but you can find them in our forest preserves right here in Champaign County.
What about the Chief? Yes, it is time to let the Chief go. Actually, he left 16 years ago. I was there at the final dance, and I too was sad. At that time, I didn't fully grasp what the issue was. People still justify the Chief by saying, "Well, it was a respectful interpretation," as though that alone justifies it.
I bought that for a while. But recently I started thinking: What if a movie was made where Frederick Douglas, Thurgood Marshall or Dr. Martin Luther King was portrayed by a White actor? I think — and hope — this would draw outrage. I don't believe saying it was a "respectful portrayal" would hold water; it would simply be wrong.
The same is true for the Chief. Illini fans, it is time to move on.
Would it benefit the university and our community to have a mascot? Every time I see those ESPN commercials with all the mascots, I think of what team is missing: the Illini! All these teams get recognition, because they have mascots: Big Al the elephant (Alabama), Bucky Badger (Wisconsin), the Jayhawk (Kansas) — even the big nut, Brutus Buckeye (Ohio State).
Frankly, our kingfisher could be classier than any of those — not to mention the dancing tree that is Stanford, the big red blob that is Western Kentucky or Otto the Orange that is Syracuse. It's time for Illinois to get some time on that national stage.
The "old curmudgeon" argument (aka the Loren Tate perspective) claims "We don't need a mascot," or, "If we can't have the Chief, then nothing!" Tate mentions that Michigan does not have a mascot, as though Michigan should be our example. I don't think our university needs to follow another school's lead — we should set our own course.
Those who want to bring back the Chief are simply interested in preserving the memory for their own sake. No thought has been given to the now 16 classes of UI grads — and alumni donors — that have had no mascot. 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.
By the way, Michigan tried more than once to create a mascot by bringing a live wolverine into the stadium. It didn't go well.
Lastly, let's be trendsetters. When I read Evan Lemberger's guest commentary in The News-Gazette, I noticed the kingfisher referred to as "her." I read it twice to make sure I saw it correctly, because female mascots at the college level are few and far between — if they exist at all.
But then I thought, well, we have plenty of Herbie Huskers, Purdue Petes, Sparty Spartans, etc., representing male mascots. Let's face it, females can be just as ferocious as males, if not moreso. Let's not follow; let's set the tone for today!
Bring on the kingfisher! It's time!
