Last Dance For U of Illinois' Chief Illiniwek

Caving to political correctness, the mascot the University of Illinois has had for 81 years will appear for the last time at the Illini's basketball game Wednesday.

The political correctness gang chalks up another one but not everybody is happy as this article points out.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2007/02/18/chief_portrayer_had_hoped_common_sense_would_win

 

Re: Last Dance For U of Illinois' Chief Illniwek

My only regret is that I attended the Braggin' Rights game before that goofy chief was tackled mid-routine.

It's a caricature, but the attempt to pass it off as an authentic dance is laughable. It won't bother me one way or the other if it stays or goes. But the "outcry" from these Illini homers is going to be hilarious.

 

Re: Last Dance For U of Illinois' Chief Illniwek

It's only right. If the Big 10 is going to come out with a policy stating that they will not play teams with "offensive" mascots, they probably shouldn't have a school with one of the most offensive mascots in college athletics.

 

Re: Last Dance For U of Illinois' Chief Illniwek

Then they better disqualify themselves from any consideration for the Pontiac game-changing moment, too.

 

Alum Robert Novak weighs in


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/21/AR2007022101584.html

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/saraceno/2007-02-20-saraceno-illini_x.htm

I thought this column more than hit it out of the park when it comes to the jackasses who always claim political correctness is a bad thing.

 

So how long until the NCAA tells the University of Illinois it has to change the name of the school because "Illinois" is demeaning to Indians?

 

Good column by Saraceno. I always thought it was a shame that the folks who fuss about "political correctness" and claim that these caricatures honor the noble tributes of the indians weren't alive back in the day to keep the United States from killing them all off in a naked land grab or forcing them to live in sad, sorry reservations.

 

The NCAA had also better move its offices out of Indianapolis, Indiana.

 

And the number of people cited in the article who claim such offense to the Chief? One. The loneliest number.

And the reason Illinois can't keep their mascot, bit Florida State can is:

a. The Seminole tribe gaves its ok, but that's a little hard for Illinois since the Illini tribe was wiped out in its entirety a century ago by the white man, and it's hard to get an attribution from a dead man.
b. Florida State is/has been a football powerhouse.
c. Both of the above.

 

The Saraceno column was pretty fair and measured.