"Curse of the Chief" strikes again ?

Oh No !

Did the "Curse of the Chief" strike again ?

The U of I got slapped and is not invited to play at the "big dance"... the NCAA "March Madness" tourney this season.

The valiant Fighting Illini basketball players...
without their Brave and Honorable Warrior, Chief Illiniwek to guide them...
will now be seeded #1 in the NIT bracket.

Good Luck and play hard in winning the NIT !

Is There A 'Curse' on the Illini ?

Is there a "curse" that let's the Fighting Illini teams have some sparkling victories... BUT keeps the carrot of 'the Big Win' dangling out of reach?

Shortly after Chief Illiniwek's "burial" under the dirt of political correctness, the U of I football team excelled their way to the Rose Bowl in January, 2008... where they were then thumped on by USC 49-17... the victory carrot snatched away!

U of I Football 2009 was sadly not much to talk about.

After struggling some this season, the basketball team really shone in the Big 10 Tourney when they beat a strong Wisconsin team. But... with a glowing upset in their sites, the Illini gave up a 10-point lead and lost in overtime to first-seed Ohio... another victory carrot snatched.

Now, can they make the Big NCAA Tourney? It looks 50/50 so far. Cross your fingers and rub a rabbit's foot for good luck (and to cancel out the 'curse of the Chief').

The Chief and a Tradition are Born

Chief Illiniwek did his first Indian dance at Champaign-Urbana's Memorial Stadium on October 30th, 1926.

A co-creator of Chief Illiniwek as a symbol of athletic strength and honor, Lester Leutwiler, was the first 'Chief Illiniwek' and performed his first authentic Indian dance at half time during a U of Illinois vs U of Pennsylvania football game.

A tradition was immediately born and Chief Illiniwek as an inspiring symbol and mascot proudly continued uninterrupted until February of 2007.

Then the wimps at the U of I administration kowtowed to overwhelmingly fictitious and so-called 'politically correct' accusations from outsiders that the Chief was somehow offensive and demands he must be destroyed.

More than 35 different students danced as the Chief (even one young lady danced as "Princess Illiniwek" during WWII)... and after 81 years of Chief Illiniwek's honorable and inspiring traditional dances for the Fighting Illini then became just a memory.