Glad I'm not alone on the "slant Illinois is not that bad" bandwagon. Never understood the hate. I get it's derivative of the Giants helmets, but how many truly unique helmet designs even exist anymore? Is the Block I really unique? Fact is, the team whose uniforms most resemble ours, Syracuse, also uses a single block letter on their helmet, and did so before us. So isn't the Block I derivative of Syracuse?
I know it's the era I grew up in/went to Illinois but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for ILLINOIS helmet. Hard not to think of Kurt Kittner, Juice, Pierre Thomas, Vontae, Rejus, Rashard, etcetera. Now that New York has moved away from it, it is unique to us. Plus most of the teams in the conference (Wisconsin, Rutgers, Indinia, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Oregon, Washington, Nebraska, Maryland) do the block letter, lets be different.
Illinois Football Uniforms
There are literally dozen of us!
I just am not a huge fan of the Block I, it is not unique and the I should be orange which looks like poop on an orange helmet which should be our default. If we don't want to use the ILLINOIS I would love a curved script Illini similar to the block letter ILLINI helmet we wore earlier in the season. I also wouldn't hate a rif on the butkus era helmet with the chicago 6 pointed star for our end of the year game against NW especially if it switched to a yearly Soldier field/ whatever new stadium the bears build.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I definitely agree that slant ILLINOIS deserves kudos for being unique to us among Big Ten helmets. Just doing a quick glance, all Big Ten helmets fall into these categories, roughly from least innovative to most innovative (JMO, of course).
SINGLE BLOCK LETTER
Illinois
Nebraska
Minnesota
Northwestern
Purdue
Rutgers
Wisconsin
Washington
TWO BLOCK LETTERS
Indiana
TECHNICALLY PLAIN BUT PURPOSELY RETRO
Ohio State
Penn State
SCRIPT FONT
Maryland
UCLA
ACTUALLY UNIQUE LOGO/DESIGN
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
USC
N/A
Oregon
So almost 75% of the conference stops short of an actual logo, haha. In that sense, I appreciate the sentiment behind trying to do something more unique than the Block I. HOWEVER, I think both arched ILLINI and some type of Script Illini (i.e., shortened version of the Script Illinois on our basketball uniforms) would look 20 times better than Slant ILLINOIS.
SINGLE BLOCK LETTER
Illinois
Nebraska
Minnesota
Northwestern
Purdue
Rutgers
Wisconsin
Washington
TWO BLOCK LETTERS
Indiana
TECHNICALLY PLAIN BUT PURPOSELY RETRO
Ohio State
Penn State
SCRIPT FONT
Maryland
UCLA
ACTUALLY UNIQUE LOGO/DESIGN
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
USC
N/A
Oregon
So almost 75% of the conference stops short of an actual logo, haha. In that sense, I appreciate the sentiment behind trying to do something more unique than the Block I. HOWEVER, I think both arched ILLINI and some type of Script Illini (i.e., shortened version of the Script Illinois on our basketball uniforms) would look 20 times better than Slant ILLINOIS.
The other thing that doesn't get mentioned about the Block I is that the letter I is just not that visually compelling.
Letters like M, W, N, R and P just have a lot more going on and can more easily be stylized. I is tough. That's why even when Idaho has featured a block I on their helmets, they also layer the word "Vandals" on top of it.
I like the idea of the Script Illini. The only drawback is that it's never been part of our history, which is a problem for some (not for me).
I will note that apparently there is talk of redesigning the (horrendous) Illinois state flag. If we get something good, maybe there's potential there for a state flag inspired helmet like Maryland has used?
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
BZuppke
- Plainfield
I agree. This look is uniquely us. Hate Giants’ knockoff. I’m fine with block I.
Put a small “I” underneath the arched “ILLINI” and have the best of both worlds!
The ILLINOIS has the best orange color. The problem with some of the newer helmets is the color is off.
TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
I like the idea, but I would use the Butkus era helmets and incorporate the stars and only if it can be well done add the numbers too.
Yes I like this helmet, probably more than any other option, but it is not unique. Many other teams used arched lettering. LSU, UNLV, Ohio, Louisiana, and Fresno St. all utilize arched lettering.
I really don't care about uniqueness, but if we're going to knock ILLINOIS for it, let's be consistent.
If we want to be "unique", we should used "ILLINI" in some fashion. One, no other school team is called the Illini. Two, no other school that I can think of off the top of my head has a name that so directly refers to its state. No "MICHIGIs", "IOs", "OHIs", "INDIs, etc. It comes about as close to unique and descriptive as it gets.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
Not only is the “names in white stripe” thing cool, it replaces the “flagify your logo” helmet which is a terrible trope generally and an ugly look for us, specifically.
Or we stop caring about whether it's unique or not. And I submit to you if you stop caring and thinking about the Giants helmets of yore, the ILLINOIS helmets , particularly the ones with the blue outline pictured below, are a good look.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
Also - the Giants stopped using that helmet 25 years ago! An absolutely insane complaint.
SampsonRelpenk
- Edwardsville, IL
Well we certainly don't wanna be associated with an NFL franchise with the *checks notes* 4th most Super Bowl victories!
BZuppke
- Plainfield
The slant Illinois was not only a Giants knockoff but a reflection of our inferiority complex. People didn’t know who we were on the field so we had to spell it out completely. It came a year after we wore plain orange helmets and represents small minded thinking. It’s a bad look, a bad message and a bad vibe. No other school feels the need to put the full school name on their helmet.
Also, it's not the full school name. The full school name is Univeristy of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Putting Illinois on the helmet is no different than putting "Ole Miss" or "LSU" or "Tulsa" on the helmet (which those teams do). The school is known to people as "Illinois." There's no shame in "Illinois."