FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[79jaybird]

Comet14-- Elmhurst doesn't have their JV schedule on their website, but I know of these 2 games.
Wheaton @ Elmhurst 9/11 at 4pm  and   Elmhurst @ North Central 10/15 at 3pm.  I am pretty sure there will be at least 2-3 more games for the EC JV.
Tailgater-- ah, yes you may say that.   As a player, we circled the EC/Car game each year as the arch rival "must win" game.  No in all seriousness, I think the best way to minimize the emotional sadness, is to go play with pride and try to go out like a champ. 
Speaking of uniform changes... we have talked about Carthage's change with the feathers, Wheaton's W and no longer Wheaton (scripted),  North Park and Elmhurst will have new uni's also.
North Park is dropping the Interlocking NP  and going with VIKINGS .  The letters will be white with a yellow trim.
Elmhurst has new Riddell Revolution helmets that are more black than blue.  In fact, there really is no blue in them at all.  Furthermore, they are keeping the "screaming Bluejay" (as I like to call it), but getting rid of the EC which was present on the tail portion of the logo.
So, some changes to the CCIW's attire this year.

[Redmen96]

Thank you 79jaybird .  The sad part of it is in a few years the new kids at Carthage won't even care what the old logo was. 

[diehardfan]

Redmen96-- That has to be a bittersweet event.  The positive is that they players receive their stickers, and (well I always felt) that was a sign that practice is over and it is time to play for keeps.
The negative (sad part), is that longstanding emotional image that was a significant symbol of Carthage, Art Keller's Dynasty, and what Carthage football is all about, no longer will be used.
I personally, am not in favor of the change and liked the feathers hanging from the C.  Oh well, sad trend in society but that is a whole nother soapbox topic.  I would like to see the Redmen "stick it" to those who wanted the change, go out and make the playoffs, and show them who's boss. 

You would like the Redmen to stick it to those who wanted the change, meaning... Native American groups? Uhm, okay.

Karma to Redman96, as I am feeling your pain. The new Wheaton helmets may look fantastic, but I don't really care, I am very sentimental about the old stickers and all the great history that has gone on in the program while we were wearing those stickers. 

I'm sad that people don't remember the old field, athletic center, or mascot.... basically I guess I'm just getting old! But those were the days....

[Mr. Ypsi]

I'm sad that people don't remember the old field, athletic center, or mascot.... basically I guess I'm just getting old! But those were the days....

I find it most unseemly for a 25(?) year old to complain of getting old!

The shorts, sweatshirt (fall came early today, though summer is expected to return), and shoes I am wearing as I type this are all older than you!

[Remember the discussion of a few weeks ago - someday you, too, can be an 'old fart' ('old fartess'?), but you have to wait your turn! ]

[Mugsy]

For all who are interested, I have posted the rules for this year's CCIW Pick-Em's contest over on the CCIW Pick-Em's board.  It is very similar to the format used last year - Confidence Pool.

ALL ARE WELCOME!

To get there, navigate to the following board:

Post Patterns
     General Football
          Pick-Em's, etc.
               CCIW

[Gregory Sager]

Speaking of uniform changes... we have talked about Carthage's change with the feathers, Wheaton's W and no longer Wheaton (scripted),  North Park and Elmhurst will have new uni's also.
North Park is dropping the Interlocking NP  and going with VIKINGS .  The letters will be white with a yellow trim.

That's Scott Pethtel's decision, which is as it should be. But I'm sure that North Park's administration is in full agreement with it, since the school's initials are NPU, not NP.

[Mugsy]

Ok its time:

submit your preseason picks for the CCIW. list teams in order of finish and their record at a minimum. i will keep track and let everyone know about midseason where we "stand". the winner gets positive karma from all other posters for a month!!

usee,

Some overdue picks:

Team	Total Record	Conference Record	Comment
Wheaton	9-1	6-1	Yes, I'm a homer... like most of you
North Central	8-2	5-2	Wheaton gets redemption!
Augustana	7-3	4-3
Millikin	6-4	4-3	Brutal non-conference schedule pays dividends
Carthage	4-6	3-4
Illinois Wesleyan	4-6	3-4
Elmhurst	4-6	2-5
North Park	2-8	0-7	Breaking 0-Conference still a year way

[RedmenFB44]

Tailgater-

Thanks for the review. I know that the coaching staff will have the Redmen ready for the opener. We never had great scrimmages against CUW but the non-conference games always helped us get ready for the tough play in the CCIW. I think they will get it together soon.

Mugsy-

Can we make our picks over at the pick-ums board?

[Mugsy]

Mugsy-

Can we make our picks over at the pick-ums board?

RedmenFB44,
You are supposed to make your picks over on the pick-em's board.  I was merely noting that they are posted there now to redirect people to that location.

[matblake]

I agree with DHF, although I don't particularly like scripted helmets (formerly Wheaton, Augie) they were always part of the Crusader/Thunder helmet since I can remember (circa 1985).  Change I think can be good.  I will hold my thoughts on what the Wheaton helmet looks like until I see them in person, perhaps at the Hope game (if I can make the trek to Holland that weekend), but definitely at the homecoming game.  Seeing as this years incoming freshman classes don't know anything about the Cold War, I reserve the right to act like an "old fart" as I please.  Wolverines!

[79jaybird]

Greg--North Park's change was indeed Scott Pethtel's decision. When I met with him (back in June) he told me he wanted this year's team (and his program) to have their own identity.  The logo looks good.  IMO, it is more of a high school logo, with VIKINGS spelled out.  The NP interlock was o.k. but I too, wondered where the U would fit in.
I think all the Wheaton fans on the board will like the new  Wheaton W.  Don't know about the stripe down the middle of the helmet, but the W does look sharp.
Some of the older posters, may remember Elmhurst's helmet from the 1970's-1980's era. They were grey with blue facemasks, and the Elmhurst Bluejay decal on the side.  That is the same image you see on the marquis of the basketball floor.  Sharp decal, however there is NO grey in Elmhurst.

[matblake]

I think a lot of coaching changes breeds helmet changes.  If the new coach was unaffiliated with the program prior to being hired, it seems obvious that the coach would want to make a change.  Thorne did it when he came to North Central. 

North Park has had a few different helmets that I can remember including the NP's of different colors, white for a while and also yellow I believe.  There were also the ones that were similar to the Minnesota Vikings.  For a while the horns were white and then they were yellow (maybe it was the other way around). 

[79jaybird]

Hey Pat,  congratulations and best of luck with the new job and residence in Connecticut.  When you get a chance, give me a shout and lets touch base about the upcoming d3football season.
Talk with you soon.

MR

[Gregory Sager]

Greg--North Park's change was indeed Scott Pethtel's decision. When I met with him (back in June) he told me he wanted this year's team (and his program) to have their own identity.  The logo looks good.  IMO, it is more of a high school logo, with VIKINGS spelled out.  The NP interlock was o.k. but I too, wondered where the U would fit in.

He mentioned to me last spring as we were watching an NPU baseball game that he was contemplating changing the helmet logo. He told me that he was leaning towards the spelled-out 'VIKINGS'. Is the font design he chose the same as the one used by the New York Giants, with an underline? North Park's used that design for football in the past, and I think it's very sharp ... very classic, in a gridiron sense, just as the old baseball uniform design that North Park used that was based upon the one associated with the Los Angeles Dodgers since early in their Brooklyn days (script 'Vikings' in the same font used by the Dodgers, underlined and running slightly diagonally across the chest just like the Dodgers' logo) had a great old classic look.

The problem with the horns is that they're stereotypical and they're too closely associated with the Minnesota Vikings, a team that has a big following on campus due to the presence of so many students who hail from the Land of 10,000 Lakes but which doesn't exactly inspire kind thoughts from Chicagolanders. (The horns are also historically inaccurate, since Vikings in the days of yore didn't really wear horns on their helmets, but that's another story.) The school's current official logo, which you see below my signature to the left of this post, is a Viking longship plowing through the waves. It's a cool logo, but it's way too busy for a football helmet design. And, as you say, adding an interlocked 'U' to the 'N' and the 'P' is a bit cumbersome.

The bottom line is that the coach changed the look to give the team a new identity, which is the most important (and most necessary, IMO) thing.

[redman04]

HEY REIDY,

I JUST DUSTED OFF NORM'S HAT!    TIME FOR THE SEASON TO GET STARTED!  WILL YOU BE IN TOWN AT ALL?