Maybe some of you read the special Homecoming guide that appeared in the Daily Illini earlier this week. I thought it was pretty good, except it was marred, just as Homecoming itself is, by bickering about the Chief.

It had been a while since I had the Chief issue shoved in my face, but I would have been foolish to think it would be the last time. But there it was again, the two competing sides, blasting away at each other as if the world hung in the balance.

Give it up.

Seriously, can we not think of anything more critical to argue and bicker about? I am in the inconsequential world of sports, where we dream up things to argue about, and in over a year at the DI, this is the first I have written about it. I mean, the University's budget is being slashed, people are losing jobs, classes are getting bigger, entire programs are "imploding" and this is what we've chosen to focus on. I don't know if you've ever heard Jerry Seinfeld's stand up, but this is just like when he talks about scientists researching seedless watermelons.

"'Other guys are working on cancer, heart disease, AIDS … these guys are going 'No, I want to focus more on melon.'"

All the arguments are being rehashed, all of them skewed and nauseating. Listen, I'm going to lay it on you. Here's why you should cash in your Anti-Chief chips and protest something worthwhile, like politics or social problems.

They tell me (repeatedly and obnoxiously) that the whole concept of the Chief is fake, completely unauthentic and a personal affront to Native Americans everywhere. Well, the dance that the Chief does is the same every time, and it is an authentic "fancy dance" that is performed for entertainment at reservations. He's also wearing authentic clothing, with no University connotations (he had an "I" painted on his chin, but that has been removed for exactly this reason). So basically, you could go to an American Indian reservation and see, essentially, the same thing. I guess all that's different is that a white kid happens to do it, which obviously makes it horrendous and unspeakable, but I find the middle-class college-age white kids that protest in my face about it equally out of place.

They ask me, "What if a priest came out and performed mass at halftime?" Well, I guess I would go and get communion, but I have no idea how this relates to the Chief. He's not performing any kind of religious ceremony. But let's take the hypothetical out of it. What if I went to a school where the mascot was the Crusaders? What if a knight rode out with a cross on his chest? What if I went to Providence College, the home of the Friars, and, gasp, a Friar came out at halftime? These mascots are real, and I can tell you comfortably that I wouldn't care in the slightest.

The Chief doesn't do anything disgraceful, doesn't do anything controversial, doesn't do anything shameful. He doesn't really do anything, except dance.

And then there's the stink about the name. The Chief battle always spills over into this. Is "Fighting Illini" really that controversial? There's no negative connotation, no stereotypes. It's not like Redskins, Braves or Injuns (shame on you, Lemont High School). Notre Dame has the Fighting Irish. I'm Irish. In a shocking twist of events, I'm okay with it. They even have a leprechaun that runs around punching like he's in a drunken brawl. No stereotypes there, huh? Somehow, though, my life continues.

What most really do know, however, is that "Fighting Illini" didn't start out with connotation to the Illiniwek people. It was the name given to the students who left the University of Illinois to go fight in World War I. Maybe you've seen their names, they're on the pillars of Memorial Stadium. Why they did it, I don't know. I guess it sounds better than "Fighting Illinoisians."

Like so many Big Ten schools, the original meaning of the mascot has slipped through the cracks of history. "Wolverines" and "Badgers" were names given to early settlers in Michigan and Wisconsin territories, because of their reputation for toughness and tenacity. Over the years, it's morphed into an animal personification, which the inhabitants of those states take pride in. Same has happened here, just with an American Indian personification, which the inhabitants of this state take pride in.

So for all you Anti-Chief protesters who may call for my head as you read this, just calm down and enjoy your Homecoming. There are much bigger things to worry about.

Matt Coldagelli's mailbag appears in Tuesday and Friday's DI. Send him mail at sports@dailyillini.com.