Mug club!
Sometimes we have ideas that don't exactly come to fruition. For example, last Monday, your intrepid Smile Politely editors met in Campustown for our weekly "well, what the fuck do we do NOW?" meeting. The plan was to split up into groups afterward, get into some mischief with the campus crowd, take pictures of said mischief, and then post a world-weary townie's take on the banal experiences to be had at the U of I on a Monday night. This, friends, is not that article.
That's because our aimless wanderings found us at the door of the Illini Inn (901 S. 4th St., Champaign), arguably the last dive bar in Campustown. For just $6 apiece and the debatable value of a few brain cells, three of us joined the least-exclusive club in town: the Illini Inn Mug Club.
The process of joining the club is regimented, as you might expect after more than 65,000 iterations; it's all a bit blurry now, but it certainly seemed precise at the time: present your ID, friendly barkeep fills out an orange card with your name and number on it, asks you to remember your number, pours you a mug of beer, a spirited mug-chugging race ensues with a clear winner, a second mug is poured, a bound book is signed, more beer is drank, Cubs lose. It's been the same for generations of Illini.
The beer was cold, the atmosphere was welcoming, and it was a good way to spend a half hour on a Monday night. Nobody acted like we weren't supposed to be there despite our middle-aged hipster status. Long live the Illini Inn!
5 comments
You left out the best part—you have to REMEMBER your number after the beer chugging!
Yeah, I’m a member.
“more beer is drank”
Awesome. Way to go “editors.”
@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun
@Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.’” We’re all about the new grammar around here.
Pete
Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.
I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going to UIUC. Shortly before joining I had also taken a new super-awesome job in town. My dad was way more excited about my Illini Mug Club membership than said new job.
Ah, family values.
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represent, Matt.
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What? Echo! (Echo!) Where’s the dischord and dissent?
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hey, if hair ain’t gon’ be over your head, my jokes may as well be.
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Swap the dog for a fire pit and it sounds like you’re writing about my back yard. Very nice.
funny, as your summer begins, another Summer ends.
@Dan - Wow. Unfortunately, I have to refrain from further comment due to a previous employment relationship. But with that brief context you might be able to imagine possible comments or responses I could have.
Oh, by the way, the “Champaign County YMCA” no longer exists. The official name is now the “Stephens Family YMCA” (the website has not been updated, but check out the latest program guide). And no, it’s not just the name of the building. It’s the name of the organization.
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