Mascot Madness has swept the Nation over the past few weeks, and the Grens are close to coming out on top because of it.

Comcast Sportsnet Chicago has been running the contest, started to find “the best unique Illinois high school mascot nickname,” according to CSN’s website.

According to Robert Murphy, Assistant Principal for Student Activities, the Grenadier would certainly fit that title.

“The Grenadier, while common to us, is unique and only used in a couple other high schools [and] colleges in the country,” Murphy said in an e-mail.

Students would seem to agree.

“I feel like we’re pretty underrated,” sophomore Nicole Tabor said. “We have a pretty cool school.”

The contest involves schools voting via Facebook and Twitter to support their mascot, with the mascot with the most votes in each match moving forward to the next week to face another opponent.

CSN has set no limits on how many times someone can vote in a round.

“The more votes, the merrier,” the network said in a tweet.

Getting votes has not been particularly difficult for Elk Grove, perhaps best indicated by the vote counts in each round.

“Our students have been incredibly supportive,” Murphy said. “In 3 of the 4 rounds, we had more votes than any other school in the entire contest.”

The students have hardly been the only supporters, though; teachers such as Thomas Walloch and Dan Saken have also been doing their part.

“When I’m at a school, I’m all in,” Saken said. “I appreciate and understand the importance of school spirit and creating a really positive culture.”

The madness has even spread outside the school, with businesses such as The Locker Shop and Grande Jake’s providing incentives such as stickers and burritos to students for the contest.

“We are very lucky to have really good business partners that genuinely care about the success of our school,” Murphy said. “We are always trying to find opportunities to create programs that are both beneficial to the school as well as the local business.”

However, students such as senior Atiim Harris are tiring of the madness.

“I voted a few times, but I think it’s kind of getting annoying,” Harris said. “If it’s exactly like last year, we won’t actually win a prize because most people won’t be willing to go out of their way to go to the burrito place.”

Others are simply aggravated by the blockage the contest creates.

“I feel like some people are too excited about this,” senior Patrycja Orlow said. “It just blocks up my twitter feed for a whole week.”

Some are more indifferent to the craziness.

“I don’t go on Twitter enough to get annoyed,” senior Alyssa Rosenorn said.

Still others are worried that priorities are being misplaced.

“They can do hours and hours of tweeting, but they can’t do ten minutes of their homework,” senior Artha Lou Da Silva said. “I think it’s a little contradictory.”

The benefits are still clear, though.

“I feel like it’s a good school bonding experience,” Tabor said.

Outside of some early efforts by the administration, the contest has spread through student and staff efforts.

“It’s taken on a life of its own,” Murphy said. “There are so many staff members and students that have rallied the student body over the course of the contest.”

Even in all the craziness, teachers are not neglecting their usual responsibilities.

“It’s in addition to the great learning they’re doing,” Saken said. “I still want the main focus to be on the academics.”

Nonetheless, there is still much at stake in the contest.

“Burritos and stickers will come and go, but being able to say that our school community came together to show our pride in our mascot and school is forever,” Murphy said. “Comcast is [also] working to figure out how they are going to recognize the winning school.”

Regardless of the results, Murphy is proud of the Grenadiers.

“I think the grind and grittiness of Elk Grove is what makes us unique and sets us apart,” Murphy said. “[It’s] why we’ve gotten so far.”