ThunderStix will be back this weekend for NIU’s crucial game against Toledo at 11:05 a.m. Saturday. But it won’t just be ThunderStix found amongst the predicted crowd of 25,000; fans can also expect CheerStix to grace the crowd.

Don’t get too excited; however, expect something new and exciting.

“CheerStix are the exact same thing as ThunderStix,” NIU’s coordinator of marketing and promotions Steve Ekhoff said. “They look exactly the same and they sound the same as well.”

NIU will now carry 10,000 total pairs of Stix, half of which will be CheerStix. In NIU’s victory over Bowling Green on Nov. 9, 5,000 pairs of ThunderStix were dispersed to the crowd.

CheerStix began in 1993 and have struggled to enter the stadium noisemaker scene since. CheerStix were employed in several instances, including during the 1998 NBA playoffs and a relief appearance in this year’s World Series.

“[ThunderStix] got a lucky sale with the Angels in the summer but couldn’t keep up with production when the ALCS and World Series came along,” said Jim Lundberg, president of CheerStix. “So the Angels started buying from me. I had to fly in 100,000 sets on three occasions for the Angels. Of course, by this time the TV announcers had already hooked on to the name ThunderStix, and that is what everyone calls them.”

CheerStix are considered noisemakers and, therefore, have run into some legality issues. However, they are generally considered fair game for all outdoor sports. It has been specifically approved for use in Texas, Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan. They have, however, been eliminated from the PAC-10, as the conference voted to eliminate its use next season.

Lundberg claims to offer much lower prices and higher quality materials to make his CheerStix superior. The CheerStix are expected to arrive at NIU as a cost savings compared to the Thunderstix.

“[Thunderstix] have always been No. 2 for this product because they are much more expensive, and their product isn’t as good,” Lundberg said. “They are having good success, but sooner or later, everyone learns about me, my cheaper prices and better product, and they come this way. Then the old familiar pattern of me being No. 1 and them as No. 2 starts to reappear.”

It seems the actual games are not the only battles being fought.