TheTastyGreek

If we were any good at accounting, we wouldn't have been off by $23 million when we checked our own books. Now that we finally spent some money to improve our account ability? Maybe... MAYBE, there can be accountability. EDIT: Whoops! Thought that number seemed small... Make it $75 million! Could be worse... We could be Sam Houston State.

Bright side? We lost by 46 points. That's only tied for 8th in our worst margin-of-defeat losses of the past 10 years! 69 point loss to Oklahoma in 2007, 57 point loss to Rice in 2008, 53 point loss to LSU in 2005, 52 point loss to Tulsa in 2005, 49 point loss to Arkansas in 2007, 49 point loss to Texas in 2006, 47 point loss to Kansas State in 2005, 46 point loss to Alabama in 2009. So... It could have been, and frequently HAS been, even worse! MORAL VICTORY! SILVER LINING! And... I got to see five of those in person! Anyone got me beat?

There's still something to live for, Rob. You can donate change for a Smatresk crowdfund on the 10th! Or give me your parking pass for the CUSA championship game to support an art project! After that, though... Go, DaMarcus?

Yup. Anyone that's looking forward to the future... Why? Sincerely, where is your optimism? Because I'm really, really struggling to see a bright future anywhere within the next 12-24 months, anywhere on our major sports horizon. Is it basketball? Men's or Women's... I don't think you're in for much to celebrate this year. Is it next season? What improvement are you expecting? Which of our verbals (we do have two, right?) are going to come in and change things? Which QB is going to develop and outshine what we've seen the past two years? What JUCO or HS recruit is going to come here based on the way we've developed freshmen or served as a platform for success for JUCOs/transfers? Is it the hope of a change in leadership? If so, where? If we replace either our basketball coach or our football coach... Do you feel optimistic about whoever our AD will hire to replace them? Even with the hiring history he's demonstrated in the past 15 years? If we replace our AD, but can't or won't spend the money to change either or both coaches, does that mean those coaches are going to start coaching and/or recruiting better anyway? If we clean house and hire a new AD, a new football coach, and a new basketball coach all within 12 months of each other... What are the odds that we hit on any or all of those? What can we even afford given what those buyouts would cost? Seriously, because I'd love to know when I can even expect to be excited about something... Where the hell are we supposed to look to see something, anything, that isn't a miserable slog on all fronts for at least another year, if not more? RIght now, the only thing that makes me think we might have any level of success in any major sport any time before our next paycheck trip to Iowa is the fact that we've finally put DaMarcus Smith in the game. Those 3 relatively unproductive plays are all I'm hanging my hopes on for the short term future. And if he gets a few starts but can't lead us to wins? Oy... Then what?

1) We've had "good times" around here lately? 2) He's a junior. If biting your tongue for 2-3 years is a "long time", and you finally can't help yourself from spouting off in a critical and accusatory manner... Imagine how the guys who have been fans for 30-40+ years feel. 3) As pointed out above... Fans don't have a "job". They have a voluntary willingness to cheer, or follow, or not. 4) Division 1 sports is an exploitative shitshow, and the athletes generally get the shortest, poopiest end of the stick, but it's no secret how it works. When you have one non-con road win in 15 seasons, when you have one winning season in 11 years, when so many of the things that drive the fans here nuts happen and keep happening... People are going to tune out or flip out. It's unfortunate that so many do it in an ugly way towards players... But, it happens. And if that's difficult to deal with... Well, it's a much dimmer spotlight in Division 3. 5) Whatever criticism any player or coach has gone in for here at North Texas PALES in comparison to bigger programs, where players get death threats, guys get harassed by fellow students and run off of campus, and so on and so forth. Here, a dozen people bitch about McNulty. And it's on one forum, not half a dozen. Easy to ignore. Nobody is calling into the only podunk radio station in town or flooding the letters-to-the-editor section of the Rinkydinkeryville Times sports section... In the grand scheme of things, relatively nobody is paying attention. 6) Any player upset about a dozen jackasses with a malfunctioning moral barometer should stop and consider that most of them are misdirecting anger that ought to be focused on the dozen or so people in charge of coaching and recruiting the team, or the people that hire those coaches, or the people that hire the people that hire those coaches. It's crappy to have to be an emotionally more stable and mature person at ages 18-23 than guys in their 30's, 40's, 50's, and older... But, if you can gut up and do it, then take solace in the fact that you're a superior human being, and that fortitude will serve you well in the rest of your life. 7) If this makes players and coaches bunker down and win for themselves to spite the fans... Fine. At this point, I don't care if they do it for the fans, in spite of the fans... Whatever. Sacrifice a damn fatted calf on the 50 yard line before each game if leads to wins. Love us, hate us, ignore us, whatever. Win and fewer people bitch (it never stops completely). Keep losing, and it's best to just plug your ears. 8) I hope that any future graduate of the University of North Texas that is on this team and angry at the fan reaction can keep that mentality 5, 10, 20+ years from now. Because there's no shortage of former players on this website, and some of them can be the most extreme in their performance criticisms and overall assessments of our team(s).

Yup. For all the good he did here... The guy gambled all of our chips on a long shot play to shame the SWC into letting us join. He lost, and then he left for Iowa and didn't have to suffer the consequences of losing the bet. Everyone who laments the conference mates we used to have and how we ought to still be on their level... The reason we disconnected from them was because Fry took us out of the conference.

Not that your general point is wrong... But, Chuck Long has never even had a winning season, much less a winning career record overall.

Crowdfund #3 is another coin collection for homecoming. Details to come. What I'm talking about with these passes would be more of an art patronage opportunity, not a donor/sponsorship situation like the coin collections.

I'm considering an art project, if enough people want to donate their (potentially!) unused championship game parking passes. Anyone interested?

Obviously. Because the NBA isn't the hardest professional league to crack and stick. Guys picked after Tony in the 2013 draft who are even signed to NBA contracts at this point in their careers? Joffrey Lauvergne - French Center, contract with the Denver Nuggets (non-guaranteed after this year) 24 games of NBA experience. Lorenzo Brown - Minnesota Timberwolves (non-guaranteed contract) James Ennis - Miami Heat (non-guaranteed contract) Ryan Kelly - LA Lakers (partially guaranteed contract, also played for LA's D-league team last year) - 6'11" center Raulzinho Neto - Zero NBA experience, first NBA contract signed with Utah Jazz (July, 2015) Erick Green - Denver Nuggets (non-guaranteed contract, also played for Denver's D-league team last year) Mike Muscala - Atlanta Hawks (partially guaranteed contract, multiple stints with Atlanta's D-league team) - 6'11" center Pierre Jackson - Zero NBA experience, first NBA contract signed with Philadelphia 76ers (July, 2015 - partially guaranteed, no guarantees past 2015) Jamaal Franklin - 21 games of NBA experience (exactly the same as Tony!), multiple D-league stints. Signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Denver Nuggets (April, 2015) Grant Jerrett - Utah Jazz (partially guaranteed contract). 8 career NBA games, multiple D-league stints. 6'10" Forward Jeff Withey - Utah Jazz (partially guaranteed contract). 7' center That's everyone drafted after Tony in 2013 that's even on an NBA contract of any kind at this point in their careers. Most (if not quite all) can and will be cut or reassigned at no financial cost to their teams. Half of them, not coincidentally including many with any sort of guaranteed money, are 6'10" or taller. What I do know is that no matter what your advantages and talent level, the NBA is the hardest professional league in all of sports to make it in and stick. Particularly if you're not a first round pick, and particularly if you're not 6'10" or taller. The top overall pick in Tony's draft is about to get bought out because roster spots are so scarce, two different teams have decided they can't be bothered to train and develop him. The fact that Tony is still out there, fighting to make a U.S. basketball career for himself, and earning a shot to compete for a roster spot on an NBA team (the defending champions, no less) is a testament to his dedication and talent, and that fortitude ought to be commended, not disrespected. Instead, a guy who constantly scolds and criticizes people (talking about you here, KRAM, just to be clear) for having anything negative to say about paid employees at an institution historically notable only for chronic failure and awfulness? He continues to tear down a former scholarship athlete who stayed here a year longer than most people expected (and two years more than anyone would have dared to dream before JJ brought him to us), and to snipe at and crap on him for no real clear reason I can understand. We haven't had anyone in decades that could even come close to the NBA, and you mock this guy because he hasn't made it and stuck there yet. Because almost no one does. Even some of the first round picks taken ahead of Tony (with guaranteed contracts) have washed out, been sent to the D-league, or never made it to the NBA in the first place. If you just can't bring yourself to like the guy, then fine. But, maybe you should pretend he cashed a UNT paycheck, and keep your criticism private. Odds are he won't make it in the NBA. But he hasn't taken the easier and more lucrative route (European basketball), because he may just be talented enough to play at the highest level and stick around there. I hope he can. And if he can't, then all that means (arguably) is that he isn't one of the 200 most talented basketball players in the world. But he was still something special, and we got to see him in North Texas uniform.

UNT employees being paid for performance? UNASSAILABLE. If you have anything negative to say, shut your whine-holes and complain in private. UNT student, uncompensated, nearly seriously injured while here, struggling on the fringes of a successful professional career? THAT'S the guy you take snippy potshots at in public.

Has anyone on Twitter tweeted this at the Which Wich company account? Could be a good sponsorship opportunity. I still feel bad we weren't able to raise enough to feed Patty Wells...

Anyone who wants to announce that they contributed, I encourage it. But, though anonymity wasn't guaranteed, I will respect it and keep private donations private.

I like french fries, so thanks for all the potatoes. And "Fargo" was a pretty good movie, so I guess that's a mark in Iowa's favor. And, the home of Mount Rushmore can't be all bad. But Cardinals fans are insufferable, I think those cheese hats are ugly and dumb, and I hate their "Rock, Chalk, Hawkeye" chant. I guess, when you tally up the pros vs. cons on Iowa... I could take or leave the whole state.

Mail delivery. No one got back to me about a halftime on-field presentation. Maybe for the next crowdfund? EDIT: WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE NINJAFACE??? Harry, bring back the Ninjaface, or I may go on strike.

I thought about offering a personal sandwich suggestion (Bag #7 - Italian - Grinder, on white, hot, add Cheddar, Ranch, Lettuce, House Chips, Oil, Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, and Oregano)... But I decided that it went against the spirit of opening Rick's eyes to a new world and wide variety of options.

Happy Joe's is the bomb.

Friends, I want to take a moment to tell you all how proud I am of how people came together to support this effort. On Saturday, the skies opened up and tried to rain out our sandwich effort. But, passionate, enthusiastic North Texas fans refused to be stopped. People made arrangements to meet me before game day... People who couldn't make it to the game met me in a parking lot just to hand over coins to help change this university's athletic program for the better. People I've never met overheard what we were doing, and rushed over to donate for change. People tried to hand over paper money (which I politely refused) to support and finance this noble initiative. Obviously, we could have done more... Because of various personal issues, I wasn't able to collect every cent people wanted to provide in support of this sandwich gift card. But, rather than focus on what we weren't able to do, I'd like to spotlight our success instead. Ladies and gentlemen... Rick Villarreal can eat anything he might want at Which Wich. His Jimmy Johns days are over. Because you all came together and bought him a $13.28 gift card. Two weeks ago, you came together and raised $2,200 to buy a banner and rent a plane and pilot. When North Texas fans, disgusted by what they see on the field, raise their hands and their eyes to the sky and ask a silent, unresponsive, apparently unloving God: "Why? WHY DO YOU LET THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO US???" - They get to see a message of hope and inspiration: "Go Mean Green!" Last week, we banded together to stop our Athletic Director from eating crap like Jimmy Johns. I challenged you all, and a lot of people responded. They reached down into their pockets, felt something in their pants that they wanted to put in Rick V.'s mouth, and donated enough money to buy him a delicious Which Wich meal. Whether it's a sandwich, or a flying banner, or perhaps something else in the future... I'm amazed and proud of what GoMeanGreen fans have done, are doing, and can do tomorrow and beyond. Congratulations, friends. Your athletics programs may not be giving you much to celebrate or be proud of... But you can be proud of yourselves. Keep up the good work.

Either or both Macs might get sentimental for Iowa, and not come back to Texas for the rest of the season.

Set it aside. This battle is won, but the war isn't over. There will be another chance for you (and anyone else that's disappointed) to make a positive contribution to change.

I don't mean to undermine the actual point, because I agree that his performance wasn't even in the top 50 reasons you could point to that we lost. But... I think that he actually DID have his best game, statistically speaking.

Had to move into the shade... The one year old with us needed to get out of the sun. I know we can do more. And I'm not saying we've done all we're ever going to do. But, we did what we needed to do. The forces of nature conspired against us, but we got out of this crowdfund with a "W". Was it perfect? Was it pretty? Are we content? The answer to all of them is: "no". But, we did something special today. To anyone who wanted to give, but couldn't connect with me... I apologize. We would have been even stronger with your support, but hopefully you can take solace in knowing that we succeeded anyway. Keep that change, my friends. Based on the positive feedback and success we achieved in the Rick Villarreal Sandwich Initiative, I think we may just have something else up our sleeve for Homecoming. Change doesn't happen all at once, fellow Mean Greeners. And we aren't going to rest on our laurels. I believe we accomplished something special this week. But, now we know that we're capable of doing even more. Dream big. Pocket those pennies. And stay tuned for the next GMG crowdfund.

Or a plastic one... Things do seem pretty grim.