NM Green

That is sweet. There is a thread in the pony board about sweet creative posters and themes such as tcus amp it up UCF knights and Baylor. I missed the spring game but is there a rallying tag line (official) for '14? If not plenty of time drop in ideas here. Mine: bringing it Mean painting it Green. GMG

I think the coaches will challenge this team to carve out their own identity. That in and of itself will be fun to watch. We also left some tough goals on the table even with the magic that was last year. Four that immediately come to mind: 1. Beat the Big 12 in Austin 2. Smash the football energy of SMU early 3. Hit30K or sell it out (that is on us fans too) 4. Win CUSA 5. Revenge win in South Texas Making the CUSA championship game would be a feat too, but we need to win that bad boy to make it into another high profile matchup. Note...any bad scrappy design comment makes me laugh! Well done sir. GMG

So I was stuck in Las Vegas over the weekend (there are worse dilemmas) so I took in their spring showcase game. They are bummed slightly about no bowl game this year but the local radio said "hey if they win 8 or 9 games and come near the top of the MWC then that is the mark of a great season. They kept saying it really means there is one less game in the season and worth it to preserve their reputation (academic). They do have some great programs but are not Harvard. It really boiled down to the fact that this is a basketball school first football second. Now a post season ban from the dance would warrant gasoline soaked torches. Two things I was impressed with was that they played the game Friday night at 5:30 and gave everyone in attendance a free ticket to the baseball game that night. The other was seeing the battle born cannon painted red and on display. In my six years living in Vegas they could never beat reno. They finally did this past year and there was the cannon on display with the final score sign for all to see. That cannon makes a showing at all home games and will stay red until the wolf pack steal it back. That begs the question can we get a "trophy" prize rolling with the dirty birds from south Texas? Something visible that is painted green or orange every year? Traditions have to start somewhere! GMG

All I know is in the atl airport lots of people watching this great finish. Go Texas!

Gosh does this program have any energy left around it? I follow the Runnin Rebels and now SMU more than I do this team. Will always love my alma mater but jeez go make it happen. We are not the SEC where we can rely on 90k plus for every home game. Feel free to distract me Mean Green and make the drive from Dallas up to Denton worthwhile in 2014-2015. Until then U-N-L-V UNLV GO FIGHT WIN!!!!!

Give it up for the Mustangs! Love the fact SMU is back and I say go win it! Not an SMU fan by birth or education but live 1 mile from the school and they represent Dallas - go get'em Stangs! Come on North Texas you are North Texas' team make a hire - get a bid - create an environment and WIN. GMG

Culture is a dangerous thing for sports gurus - they overestimate the programs that have it and underestimate the programs that have it building. Mean Green Football is building a culture of hard work, performance and winning. They don't see that yet and I love it. Make your mark Mean Green 14. GMG

Amen Lifer. After doubting DT and almost throwing away the season after he was named the starter I relinquish all criticism and in Mac I trust. He is the leader of this team and will ensure the right guy that gives us the best chance to win will be at the helm. We have a chance of going to Austin and upsetting Texas Strong. A few years ago that was unthinkable. A Texas fan stated, "Well your Mac was better than our Mack, but now we are Texas Strong." Texas even slightly concerned with a Mean Green machine rolling into Austin is quite an accomplishment. I can't wait to see this team's identity take form. GMG

Look few people are going to want to go to Apogee in the next 10 years. That doesn't mean they won't come, but it only got harder and I love it because that means we are not an easy W. I go to Apogee to watch my Mean Green, bond with the diehards, welcome opposing fans, cheer like heck and hopefully see a lot of W's. I travel and hope for the same thing. All in the hope that it leads to a nice date against a foe big or small around holiday time. Baylor would not be fun to play right now home or away. I like the Big 10 middle of the road programs like Minnesota, Indiana, Northwestern...Go get BYU down here so they can recruit Austin and Dallas. Go get California, Washington State, Utah or Arizona (though they would be tough too). Louisville will not be coming to Dallas anymore and they are strongless so see if you can get a date with the Ville. GMG

So Shaka took the money and ran and then lost to SFA in the first round. That is fine. We don't get him but go get someone who has won at the top level. Period. Shaka was smart and worked out a good contract - God love capitalism. Make it happen just get a leader who has won at the top level before. GMG

Look cusa is a league waiting for a stud to come in and have a dominant program emerge. Shaka whatever better get out while stock still looks good. Going down to sfa first round not good for rep. Go get Reggie from Northridge was a finalist for unlv when rice got job. We are a league hungry for the byu to emerge. Let's take the cougar approach from back in the day! GMG

Love the jacks! I would go get their coach or the VCU coach. We have to be legit in the two power sports. There is no downtime for an ad or chance to rest in your success. Grab some coffee Rick and get to work!!!!! GMG

New Mexico State taking the Aztecs to ot. The ohio state university Oklahoma and Cincy biting it! Delicious! I love march madness and hope tomorrow is equally exciting! GMG

Some gritty performances

I have FL AZ Louisville and VA with Arizona beating FL in the championship game. GMG

I was in Las Vegas this weekend and went to the Pac 12 Championship game (second half). It was awesome being in Las Vegas with 3 conference tourneys going on: WAC, Pac 12 and Mountain West. All three arenas within 2 miles of each other. The city was packed with bball fans and the casinos went all out hanging banners from the schools in the casino lobbies and walkways. The West Coast Conference was at the Orleans the week before. Our destination city is New Orleans. The Pac 12 didn't stay away just because the MWC already had dibs on the Thomas & Mack, the weekend and Vegas. We need to move this tournament to New Orleans. Is there another venue down there that could host it? If not lets make it the weekend before. Either way NOLA is in our footprint and schools from all over would pour down there with a planned weekend. I swear half the cities of Albuquerque and Tucson were in Las Vegas this weekend. GMG

I still believe the only way you get into Apogee on the 6th is with season tickets or a ticket bought in advance. Project Hit 32k needs to begin now - March - August - let's get our first sell out accomplished in a few short months. GMG

Those pics were great and brought back terrific memories. Let Benford continue grooming his team, recruit a stud that wants to play for him and continue trending upward. I mean many of the teams we lost to ugly are set up nicely to go dancing (thinking BYU). I just remember JJ having some mulligans just like benford. I sat through that massacre at UTA and that was under JJ's watch. JJ got us dancing but couldn't get us over that hump into the 32. I wish Benford luck and will celebrate and support that coach that finally gets us in and leads us to do some damage in the tourney. GMG

I have lost interest in the bball program but I do love our recent streak. I also have to check myself that these kids are student athletes who chose to play for my school. It's not an easy dilemma for fans to be in but in the end we all want the Green to win. I will never forget the NE shirts they wore at one of the football games. I asked what it meant and they said, "No Excuses." However, the team walked around the stadium almost expecting to be heckled and laughed at before the season ever started. Maybe that is why I have not been that interested this year - it is just an ugly scene at the Superpit with empty seats, blowout losses and fans craving for a change. Weird energy. Thank you for supporting the kids. It will work its way the way it is supposed to. GMG

I love alcohol sales in the stadium and arena. If you don't have extensive tailgate time you can grab one inside and nurse it due to the costs:) I think it actually takes the "taboo" out of it and I have only seen it work well in Hawaii and Las Vegas. UNLV takes it one step further by having the Jack Daniels Bar in the arena which is a great gathering place before the game and at halftime. It is a four counter station with TV's in each corner and another on a large wall where you have cocktail standing tables. They play NBA games and college games. The smoking terrace is just outside this bar area and is discreetly monitored by security. You have adults and kids of age hanging out visiting and socializing inside the arena before game time and at half. I always bump into people I work with on the Strip at that bar, so the social aspect is nice and adult. This takes it further than just the cart grab and go stop. The Superpit has some truly nice concourse space to work with as well. I have been in the Green Room and it is like bringing the festivity out of the dungeon and opening it for all. Let's make this happen. If I were Smastrek I would send Rick to a game at the T&M so he could experience the production: 1. Pre-game indoor firework intro 2. Sponsorship booths, games and activities throughout the entire concourse 3. Restaurant/food options 4. Liquor carts and beer garden setup 5. The REBELLION student section complete with Khem Kong in the stands - google the madness 6. The energizing DJ crowd igniter between timeouts 7. The Rebelgurls - google opportunity 8. The Jaws Shark chomp intro before tipoff All of the above turned me from casual fan to city supporter to Runnin Rebel season ticket holder when I lived in sin city for those 6 years. It was a blast and you have to bring it in Mountain West basketball because San Diego State has "The Show," Utah State has a crazy environment, Boise has become a tough place to play and then there is the Pit in New Mexico. There are no real easy venues to win on the road in that conference and CUSA needs to grow this sports experience - why not The Mean Green. Smastrek has lived it too and once you see it you want to make that happen every time you enter a college basketball arena. I have a feeling WKU might have our best conference experience but have not been to a game there. Get Rick to the San Diego State game at UNLV March 5th - I'll give him some miles. See it today and plan for next season. GMG GMG

Oh I know they beat Kansas and they played Okie State tight the other day. Its just dark days in frogland for now, not forever. I would take that Big XII offer too and the loot but that invite is not there...yet. Mean Green are making our own strides right now and we are earning it much like the purple did a decade ago. We have a long way to go but when the light is shining bright on you and the local big dawg is struggling - you have to seize the spotlight and moment. Let's make some noise in El Paso if we can. Let's make some statements in the fall again! GMG

I thought this post included their 0-15 Big 12 basketball conference record. I know they love that Big XII dough but this has not been a fun past 12 months in Frogland. We sure have been there before. Kind of weird to see them after all of those USC, Rose Bowl, BCS, top 10 glory days. It truly is cyclical. Mean Green maximize YOUR time! GMG

This should be a definite concern for college athletics and the pros. I recently met with the San Francisco 49rs about their effort to make sure they can get people off the couch and out from in front of their super capable HD TV's. Though they are going to have brand spanking new stadium they know the lure to stay at home in front of amazing TV's with friends is a challenge. After the Southern Miss game I went into New Orleans and had a sunday funday with some Saints fans, some of which attended their first New Orleans game in the Superdome that day. They stated that they enjoyed it but would not necessarily desire to go back. They would rather watch the game with their friends at a bar. Again organizations long-term nightmare - one and done. This concern is real at both levels. Organizations and universities better figure out what that population wants inside the stadium. It is absolute connectivity, continuous interactive activity with the game experience, giveaways and perhaps party zones for the various groups, all of which involve innovative technology. I went to the UNLV basketball game last night and dropped $30 for a nosebleed seat. It stung but was still fun. However, I can't do too many $30 upper level tickets throughout the season for a conference game. I personally think the situation will only get worse if college athletics becomes more like the pros. Some will say why bother with the Wildcats when you can check out Seattle tomorrow. Got to stay ahead of the game. GMG

Piers is terrible. Imagine the communists news network's ratings if it wasn't running completely ignored in every airport in America. Pub is pub go Johnny Bobsled!!!!

I am ready for some Johnny Quinn heat to hi that website. North Texas stores would rock that gear and sell a ton! GMG