Smitty

As the song says, "And the land we belong to is grand!"

Listen online: The Ticket

Does anyone know what reaction Rice got when it went to a helmet with wings on the sides? I remember thinking how much that looked like Philly's helmet: That looks a lot more like NFL Philly than any of the suggested UNT helmets with the new Eagle logo.

I don't understand it, either. I don't know if other universities do the same thing - have one set of marks for its academic departments and another set for sports and other non-academic activities. But it especially doesn't make sense when you're trying to establish a new branding identity.

One suggestion: The NORTH TEXAS you've used is from the academic wordmarks. Per UNT's branding website, the academic wordmarks are preferred for academic and administrative use. For sports, UNT prefers the NORTH TEXAS spirit mark, which is a slightly different font and style. You'll find the spirit marks on the UNT football helmets, t-shirts, hats, etc. Here is a link to the UNT branding website, where vector images of spirit marks, spirit images, and combinations of the marks and images are available for download: UNT Branding

Sir, I have a entire website of "something better" that I have spent countless hours creating, have posted on the web, and have distributed free to the Mean Green Nation. Don't get sanctimonious with me. I have made - and continue to make - my contribution, and do not appreciate name calling or suggestons of some lame political agenda. The idea that if someone disagrees then they are being PC is insulting, as is your wrapping yourself in the flag of freedom of speech and therefore being immune to criticism. Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't forgive bad taste or bad designs. The Exes want to put out a design and try to sell it? Fine. Then get ready to have that design judged. I have offered up my designs for public consumption and that makes them fair game for criticism. Now its the Exes turn. And some of us, quite a number of us, don't like that design. Not PC. Just bad.

Well if you're okay with a sinking destroyer, why don't you just make a t-shirt with a picture of the USS Cole with a smoking hole in its side? Do you think that would be funny? Once again, it's not being PC. I'm fine with a t-shirt that says SINK NAVY (as a simple play on words) but not the image of a sinking warship, especially in a time when American warships are very much in harm's way. It is not politically incorrect, it's just bad taste with the potential to generate bad publicity - and North Texas needs neither.

Believe me, I'm as anti-PC as anyone, but there are some lines you do not cross. It is inappropriate when you use an image of a sinking destroyer (that looks like a destroyer, not a battleship) at a time when the nation is at war with the same thugs who blew a hole in the destroyer USS Cole.

Outstanding work. Nice use of simple color to make a dramatic impact, and a good job of incorporating the eagle head. Really well done.

The Morning News reports today that the UNT at ASU game will be televised on ESPN Regional. The game was originally scheduled for November 17, but has been moved to Thursday, November 15.

Nice story just broadcast on Channel 8's sports on UNT spring football, focussing on Dodge teaching players his way of playing football and his way of conducting themselves. Play hard on the field, conduct yourself as a gentleman off.

I can think of several big-time programs with white helmets: Texas Nebraska Penn State Miami Auburn Louisville Tennessee I prefer a green helmet, too, but I have a bigger argument with putting "NORTH TEXAS" on the helmet instead of the new logo. I would be okay with a green or white helmet with the new Eagle logo on it.

We've been talking about new stadiums and sponsors. How about Under Armour Stadium? They can have all the signage they want. Make it a UA showplace. Sell UA gear only at the stadium and on campus. Let UA make the stadium the "cool" destination for Dallas Fort Worth, with the "cool" atire for Dallas Fort Worth. Put their logo everywhere. Make it a place UA can use to shoot TV commercials. They can use it for whatever they want. Put their logo on tickets, programs, cups, wrappers. Hell, make funnel cake in the shape of the UA logo. Possible?

IF a white helmet would really help a quarterback locate his receivers, as has been mentioned earlier, then I'm in favor of a white helmet. But from a purely aesthetic perspective, I much prefer a green helmet. The Mean Green should have a green helmet. Unless we can win more with a white one.

Very true.

NT91 requested a look at what a white helmet with "North Texas" on it might look like (since that may be what UNT will wear this year). So... Without an outline around "North Texas" With an outline

Forgive my ignorance (I don't have an iPod), but are these skins digital artwork for a display screen, or are they a physical piece that covers the iPod (or a laptop)? I was thinking about making some UNT backgrounds for cell phone display screens. Is this the same kind of thing?

Here's a second wallpaper featuring the North Texas Dancers (so JayDub can go double-monitor with Dancers!). More graphics to come. I'm planning a batch of new wallpapers for football season to debut just before the first game. Enjoy!

I think you can imagine how distracting it was working on this wallpaper.

I've added a new page to the Mean Green Graphics website for spirit organizations wallpapers, and the first wallpaper is of the North Texas Dancers. (Gee, I wonder why he chose a photo of twenty really cute girls?) It's available in 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024 at Mean Green Graphics. As always, its free. More spirit organizations to come.

I've added a new page to the Mean Green Graphics website, for spirit organizations wallpapers. The first wallpaper is of the North Texas Dancers. (Gee, I wonder why he chose a photo of twenty really cute girls?) It's available in 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024 at Mean Green Graphics. As always, its free. More spirit organizations to come.

Oh, that was so sweet back in the day. A few thousand people roaring "welcome to the Pit" over and over and over as the opponent huddled around its coach and tried to stem the flow. This was not an easy place to play. Some teams definitely got rattled.

Most of the conversations I've heard on the golf course consist of "F**king hook!" "F**king slice!" ""F**king sandtrap!" "F**king tree!" and the ever popular "I hate this f**king game!" I'm not sure what business they were discussing, but they sealed the deal by snapping nine irons over their knees.

A tradition we once had, and need to build again: loud crowds. Back in the Bill Blakely days, we got some pretty good crowds at basketball games, and we could be really noisy. North Texas earned a reputation as being a tough place to play. The crowd would get going, Blakely's up-tempo game would get going, and next thing an opponent knew they down a dozen and calling time out. Then the chant of "Welcome to the Pit" would reverberate through the place. That's the tradition I want to see at UNT. Make North Texas a tough place to play. Loud crowds making it tough for opponents - football or basketball or whatever. And with a fast-paced, no huddle Todd Dodge offense, there is every chance to get that kind of atmosphere going, where North Texas is moving the ball and the crowd is roaring and next thing the opponent knows, they're down a couple of touchdowns.