PlummMeanGreen

A few consecutive winning seasons will change what some of you call our "culture" quite dramatically. "W's" just seems to have that effect. Still, we're in the Metroplex where there are a thousand other things you can do on Game Days so promotions that you can see visible results (as in butts in seats) will still need to be a regular staple at North Texas; lest we forget, our school colors are not orange/white or maroon/white. The days of "oh, hell, we're winning and they'll show up just because of that" days are gone forever for college football programs in the North Texas/DFW Metroplex. If TCU has a few losing seasons in a row you will think it is the TCU from their old Southwest Conference days at the ACS turnstiles.

Future UNT students Game Day theme song?

One of the main things in contract extensions these days are nice buyout clauses. Make the other school pay for any of our coaches (who'd agree with such a clause); anyway, have the Big Boys pay for their future services. Don't forget...they get the big TV bucks. GMG! Winning on the road is our next big challenge for UNT. When we do that, then get the lawyers together in the Hurley Admin board room to work out a fair, balanced and lucrative deal. Also make "larger Apogee attendance numbers" bonus monies available for Coach Mac and his assistants. I understand other schools in past years have done this.

Uh.......ditto. We now have more good things happening than negative these days and hasn't winning a couple thus far even made broccoli sprouts taste so much better? Yet promotions that get significantly more fans in the stands seems to be our weak link in our chain right now. I don't think any one of us who buy tickets to watch the Mean Green would have any problem whatsever if Denton and Denton area kids were to get in free in the upper Wing Zone. I applaud the efforts of our athletic department yesterday for those some 700 or 800 kids we saw at the Ball State game yesterday.....at least, that is a start. And what negative could kids who get in free (or with a canned good as their "ticket to the game") possibly produce? We would have all loved those Fox Sports SW cameras panning a near filled or nice representation of kids (with mom and/or dad) in the Wing Zone yesterday ....that is, filled with highly impressionable and admiring kids many of whom would have never been to a college football game in their young lifetimes.. Heck, I was darn near 11 years old before I attended my first college football game at Rice Stadium in the Fall of '61. That Rice/Baylor game made a gigantic impression on me even so long ago. Heck! Here I am today still talking about it! LOL! For North Texas, there are so many "built in" promos out there with "built in" significant numbers of fans tied to those promos and with future UNT students(?) involved with many of them that if we would at minimum give such promos the good ol' college try and try em' out next Fall (since this year's promotions are in the can--so to speak). Gray Eagle has mentioned several of some of those that I think would be a natural fit for U of North Texas to put on their Game Day promotions. Let me add this.............Dan McCarney, his coaches and our school's football team feel hurt when they see empty seats no matter how hot the weather or even if being televised in DFW when so many could stay home and watch in the comfort of their living rooms. Well our players were playing in full gear yesterday and it had to be at least 100 degrees on the stadium floor at Kick-Off. Nevertheless, all coaches and their players want to play in front of a big crowd--wouldn't any of us? All this promotions business to me is still a work in progress and I think is one that can be solved once the first Big Step is made to solve it. It was never lost on me back in the day that one of the things Hayden Fry said right after he left North Texas was how the Iowa fans showed up in the snow in freezing weather and en mass at Kinnick Stadium even after 20 or so losing season in a row for the Hawkeyes. I know this state is "front runner fan-crazy" for the Longhorns and Aggies--but guess what sports fans? UT and Texas A & M have filled their stadiums which means..... there's no room at the inn in either Austin and College Station. And that translates to this very cold harsh fact too which is..........they do not have room for you, any of your families or any of your friends. If you want to be a Longhorn or Aggie go to Walmart and buy yourself an orange or maroon shirt because Walmart is as close to those 2 football programs as anyone is going to get. (But don't wear those orange or maroon shirts to our alma mater if you don't mind). Good new is.....we do have room at Apogee Stadium at this moment in our school's athletic history and FWIW.... Apogee is a pretty doggone' nice play for fans of all ages to experience a college football Game Day. Just like many of you, I, too, had an absolute blast yesterday at Apogee Stadium! GMG!

I heard those, too, on the FSSW Instant Replay TV program this AM. I will feel even better about our team when we apply all this to road games with some "W's on the road; of course, that must happen for this team to attain what the entire Mean Green Nation wants to see them accomplish this season. Winning games (especially those in CUSA) on the road will get a huge elephant off our shoulders and from now on this year one gets the feeling that we are going to be a target. Winning programs (which we could very well become this season) get to have that distinct and dubious honor but one I think we would all proudly love to see "OUR" team have once again. GMG!

And keep the offensive tempo upbeat for Derek. He just seems better when this occurs than in a slow down mode. Couldn't be prouder and Emmitt is right....we own this team to get better crowds and now. I think we are on the cusp (I like that word) of some great and mighty things ahead for the Mean Green and its fans--both new, old and those who will soon jump on this bandwagon. We are too big a school who along with our constituency should begin doing great things at the turnstiles--and not have to lie about attendance numbers (not that we have since we like so many other schools count paid for tickets). Like Adam told Eve: This thing is getting bigger so you better watch out because I have no idea where all this is going. (I better get ready for church after that one). GMG!

It really does take a special person to admit when they have been wrong and I appreciate and have even more respect (as I've had all along as it is) for all that are doing this. Yall are great alums and fans, but of course we knew that long before DT/#7 wouid know that there would be a U of North Texas in his future. Myself? I've had to be "quote/unquote" special (or to have to most humble'y 'fess up) way too many times in my life and even concerning North Texas athletics at times, too. Being older I do believe is mellowing me out but only wish the mellowing out process would have begun much sooner quite frankly (and, yes, yes, yes.... I know....DONT' CALL YOU FRANK) ! GMG!

McDonalds, Hudson Oaks, Monday AM (or even over in west Fort Worth for that matter)? Bring Silver Eagle along, too, if yall want to have an After Glow Coffee Club & Drinkin' Post Mean Green Victory Party, of course. We will extend our own 24 hours to enjoy this one! GMG!

3 points here, 3 points there....pretty darn good, Harry! I had a feeling about this game but my guestimate of 42 to 24 was not near as close, but half a football field TD run from QB Derek Thompson would have made it a tad better! LOL! I did have a friendly wager with 2 other fellow alums sitting with me of which the bet amounted to the price of a beer that we would pass the ball on first down....low and behold--we passed on first down! . What a game! What a timely win! Too bad too many stayed home to watch us all on the TV broadcast. And UNT students, don't know how yall were able to storm the stadium attendants to get on the shaded side of Apogee but we were all damn glad that you did. As for as attendance at future games are concerned...yall are our future success story with that both as UNT students and then (sooner than you'd ever think) when yall become UNT alums. We oldie but goodies are counting on yall the rest of this season to make us proud by showing up in even larger numbers as much cooler days will be ahead. We older alums will keep trying with our much tougher sale of a group, but like a perfect storm one day at fabulous, marvelous and accoustical Apogee Stadium both groups will all converge together and it will be then that....... .......THERE WILL BE NO STOPPING US ALL AT THAT POINT ! And I assure you all, this happening is as inevitable as the turning of the earth. It still is a numbers game and we of UNT have those very numbers; that is, all our combined UNT constituencies (students. DFW area alums, Denton, Denton County) on our side once we make them all work for us and to our advantage. (I even saw the Mayor of Denton, Texas, America, having a blast in the games final exciting seconds and folks....that is a very good thing)! GMG!

OK, a break from Mean Green talk I give you all and yall can blame eulessismore for this! LOL! Most hate history which means you would not want to read much more past this sentence yet..... I find it to be interesting and enjoy hearing others talk about their own family or their family histories for that matter. Old photos of families fascinate me as well. eulessismore, you say my writing style? LOL! My late "sainted" mother was the writer of the family and even wrote for a newspaper. I sincerely admit to being a novice in many things but especially as a "so called" writer and (as many of you know) can take a full page to say things others can say in, uh, 1 sentence? L.T.M. Plummer (in above pic) was my Great-Great Grandfather who did take part in one of the more celebrated stories in Texas history lore. The John Ford directed movie "The Searchers" (John Wayne, Ward Bond, a very young Natalie Wood, etc, etc, etc); anyhow , they even mention some of the Texas-based Fort Parker Story my ancestor played a part as far as its own story's similarities to that movie and they mention that in "The Making of The Searchers" which can be found in that movie's commemoritive DVD. Hollywood critics say it was John Wayne's best acting performance of his entire career....period. They say he took it up several knotches in fact and having seen most of "The Dukes' movies...I tend to agree. eulessismore, I wrote this below for an online publication several years ago. Regretfully, a fellow UNT alum Larry McMurtry writing clone I am not. _________________________________________ Surnames: Luther Thomas Martin Plummer journeyed to Texas with the Parker family in 1833. They came from Springfield, Illinois, and one of the Parker brothers, Isaac, was a legislator in the Illinois State House. (He would later be a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence when Texas sought to separate from Mexico and would soon become a Republic. Luther Thomas Martin Plummer was born in Baltimore in 1811. He migrated into Canada for a while according to a family researcher and then ended up in Illinois. LTM Plummer married Rachel Parker and they all traveled with her family and the whole Parker clan to Texas in order to establish the very first organized Baptist church in Texas with special permission from Mexico which was under the Roman Catholic Church. (Mr. Plummer was a Methodist, though). In about 1834, this Texas pioneering group temporarily settled in Anderson County (about 1 1/2 hours by car southeast of Dallas) near what is present day Palestine, Texas, and there they established the first recorded Baptist church in Texas. (It is a Texas historical location with a replica of the first church located near Elkhart, Texas in Anderson County). There is a large cemetary adjacent to the church replica where many of the early Parker pioneers are buried. The whole group then migrated westward to what is now Limestone County, Texas, (about an hour southeast of Waco) where they built a western style Indian fort--Fort Parker. In 1834-35, rumors that Commanche and Kiowa Indians were growing hostile created a need to build a fort for protection. The Texas Revolution led by General Sam Houston was going full steam ahead in 1836 and in the Spring of 1836 LTM Plummer, his wife (Rachel) and a new born son--James Pratt Plummer with their relatives had to suddenly leave Fort Parker as Mexico's General Santa Anna and his huge army were marching across Texas. The Parkers, the Plummers and a few others of the forts inhabitants fled back to Fort Houston near the spot they organized their first church until things settled down with Santa Anna and his Mexican army--in Texas history the fleeing of Anglo-Americans all across Texas to safe havens in order to avoid the wrath of the Mexican army was called, "the Runaway Scrape." So the fall of the Alamo took place in March, 1836, and one month later General Sam Houston and his "tattered" Texas army defeated Gen. Santa Anna at San Jacinto (near present day Houston) and so the Illinois pioneers left Fort Houston and traveled the 100 miles west back to Fort Parker. Almost one month after Texas won its independence from Mexico, on May 19, 1836, while LTM Plummer and his father in law were about a mile from the fort working their fields of corn about 500 Commanche and Kiowa Indians rode on horses out of the woods into a clearing near the entrance of Fort Parker. Upon seeing the Indians, panic took place inside the fort until Benjamin Parker settled everyone down and told the settlers inside the fort he would go "parlay" with the Indian chief to see what they wanted, although Benjamin feared his meeting might be in vain. He went out to talk to a chief of the Indians and offerred the war party several heads of cattle inside the stockade area of the fort. So Benjamin Parker went back inside the fort and told the pioneers that he feared an attack but he would go back out to meet the Indain chief one more time. He did so and as he was trying to be "peace-maker" the Indians started their war cries and an Indian brave on a horse rode up to Benjamin Parker and ran a spear thru Mr. Parker killing him almost instantly! The pioneers inside the fort saw the horror outside the fort and all started a panic as the Indians stormed the fort killing women and several older settlers. Rachel Plummer and her son, James, were separated by the Indians and history says Mrs. Plummer gave a valient display of courage in fighting back but to no avail. Her little 9 year old cousin, Cynthia Ann Parker, and her brother, John, were picked up and put on Indian braves horses and left the fort. Rachel Plummmer and her son, James, were split from each other by 2 different factions of the war party and they would never see each other again on this earth. LTM Plummer and his father in law, Rev. James Parker, were still about a mile from the fort when an unknown settler came running to them to tell them of the horror that had just taken place at the fort. The 2 men hurried back to the fort warning others who live nearby of the Indians potential danger to them as well. Plummer and Parker finally reached the fort and only saw the remnants of a dastardly and horrible deed done by the Indian war party. Texas history books say Plummer was so distraught about the Indian kidnapping of his (pregnant) wife and son, James, that he took off across the Texas prairie "armed only with a butcher knife" in search of his loved ones. Nine year old Cynthia Ann Parker, Rachel Plummer's 1'st cousin, would grow up with the Indians, marry Chief Peta Nocona (Nocona, Texas and boots named for him) and bare him several children of which one would later become a very famous "hell-raising" and warring Indian chief in Texas/Oklahoma and the Southwest--his name was Chief Quanah Parker. (This Indian chief is quite a story of his own and has been written about in Smithsonian Magazine many years ago). In fact, after Chief Quanah Parker saw that the "deviled blue eyes" would continue to migrate into Inian Territory en mass he persuaded his people to make a permanent and lasting peace with the white man. Quanah Parker would later as a civilized citizen become a very successful businessman/rancher in southern Oklahoma. He would later become friends with U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt and (in deed) the Chief and his braves rode their horses in Roosevelt's inaugation parade in Washington DC. James Plummer Weatherford Parker County, Texas

It is obvious that some of you need to take a break from this message board. I took about a year off at one point and it really does help. We "ALL" know what the problems are. We don't need to be reminded of them every freakin' day from the same freakin' posters. How about trying this? Come up with a few solutions for all these oft' repeated comments of the same ol' problems? AND...............try enjoying this big win for the next 24 hours instead of being like a bunch of gripe'y old women sitting around a quilting table gossiping about the same things they griped about this time last week; last month and last year? Really...do yourselves a favor and take some time out of all this. It will help your health and overall outlook of life in general.

Need Something To Help You Sleep? Take Sominex or Just Read Epistle #12,991 Below: This: (Do we still have room for a 2,000 bandsmen Band Day at Apogee Stadium next Fall like UH and Ohio U did this Fall)? (OK, enuf' of all that Band Day lagniape from me---someone else take the baton on that one). TODAY'S ATTENDANCE & THOUGHTS ABOUT THINGS WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL: First of all....all these things that contributed: (1) Game was televised "live" in the DFW area....we lost fans because some said "why drive up to Denton when I can watch this game in the comfort of my living room and when I need a beer I can go to the 'fridge." (2) It was still hotter than hell for those who had to sit in the sun....it just wasn't as cool today as we all hoped it would be. I felt sorry for the Green Brigade who stayed in the sunshine all game as well as the Ball State fans. A Divine Miracle Of Biblical Proportions To Start The 2'nd Half At Apogee: After the first half and during the Green Brigade's super show today, the alumnus side started filling up with so many more extra fans. Some had to has ask the question: From whence did all these new fans suddenly appear at this part of the game? (Insert a sublimenal..."they came from the sunny side of the street, I mean, uh, stadium, ie, the student section). That is why the student section all but disappeared for the 2'nd half. You'd had to be there to see what had happened (3) I didn't realize how heat was suddenly being such a factor for us early in this 2013 football season until I thought of this: WE ARE NOT USED TO PLAYING THIS MANY GAMES At OUR PLACE IN SEPTEMBER--THUS NO 2 AND 1 RECORDS WITH WHO WE HAVE PLAYED ON THE ROAD SINCE FOREVER! I mean had we only beat Alabama, UT, LSU, OU, etc, etc, etc, all those past Falls just maybe we would have had a chance to start out with a............2 & 1 season record from the git go ? ? ? ? ? I sat in the club suites area today because one of our great UNT alums gave me a ticket to be their guest, but at half time going inside the A/C area where they have the buffet and stuff I wondered..........."how many freakin' fans (as well as UNT students) must be inside here not watching our game outside on Apogee's veranda seats)?!?!? I could not have counted all those there were so many. UPON FURTHER REVIEW: We are doing many things right at North Texas such as "getting them while they're young" with more emphasis with marketing Freshmen Class orientations, Fish camps, etc, etc, etc, and we never, ever used to do that at North Texas except in recent years. Why it took us so long to do this is another thing we have no control. Also, recall just 3 weeks ago when North Texas athletics had an Apogee Stadium pep really on a Monday evening (in about 100 degree Texas heat) the week of the Idaho game with about 4,000 UNT students (probably mostly freshmen and some of you even posting pics of that big rally proving that estimate fairly spot on). They were not there today but North Texas athletics is giving it the good ol' college try with these kids. This 2... Talked to a couple alums in the Big Donor section today and this theme came forth: Through the decades when UNT students went thru their 4 or 5 year cycle as UNT students then graduated, we just did not retain a large enough percentage of that group who would come back to campus to support Mean Green football. It became their loss and our loss, too. A real lose-lose scenario if there ever was one. Decades of no real direction for UNT athletics and mostly bad football during much of that time took its toll on that group of our fellow alums who for all practical purposes we can kiss off as future fans. Folks.............had we retained even a modest percentage of our UNT alums last 35 plus years we would have had to build a 50,000 seat Apogee. Still...............we are just not used to winning of late--yes.............we're 2 & 1 but we are still not used to winning. With the UNT culture, it will take 1 or 2 winning seasons for us to make any headway with those who can dramatcially increase our numbers. It's all about the Freshmen coming back now....that is the real future of increasing our attendance numbers now and in the future. . How we won today was a real miracle with the football gods thru much of today's game seemedly only smiling on Ball State but.........we still won the gol' darned football game which we needed to do in the worst way. In fact, we almost beat another MAC contender last week, too, folks. Let me repeat that once more............We almost beat another MAC contender just last week. If you put 500 North Texas alums in a conference room you might have 500 different ideas on how to market and promote our Mean Green football product but this one thing I do wish our officials would try the balance of this season (and no, it's too late for a Band Day since that requires more planning than you might think) but as one of those 500 (or whatever) why not give this a try: For Denton and Denton County area kids ages 6 to 12, let them take a seat in the upper Wing Zone by bringing just one canned good as their game ticket that the Salvation Army or Good Will would be at Apogee to collect and then take to a Denton area Food Bank. We are all embarrassed with bad attendance--we really are; yet if we had even filled just 1/2 of the upper Apogee Wing Zone with kids today would that have solved some of our attendance problems no matter how hot here in September? Of course, with these kids getting in with a canned good their moms and/or dads would still have to buy a full price ticket to get into Apogee. Our best attendance games are still to come this Fall with Parents Day, Homecoming, etc, etc, etc, and also with some CUSA schools who will bring more fans than we are ever used to seeing in Denton, but for first part of the season games like today, we just have to keep plugging away with ways to get more of our locals out on Game Day and kids (as well as kids groups) can probably help us do this quicker than adults at this juncture. GMG! WAY TO GO COACH MAC & THE MEAN GREEN! YOU MADE US PROUDER THAN EVER TO BE MEAN GREEN! To UNT Coaches & "THE" Team: Please do give us a bit more time and we'll get you significantly more fans inside Apogee so they can see along with the rest of us just what yall are building in MG Country)!

Welcome to the Mean Green Nation, Andrew!

UNT90: As I recall the timeline of all that with Coach Leach post Texas Tech dismissal, he had actually sued the state of Texas over how he felt was the shabbiness of his firing and (subsequently) there would not be one Texas based public university who would touch him with a 10 foot pole because of that lawsuit. As we know, being on the wrong side of Texas politics can be suicidal for a school unless you are a UT-Austin or TAMU Not sure Coach Leach would have had any interest with a pre-Apogee North Texas anyway. GMG!

7 or 8 wins sounds mighty fine to me. GMG!

KRAM1, as UNT Alums Prez' you are well connected and have friends in high places up there. Who can help this Father/Son out with this one and.... .....our UNT drumline "ARE" rock stars! GMG!

WTH? Cancelled after 1 show?

Well, it should be.

I was close on the UNT/Idaho game 'cause I just had a feeling. Strangely enough.... I have a similar feeling for the score of the game tomorrow, too. North Texas.........42 Ball State.............24 And if we win the toss...please do not defer to the 2'nd half, right?

So tomorrow is not Parents Day (or Weekend) ? GMG!

I have Dish but it is not listed on their program as it was last week at the same time slot; that is, unless they changed the program name to Stars Insider since thats on The Dish's 5:00 PM time slot listed program today. Any updates on this?

Maybe just add some ginko biloba to my pharmaceutical cocktail, Bill?

After seeing Texas Techs ugly gray unis' last night, I wonder when the day arrives when a team comes out just wearing their helmets, shoulder pads and jock straps? (Please, no pics or representations of that sight). This uni' change from week to week or season to season to me is just getting way out of hand; of course, I am somewhat a traditionalists, too. GMG!

...ain't it great to see our Mean Green football program ever so slowly and surely improving, too? No, lets look beyond just 1 game or 2 and not get all lnit-picky with the stated aforementioned above, but North Texas has a great chance to become 2 & 1 tomorrow afternoon while some in the DFW area are setting at 1 & 2. The Green Brigade is operating at a higher level that I've not seen since my first game at UNT in September of 1973. We have the whole package now: Improving Mean Green football program across the board, a marching band that some schools would kill to have at their school, too; only thing missing is just more fans at Apogee who show no matter who we play. Anyone else notice how UT and TAMU students showed for North Texas in past years when we played them in Austin and College Station, respectively?