PlummMeanGreen

Good post, Jack... Inasmuch that I live closer to Arlington than Irving, Fair Park or any part of Dallas County and with Cowboy games being more accessible to all of us in the West o' Plex, I still would have preferred that Dallas' movers & shakers would have set the very stubborn and tunnel-visioned Laura Miller down to give her a very strong and intense "come to Jesus" talk about the way things are going to be or (in other words) to tell her how Texas cows eats their Texas cabbage. Ms. Miller would have not liked such a meeting had it occurred because she would have not been able to dominate such a meeting, but she also doesn't know what can happen when folks similar to Texas' pasts with families such as the Murchisons, the Wynns, the Bass's, the Richardsons, etc, etc, etc, getting together to make something happen that they want to happen and that they would in$ure would most definitely happen. The DFW area has really missed the influence of some of these aforementioined families who have since passed on. Lucky for Fort Worth that the Bass family is still very involved with many of Cowtown's major progressive decisions. BUT BACK TO BIG D: As we all know, this didn't happen in Dallas with Arkansas Jones and the Cowboys becoming a partner with the city that bears his teams name because Dallas is a divided city not only by geography, but (even worse) by racial bias (no matter the color) with all the various races within the city limits of Dallas never budging for anything that would be good for the entire city of Dallas unless each of these groups get their neighborhoods' pet projects done first and then................they might look at what may be good for the rest of their city. This is the "it's all about me" attitude that has prevailed in Dallas for way too many years now and is a prime reason Fair Park (save a miracle) will continue to detoriate to the point that even the State Fair of Texas may soon be in jeopardy and for certain will never be what it used to be during most senior Texan's lives. The election of Dallas Mayor Laura Miller (which I thought was an unfortunate miracle itself) was like bringing in a large can of gasoline to throw on each and every faction of their city that is known as "Big D" alright, but the "Big D" moniker which now mostly means the "Big Divided" As some of you have posted, look for the Texas/OU game to finish their contract with the Cotton Bowl as soon as they can and then move their annual Red River shootout westward. That would almost be one of the easiest things to predict that could be easily be forecasted by any 8'th grader. If Dallas city officials wants to see what can happen when everyone is on the same page, let each and every one of them take a short trip down the turnpike to downtown Fort Worth and see all the tourist activity off of Cowtown's Main Street which extends all the way down to Exchange Street (close to the Billy Bobs Texas area). Most of the Main Street festivities that the Bass family has (coupled with their undeniable major influence) insured FW touriest would stay safe with non-stop police and security officers protection. You won't find in Fort Worth anything close to the problems as Dallas' Deep Ellum has had in recent years with all its gun-toting hooligans who have literally chased away many of its former tourists. I was never as disappointed when Jerry Jones ending up making his decision to bring the Cowboys westward when Dallas could have really had something that could have unified the spirit of their city as well as resurrected Fair Park as to how it was (almost) from its beginnings which would have been during the Texas Centennial, circa 1936. ............................................................. UNT should be able to relate to as much as anyone as to what a dilapidated old football stadium can do for you and your future. Fact is, we needed a new football stadium a long time ago, but the good news now is that there is one on the way!

At least UNT has now become a choice for a Junior Day as to visit us for that young potential recruit OldTimer posted about; and that whether that young HS Junior visits UNT or that other school off University and Berry in Fort Worth. Whether we win 3, 5, 7 or 11 games this next Fall, anyone has to like the direction all this is now headed in Denton. I think the destination of this new Todd Dodge Mean Green journey will be most interesting (and exciting) for each and every one of us. PS: Austin Talon, if you are reading this, I love your latest signature. In fact, if you have the time and would be interested, could you somehow insert UNT's old muscular Scrappy caricature with him having a "Hmmmm?" in a cartoon bubble on the right end part of your BSU signataure? Just a variation of your already super Boise State-oriented signature which I think is super.

Laura Does Dallas! Back in Texas frontier days when frontier justice many times ruled the way and day, someone like Laura Miller would have been tarred, feathered, put on a rail and very quickly run out of town (and probably out of the sovereign state of Texas FWIW). Anyone from Dallas and beyond who would have read most any of her "what can I do to get D-FW'ers pissed off today" articles with her former employer, ie, the Dallas Observer, may have voted for almost any of her opponents had they read any of those. (Actually, some of her articles were well written with timely subjects, but most seemed to be of an irritating nature as I recall her days with the DO). Still, what Laura Miller has done to Dallas with her confrontational style of leadership should make (even) any Texan mad. She had a chance of leaving a lasting legacy upon her retirement as mayor; that is, she could have lead the way in getting all of Big D's movers and shakers in the same room and on the same page to help in the refurbishing and expansion of Fair Park (which BTW is not only a Dallas landmark and icon, but also one that has been an important part of many Texan's cultural lives, too. (Heck, how many of us at one time or another in our lives have enjoyed that perennial State Fair of Texas tradition of up-chuckin' a few Fletcher's corny dogs on some passer-byer's below as we rode one of those head-spinning/stomach churning midway rides)?!?!? Hey, Mayor Laura! Marketing 101 would have taught you that you have to spend money to make money (and even in your adopted city of Dallas). GO WEST YOUNG MAN (along with some Dallas pro sports teams and now...........population)? Any of you read the same articles I've read recently in some area publications that Fort Worth will be larger in population than its turnpike neighbor to the east? All of you from Denton (County) should know about that eventuality more than anyone since part of Fort Worth has now invaded your own county and with that Fort Worth gang's similar aggressive attitude have even claimed what used to be some of your best taxes-producing real estate near the Denton/Tarrant county lines. While Dallas city officials have spent most of their time feudin' like a bunch of snotty-nosed school kids over at their City Hall, Fort Worth officials inside their own City Hall have quiety been expanding their city limits in almost every direction. BUT.................Mayor Laura and her "Hatfield and McCoy'ish with their attitude" Dallas city council (who one cannot leave out of this discussion) did what some of you have already posted in this thread inasmuch as that they, too (in total harmonious partnership with their mayor) quite frankly: ...................BLEW IT!............................... PS: I am not so sure that the Dallas Cowboys should soon consider becoming the Texas Cowboys.

As far as the Baylor/TCU comparison, if anyone would get the record books out, Baylor's previous 25 before getting the Big 12 nod was much, much better than the Horned Frogs previous quarter century (especially on the gridiron and that was the engine that drove the new Big 12 formation train). The unfortunate part of this whole thing for TCU was all that school endowment they had been sitting on during most of that 25 years yet................ spending so little of it for athletic venues improvements. Grant Teaff of Baylor seemed to see this split coming well before former TCU AD Frank Windegger (who got caught with his finger stuck in his left nostril concerning the impending SWC break-up). Fact is and from some Horned Frogs I've spoken to, many TCU'ers never forgave their ex AD for much of what he probably had little say in, such as spending some of that TCU endowment for improvements with their overall athletic venues that might have made a big difference had all that been done before the SWC imploded and the Big 12 formation. I guess one might say UNT can even learn from TCU as far as what facilities can do (or not do) for your school when conference re-alignment time is on the near horizon? TCU was said to have not been considered for the new Big 12 because of their overall facilities and their apparent not wanting to improve them, either (except by lip-service, that is). I know I may be in the minority on this, too, but UNT should get that 40,000 seat football palace built ASAP and push like hell to become TCU's travel partner in the Mountain West Conference. That would be better than what is going to (eventually) be left of what will become the former CUSA which will (in essence) be a bunch of maids-in-waiting ex SWC schools living in the past who still cannot draw flies if they were a horse shit factory. Any of you want UNT to be part of a vibrant conference that can produce a Bowl Championship Series bowl team or (rather) with a bunch of schools who are still living in their glorious SWC past and those schools that were part of the main reason that the SWC imploded in the first place and now their seeming to be in the fore-front of all this latest discontent among other non-Texas CUSA schools? Sure, our being in with those Texas CUSA schools would fit in some of your little conference re-alignment fill in the school puzzles or potential conference lists of schools and we could all bask in their glorious SWC pasts (as they continue to do)............. .................but anyone want to venture a guess as to which one of those Texas CUSA schools would step up to sponsor UNT when its been like pulling teeth in the past to get them on our football schedules for more than just 2 game series? Hellsbells, some of that ex SWC group refuse to join this present milleneum, ie, this present era of reality and still think we are a teacher's college with about 5,000 students at our main campus. FWIW, there have been previous rumblings from those eastern bloc and non-Texas CUSA schools before and I don't think we've heard the last of any of those rumblings, either. CUSA is not a stable league. Funny thing is that the SBC might be more stable (even with all its problems of few of its members wanting to be in bed with each other).

Jeff, school region-wise you were getting warm because it was Yale.........but in this case LongJim got it right (with GrayEagleOne and other older NT Exes who I'd bet also knew that it was, in deed): Former Texas Aggie, Detroit Lions and NFL Hall of Famer: Yale Lary Told him growing up around the Houston area that I always had more than my share of Aggie friends and contacts--after all, don't we all? Also told him Texas Aggies all but ran Dow Chemical Company (where my late sainted dad worked for 37 years before his retirement in 1977). We talked a bit about Gene Stallings who I mentioned to Mr. Lary I had seen his last game as Aggie coach and who had also briefly served as a consultant for all us Mean Greeners of UNT. I shook his hands and told him it had been quite an honor (gush, gush) to meet and talk with him. He left that shopping aisle smiling and (maybe?) a little impressed that someone who was a very young kid when he was making hay at Texas A & M College (as it was called when he attended) and in the NFL knew all about him.

OK, Jack, the mystery man will continue to be just that. (Heck, I suddenly feel like host John "Charles" Daley from the old "Whats My Line"Sunday night game show with Dorothy Kilgallon, Bennett Cerf and (suddenly) my mind goes blank on who the other 2 "mystery" panel members were from that golden age of TV game show. Good gosh! We now have more mystery names to guess, now don't we? Jack, the amazing part about that NFL Hall of Famer I met over in W. Fort Worth was what good shape he really seemed to be in. I wish I could have spoken about an hour or 2 or 3 with that man.

I was shopping just the other day at a West Fort Worth business and in one particular aisle I was in I noticed an older gentleman who was wearing an NFL Alumnus wind-breaker. He greeted me with a Texas-friendly nod at which time I took the opportunity to ask him what his connection with the NFL had been. Well....................the silver haired senior citizen with a Texas accent told me he had played for the Detroit Lions back when Doak Walker and Bobby Layne were his teammates and with that bit of info I immediately knew from my NFL history lessons of the past just who I was talking to. As he talked about his collegiate alma mater I then told him I was a proud 1976 graduate of North Texas. He mentioned Hayden Fry to me before I could get a word out and he said that he knew Coach Fry and respected his work. I then told this NFL Hall of Famer that we had just hired Todd Dodge (which he already knew about) and that one day in the future a large number of us felt many would respect Coach Dodge just as he had Hayden Fry. After our conversation ended, I told him what an honor it had been to meet him and then we went our separate ways. Not meaning to be a tease with all this, but I will open this up as a trivia question to (most likely) older NT Exes as to who they think this NFL Hall of Famer was that I had met. I'd say what his college alma mater was but I think that would be a dead give away to most of our older alums (and who knows, maybe even a handful of of your young gun alums who know their NFL history as well).

I think we all started feeling like his chances of committing to UNT were less with all the recent visits and many of our gut feelings with all that, too. I also think many of us probably thought his committing to UT might make the most sense for the young Dodge since (after all) that is where many of us saw his papa play some pretty good SWC football. Said it before--will say it again, but no college football program will be made or broken by one letter of intent signing; now if you can get a bunch of RD's signed up then thats another thing. I still say we have the most important Dodge in the Mean Green Country showroom and that being our head football coach, ie, Todd Dodge. We really do need to make sure he is coaching in a 40,000 seat (give or take "only" a few) stadium as soon as that is possible........... ................but that is (for darn sure) not a subtle hint to start a sub-topic thread within this thread talking about what we have done or what we haven't done with UNT fundraising in the past, either: or how we (apparently) cannot ever do different in Denton than we have in the past FWIW, aren't we sorta' going to have to do different than what we've ever done before? After all, we are only asking our new prez "Dr. B", AD Rick Villarreal and new HFC Todd Dodge to raise more monies than is in our entire UNT System endowment for this humongous project which will be constructed in the middle of those 2 Texas interstates, but (oddly enough) I think this aforementioned team (with a few other UNT celebrities helping the cause) can get this new stadium deal done. :blink: GOOD LUCK, RILEY DODGE! WE WILL BE PULLING FOR YOUR SUCCESS!

Might it be in everyone's best interest (especially those on GMG.com) that Riley Dodge declare very, very soon who he will be committing to so we can get onto other thread topics? Our Mean Green football program will not be made and for sure not broken with the signing of any one recruit no matter who that recruit would be; but of course, if UNT had a varsity baseball program that would be starting up practice about this time of year of which that Spring diversion (undoubtedly) would take many minds off of the next national recruiting signing date which is "only" (uh) one year from this month, folks.. (Alas! MG Spring football is on the dockets very soon, too). Right now, the main Dodge we have in our Mean Green Country showroom is the one whose first name starts with a "T" and I think most of us still feel very fortunate that we have him on payroll at our main campus in Denton. PS: NEVERTHELESS...........SIGN WITH NORTH TEXAS, RILEY!

And Rick V turns 65 yrs. old this next year? As NT80 said in his above post, a national search would most likely take place for an AD in Denton because UNT needs one helluva' proven fund-raiser and our history the last 10 or so years suggests we haven't been inundated with such in Denton. FWIW, most of the monies raised by Rick V and (ok, because of DD's friendship with UNT alum MattMac which became a friendship only when DD came to UNT but............MattMac's name had been on UNT potential donors lists long before DD arrived in Denton--hint/hint); anyway, from these extensive potential donor's lists such monies raised by RV/DD probably could have been raised 10 or so years ago and I can't remember who was in charge of fundraising back then but I have a pretty good idea. Think big, North Texans, we don't have to keep re-cycling personnel because that is pretty well what has us where we've been the last 25 years athletically (as compared to all other schools in NCAA D1) and (once again) check your media guides if you need a cold stark reminder of that quarter of a century (across the board) varsity team records; especially check the fundraising totals for UNT before Rick V arrived in Denton.

Our crack LeeJ sponsored UNT Branding Committee fruits of their expensive labor continues to rear its ugly head inasmuch: Does anyone see any semblance of kelly green among any of Lid's UNT caps? In A Perfect UNT World A Future UNT Branding Committee With One Of Its Committee Members Saying Something Like This Perhaps? "Hey, fellow committee members, since it will be various companies across the USA that will be the prime vehicles that distribute from coast to coast our UNT sports wear, caps, shirts, etc, etc, etc, out to the general public (outside of Denton, the campus bookstore and Voertmans, of course ); anyway, perhaps we should get some very creative "attention-getting" memos showing our new UNT shade of green we're going to use (along with its color # number) mailed and faxed out to such companies as LIDS, Oshmans, Top of the World (of Oklahoma) and any other such places that manufacture UNT sports gear (caps) and such companies as those that distribute our UNT gear across country to all their respective vendors." A UNT Branding Committee Member continues: "We as the UNT Branding Committee might have to use Google or such to find out the names of all these various companies but after all, as much as we're spending the tax-payer's monies on all of this new UNT branding we should do all in our power to insure its absolute success, right?"

OK, not meaning to get technical here, but UNT actually is a BCS school; we're just not in one of the Big 6 BCS conferences. Boise State beat OU in a BCS Championship Series bowl game. BSU is a BCS school that beat another BCS school. Many of us feel UNT can emulate BSU and will beat some BCS Big 6 conference foe in a BCS Championship Series bowl someday in the future now that we've figured out that there is a NCAA D1-A life beyond they SBC/Bottom 25. You know, most of you still don't know the feeling of euphoria of walking around the NT campus knowing that your school on the previous Game Day Saturday had beaten the University of Tennessee Volunteers (as we did before most of you were not even gleams in your dad's eyes); but trust me when I say this: Once you've had that taste of big time football success (briefly as it would turn out to be), you never forget it and you want your alma mater to duplicate such wins (that would continue to create such feelings among our alums and NT students). With Todd Dodge, we probably have the best chance for this to happen at UNT for the first time since the Fry era. As another poster posted the other day: Lets not blow this golden opportunity. Probably the biggest barometer that most of our sports media critics (such as those on The Ticket among others) will be looking at in Todd Dodge's inaugural season is not so much how many wins and losses he gets with a football team that he inherited from DD, but rather how many new fans/new faces come to Fouts Field to watch Dodge Ball. This is what the regional media will probably use as their own barometer as to how much coverage they will decide to give Mean Green football in the print and broadcast media this next Fall; so like Silver Eagle posted yesterday: It's time for all to step up to the plate (and buying season tickets or even buying them on Game Day will be that first big step to the plate). Undoubtedly, the ones who need to read all this "stepping up to the plate" business are the ones not reading this board, so who might we as NT Exes/Mean Green fans need to also step up to the plate more than ever to make sure that this new Dodge Ball era receives "lights out" promotions? FUTURE HEADLINE: RILEY DODGE TO BE COACHED BY HIS DAD ONCE AGAIN IN MEAN GREEN COUNTRY!

Phil, I knew you'd be able to add some more names from your Golden Triangle home area. Jeez, how could I ever forget about our own Bo Harrison. And yes, Jerry Ball did play for SMU as well as did Louie Kelcher (when Hayden Fry was HFC on the Hilltop as I recall).

Let me first begin by saying that I love to put emoticons on my manifestos. They make me produce one helluva' Norm Hitzghes type giggle. All apologies to some of you who get a bit tensed up when I put them in all my posts. SFASU: They have a beautiful campus with pine trees galore. Their campus is located in a very historic old Texas town with the Old Stone Fort near (or is in on?) their campus. One most interesting cemetary (for those of us who dig old cemetaries--pardon the pun) which surrounds their Old North Church out on Hwy ??? with grave sites date-ing back to the 1700's. Last time I traveled to SFA to watch the Mean Green play there in our last year in the old SLC we came out of Homer Bryrce Stadium with a tie; but no, I don't envy Stephen Fuller Austin State University because I feel we all believe UNT is a better school in most any comparative program but........... ................. back in the day many of us older nestors did take notice (as many others across the USA did) of their annual nationally ranked NCAA D1 women's basketball program that I believe even won an N.C. UNT has not had anything similar since I first stepped on our main campus in January of 1972. I know we're all proud of our golf N.C.'s, but those were when many of us were still in diapers. The Todd Dodge era at UNT is very, very important and like Silver Eagle has said in past posts of his and I liberally paraphrase him: We don't need to blow it this time around. Each one of us will do what we can do this Fall as far as buying tickets, bringing our friends/fellow alums who we have known for years to Game Day and giving what we can to support our school's apparent new upwardly mobile attitude toward its football program.................. but UNT cannot continue its same ol'/same ol' practices and modus operendi's which have annually produced 15K per home game averages and those way too modest numbers even during our 4 bowl years, too. If anyone associated with UNT cannot fatho this, then we have more problems than previously thought and solving our attendance problems on a long-term basis with our present group on campous may be impossible. Thus one of the reasons for this thread which might be a way of some of us saying: Hey, what we've been doing lately has only been producing attendance figures just enough to meet the NCAA D1-A attendance criteria............so maybe some of the ideas that have sprung from this board from many of you should at least be looked at (whether they are used or not)? Of course, the Todd Dodge hire has (and will) continue to create very much intial interest from many "rarely seen thru past years" borderline-type fans, but large crowd-producing college athletic promotions in the DFW Metroplex should be considered almost a "no brainer" and bare minimum requirment since the entertainment dollar is already wafer thin. Just my .02 with all this and I believe this is still what this forum is all about, right? Once its not, someone please do let me know. NOTE: What our past media guides will tell us about our athletic program's across the board varsity team records the last quarter century pretty well backs up most everything I've posted for those who would dare to check those guides (and W/L) records out. Sorry, I wish I could say its all been a Sunday School picnic up there the last 2 1/2 decades in Denton and that we've lost so, so many athtletic employees who made our program excel to the Big Boys, but then that would be a bit fictitious, now wouldn't it?

If you got tense with my other posts on my thread here, then for heaven's sake don't read this one for sure-----really). "Q"...........I am glad that I have been able to create so much laughter (as you have claimed). For those who cannot produce I guess "nervous" laughter would be the best medicine for them, right? Yet I don't think I am the one who actually first started getting things on a personal level with any of this, now did I? In fact, rarely would anyone see this poster attacking another poster or calling them out and I've always been careful not to draw first blood on anyone, but I for damn sure won't remain silent if someone calls me out for whatever their reason. For those who have to get personal with all this, that usually means a nerve has been laid bare so instead of discussing the topic at hand, they have to usually resort to discussing the one who posts the topic, right? I guess Dr. Phil would only say that would be the norm for some people. There are 1 or 2 on this forum who actually think they can get an emotional rise out of me by posting how they never read my posts (like I would lose any sleep over that? ) but they seem to always still do (since they seem to always know its content). My suggestion to any of that group is: Why respond to any post in this thread if they ain't reading all of its content as to know what is actually being said so they can respond to such? If most of the last 2 years of my finding myself "busy" on a DD Ball/Game Day has taught me anything is that I can take it or leave it when it comes to some of the "same ol', same ol' produced from those at UNT who now cannot keep pretending to sell me chicken salad while "never ranked teams in Denton" in the past suggests to most who know their college sports that its the other kind of chicken stuff that's being sold instead. I can support UNT in many others way (and have done just that w/o advertising such). I do know how I happen to feel there are some on this board who (as one fellow alum said) don't know their shit from their oatmeal when it comes to recognizeing the kind of personel who can lead UNT back to being an upwardly bound NCAA D1 athletic program (and with that comment........... if the fu' shits--wear it). Nevertheless, if some of that group would merely get out of the forest long enough to see that all the trees aren't quite as green as they'd previously thought, then they, too, might grow the necessary gonads to actually post their own opinions, ie, feelings and questions to UNT leadership as to why the status quo is no longer acceptable after decades of saying nothing that would rock anyone's boat. In deed, I spent much of my 56 years being one of those who kept thinking "all this can only get better" but quite frankly, the UNT varsity media guides from most of our varsity sports teams during most of my adult life suggests that it just never did get better. In the last 25 or so years, many of us saw the Stephen F. Austin women field a national contending basketball program (albeit a different era with that sport) while we at UNT just basically did more of the same, that is we (more or less) just fielded a women's basketball program so we could say we met Title IX minimums never seeming to care about providing a quality team or the kind of coaches who would produce such at UNT as Stephen F. seemed to provide for their own women's basketball program that became nationally recognized. FWIW, I am trying to count how many national ranked (NCAA D1-A) programs we've had at UNT since I graduated in 1976. Well.........................I am still trying to come up with that answer. BACK TO NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS: Many of us as NT Exes back in that day would asked this question to each other : Why Stephen "F"(reakin') Austin going to the top (nationally) with any varsity program and not us...........no, uh, North Texas? What the hell we doing wrong in Denton? Answer to that question: What we were doing wrong in Denton for most of the last quarter of a century (if not all of it) was just merely hiring D-II personnel who had no business being in Denton and staying in Denton trying to make us a viable NCAA D1-A program. Were all these nice guys we hired at UNT during all those decades? Sure they were nice guys but most of you old timers remember what former MLB manager Leo Durocher used to say about nice guys, right? Can any of this ever change in the UNT athletic department where we think big but seem to most always deliver little? Sure it can change and probably the reason I still even care to post......and also a reason the Todd Dodge hire has excited many of us because this has not been the usual type of UNT hire of late now has it? This hire is important in many ways because (quite frankly) if this hire doesn't cure cancer for NT football and move us up the NCAA D1-A ladder dramatically (like many think it will), then much could be lost with this opportunity. This will be the last go around for many older NT Exes. I hope for their sake its a success story because God only knows we are long over-due for such (for all ages) in Mean Green Country. Now if I have offended any fellow NT Exes with the contents of this thread, I hardly mean't to do that, but sometimes posting things other those of a Polly-Anna'ish nature tends to cinge some folk's tail feathers. Lucky for all of us, tail-feathers can be re-cycled. GMG...

And just what is it you are trying to say, "Q"? You are now a spokesman for how and what UNT officials feel? Now that is something worth laughing at! Yet apparently you were hanging onto every word since (after all) you condensed all of it to Cliff Notes. Try again, "Q" we are all listening to what you are now saying. Thanks for taking the monkey off my back. The torch has now been passed to a younger generation. Proceed.........(but don't accept what most of us have had to accept as a D1 athletic program for most of our adult lives). FWIW, some of us think UNT can still do better across the board, yet some will take just about anything dished down. None of that is hardly what many would call laughable.

Jack, I get lost in my own rhetoric when I start some of these epistles! I know almost without a shadow of a doubt that this thread will be read by someone from campus or in the UNT Athletic Dept who will pass the word on. Having dealt with state employees in the past (as we all have in some form or fashion); anyway, we all know moving mountains might be easier than dealing with some of our state employees many of whom tend to not want to ever do things that might rock their personal security boats, but our mountainous attendace problem at UNT must be solved and that needs to be solved with warp speed as soon as possible. I think we all believe the hiring of Todd Dodge with his enthusiasm and positiveness will do much for attendance, but as we all know--he cannot build our green-tinted Roman Mean Green empire by himself. We have also asked Rick V to raise more monies than is in our entire UNT System endowment; and for some stranger than heck reason, I think he, along with new UNT prez' Dr B and Coach Dodge with other select UNT dignitaries will somehow/someway get this new stadium thing done. I just have one heckuva' gut feeling on all that. Each of us will all (undoubtedly) do our part, Jack, and that by buying football tickets and bringing as many of our fellow NT alums/friends and acquaintances to our 2007 home football games; but we all know that if everyone on this board did all this that this would (still) not fill Fouts Field. This is where the kind of promotions I've read about on this forum from many of you help our Mean Green cause. UNT athletic officials should never forget that we are in the entertainment business and that we do have much competition in the DFW Metroplex for the "NT Ex" entertainment dollar. Yet back to some recent ideas on GMG.com: I really do love the one posted that would have Roger Stauback and Mean Joe Greene tossing the pre-game coin for the UNT/Navy game. It would be Captain America and Mean Joe's first meeting since the last Cowboy/Steeler's Super Bowl game, and that kind of promo (alone) would get much attention from the casual/borderline fans in and around Denton-- "IF" promoted far enough in advance). THAT OTHER GOOD IDEA: The Alumnus Band Day would probably be better than the old HS Band Day idea that someone on GMG.com used to post about ad nausem. We really do have some creative-thinking folks on this board who don't care for self-gain but rather for UNT-gain instead BECAUSE DON'T WE ALL................ ...............just simply want to see this football program get back on the high road (again) and for all of us to see our largest per game home crowds in Mean Green football history this coming Fall? I (along with I'd bet many of you) think there is really a good chance for this to happen, too. Yet doesn't all this need to really happen soon because of some D1-A head football coaches who really want their football teams to play before the largest crowds possible? And at UNT, all this being done in a brand spanking new football stadium cannot happen soon enough in light of who we've just hired. We've got do do our part in making this Mean Green HFC's job attractive enough for Coach Dodge to want to stay an extra year or 2 or 3 beyond what his normal tenure might ultimately be. AND...............we all know some of the strategic things that must be done at UNT for this to happen.

In light of several threads the last few weeks of what I believe to be some darn good promo ideas from many of you so our alma mater can improve its home football game turstile numbers, starting with several great ideas posted by some of you for the UNT/Navy game and now those ideas posted the last 2 or 3 days yet.....................I know I have probably missed a few similar ideas posted in the past by many on GMG.com somewhere down the line, but how many of those ideas posted on this forum have ever really been utilized by the UNT athletic department? Better yet, how many have even been considered? Do we have reason for concern? Well............start with 15K per game averages during bowl years for starters with that question. Yes, in deedy, we as NT Exes and MG fans would all like to see better than 15K per home game averages in each of our lifetimes (and I think we will "by default"--and that because of more campus growth as well as Denton & Denton County's growth and, of course, we can now factor in the Todd Dodge hire--who in hindsight, he or someone similar (who would be universally accepted by the ones UNT would like to fill Fouts--namely folks like us) should have been hired post ULM-loss in 2001 truth be known and that for all of us who would have preferred UNT football to have been patterned after the annually Top 25 ranked Boise State Bronco football program. Well, we had one upper echelon leader who had a brain "stink release" that chose for each and every one of us the lower ranked road well travelled in Denton. YET...............might some in our athletic department be tempted to go ahead and jump on and ride the Todd Dodge bandwagon as far as it will take them and just allow TD to go ahead and carry the full load in Denton? Also, allowing some of that "most tempted" group of NT employees to maintain "business as usual," ie, 15K game average production for starters) while just sitting back thinking they won't have to do any semblance of "large group" promotions at all this Fall (2007) in light of UNT hiring our almost universally accepted by all Todd Dodge as the new main man in Denton....................BUT FOR THOSE OF US WHO'VE BEEN AROUND THIS FOR A FEW DECADES CAN WE JUST WARN THOSE WHO WILL LISTEN THAT................... .............nothing could be further from the truth because now (more than ever) is the time to start promoting non-stop in order to get 25-30K plus per home game (minimum) averages "EVERY GAME" rather than just 18-20K. Why would I post this in 1,000 word or less? History, man, it's just simply all about our past history at UNT. FWIW..........Todd Dodge and his staff of assistant coaches can only pull this bandwagon so far; that is, they can produce the product we will see on the field of play--yet shouldn't this product in 2007 probably be promoted with the same urgency it would have had DD Ball had yet another season (#10) at UNT AND................... ..................outside of UNT getting a new stadium (much sooner than later and, yes, we will need a Big Mega-Donor for this although we know that it has been posted numerous times by a couple of ex UNT employees that that just "cannot" be done in Denton because its never been done before? But might we all agree now at this point in time that............... ...................we better darn well get this new stadium thing done because there is now a time factor involved in getting this done in more ways than one. HELLSBELLS! HARK! A NEW IDEA! (Do act like you're not reading this "idea" on GMG.com, UNT officials)! BUT HERE IS THIS NEW AND MOST NOVEL IDEA.... ................ Let's copy one of our fellow SBC'ers; you know that other school located in that other SBC Fortune 500 mecca of Troy, Alabama? And with Troy U being an SBC school who chose not to spend half a decade or more just merely talking about building their (basically) new stadium but they just went ahead, defying each and every one of their past Neg-Ned Troy U employees who said "THIS CANNOT BE DONE BECAUSE WE'RE TROY U AND WE NEVER DID SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE"; but rather, Troy U just went ahead a built a new football stadium anyway. We should be hiring some of their "can do" people to help out UNT AD Rick V, who like Todd Dodge, cannot do all this by himself. TROY U GETS BENEFITS FROM THEIR (STILL) NEW'ish MOVIE GALLERY STADIUM SUCH AS..................a pretty impressive nationally televised game in their new stadium's inaugural year when they beat a #17 Missouri of which many of us watched in disbelief (while during that same season and beyond we had those who used to be UNT employees who would only complain (among numerous other things) UNT even scheduling such a school similar to the "then" Top 25 ranked Missouri Tigers) YET TO REPEAT THIS JUST ONE MORE TIME............the Troy U Trojans have scheduled a similar game for this Fall which will be nationally televised for all to view from their very modern and impressive football stadium. I think many of us now sense who Todd Dodge and Company's main SBC nemisis is going to most likely be in the next few seasons with those Trojans of Troy U. And with it being about 15 degrees outside as I post this thread I will still say to all: Have A Nice Day!

Beamont--Port Arthur--Orange and the Golden Triangle & surrounding areas! Deep Green Country (if you will)! What a tremedous hot-bed of our Texas Friday Night Lights, ie, Texas HS football hero's many of whom would later be future college football stars during most of us 'boomer and older lives. Start with a rather extensive list of names of these former Texas HS football greats such as Bubba Smith, Toby Smith, Ernie Ladd, the Farr brothers, Jerrry Levias, Kenny Hebert, Joe and Kenny Washington, Burks Washington, Steve Worster (Bridge City); and who else have I left off this list because I know I've missed some? Coach Hayden Fry always recruited that area very effectively when he was both at SMU and UNT. U of H also seemed to do quite well in that area, too. Before Texas finally joined the rest of our nation last millinium and integrated (beginning with U of North Texas great Abner Haynes and his rommate, one Dr. Leon King, most of the black football players from the Beaumont/Port Arthur area seemed to mostly land in the Big 10 or the old PAC 8 (if memory serves me correct and with me just the other calling Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks "Natalie Wood" I can't always depend on keeping that memory sharp as to prevent such senior moments. I know it will be all of our hopes that new UNT Mean Green Coach Todd Dodge and his coaching staff will be just as successful in their recruiting efforts beginning with the Golden Triange area of Texas and even moreso, the Bayou City, ie, Space City USA----Houston, Texas, America.

During a late evening dinner finally got around to reading my Star Telegram and was (like I'm sure many of you) very shocked and surprised to see this article on TD and family meeting with President Bush in the White House. An understatement but Todd Dodge is having quite a year; hope we are all as happy this next December (or January?) but no matter where we stand upon this next football season's end I believe most will be pleased with the direction of this football program.

This documentary has been runnning on Showtime the last few weeks and is a must for baseball fans (both present fans and those from the past). TOPIC: African American baseball player Larry Doby joins the Cleveland Indians of the American League shortly after Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers of the National League and his later becoming inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. Some fantastic old baseball film footage from that era.

I think that is pretty well the way Natalie acts most of the time, anyway, JD. I have one of their concerts on DVD and she seems to always act as though she's one brick shy (although I really don't think she is it all). She is quite a talent. IMHO, musicians and politics are like gas and water, they just don't mix well. When I want to hear what any "known" musician, actor or celebrity (who are all of this because we buy their product or buy into their special talents); anyway, when I want to know what each of this group thinks about any war or controversial cause I would probably email them on all that and hope for an emailed answer; of course, that would not give them much publicity--now would it? Amazing how a little fame in our country makes anyone a spokesman for just about any cause. Since 9-11, many of us don't have any problem with the USA (and our allies) showing their presence among that group over there because they all pretty well hate all of us Americans and lovers of freedom. "IF"...........the USA is not in Iraq now, we would probably be paying about $5.00 per gallon of gas with that rising in price as the days go by. We should know there are many, many reasons we need to be over there and Iran is now one of those reasons. Their "Hitler" only wants to blow Israel off the face of the earth and has said as much. I tell you what folks, many of that group in the Middle East need someone to let them know without question that terrorism is not acceptable to anyone in our entire world community and if we don't let them know all this--then just who is that will? After all, it could very well be one of their U.S.-based cells that could next be blowing up Fouts Field (no big loss there), but along with our Administration Bldg, the Super Pit, the REC Bldg, the Murchison, TWU landmarks or any insitutions that promote freedom of speech. With those people and their special most unique kind of hate for each and every one of us--never say never. Many Americans have lost their stomach for fighting anyone even if some of those "anyones" kick them in the arse; and they've lost their stomach with all their extremely short memories of that (still) too recent tragedy at the Word Trade Center. If any of you lose a family member or relative to terrorism in your own backyards, any of you still going to be dove'ish about fighting those who truly want each and everyone of us dead (along with all of our freedoms many Amercans truly had to die for so we could all live the life of Riley)? Unlike many Arabs who still don't believe the Holocaust even took place, such events as Pearl Harbor, Normandy, Midway, the Battle of the Bulge, etc, etc, etc, did actually take place in the name of freedom. I haven't seen or heard of any American (as of yet) try to re-write or revise the history of all those historic events, although they would have their personal freedom to do so if they wanted. Natalie Wood is one helluva' musician and singer and I (for one) don't boycott buying their music, but someday in the future if some entertainment venue the Dixie Chicks would be playing were bombed by terrorist with thousands killed, I'd bet petite talented musician (and Texans) would (only) have about a 180 degree turnaround with her views and thoughts that her celebrity gives her some extra freedoms to be heard than anyone posting on GMG.com. FWIW, stands to reason that if we get rid of most the terrorists and most of their cells, doesn't that equate to our freedom-fighters reducing terrorism to a greater extent than if we didn't fight those dastardly cowards who have to sneak around to get their dastardly deeds done? I know with many of that group in the Middle East you will never stop all terrorism or wars and rumors of wars and the Holy Bible (not the Koran) tells us much as to what we can expect from those in that region from the ancient past to our present day); but we can reduce what these gutless cowards do over here in the name of their god and doing all this on our American turf (and that's for darn sure). And in the spirite of our most sacred American freedom of speech (that has not come cheaply as our WWII, Korean, Viet Nam vets as well as our present day soldiers would tell us all and all of us who live quite comfortably because of their fighting for even that) and in the spirit of our American-made brand of freedom of speech that we all hold dear..................all the aforementioned thoughts are just my .02 worth. Have A Nice Day!