PlummMeanGreen

Hip! Hip! Hooray for that TIgreen01! See all of you at venerable (going on 60 years old) Fouts Field. I think Denton County will step up to the plate Tuesday night at Fouts for all our non-Metroplex fans who cannot make this game; although earlier today, Island Eagle of Galveston, Texas, posted today (and I very liberally paraphrase IE): "If I can drive up from Galveston to be at this ESPN2 televised game, anyone else can and should do the same!"

Is it time to play hooky for one class, GreenBrigadeDebbie? BTW, what do you think of the new Green Brigade unis'? AND.....how many are in that huge band this year--do you know? It seems like our largest marching band ever at NORTH TEXAS looking at them at the Tulsa game. GMG!

In Hardliner Greggo Williams of KTCK The Ticket's best robot voice: "I do not understand the concept of TIVOl" CE, I've got this 20 inch Panasonic Combo DVD/VCR TV set that I bought a few years ago at Sams that I need to get some use. TIVO will probably take its place when I eventually dump this TV, but I do get some good quality VHS tapes that I can convert to DVD's for my Mean Green DVD library from this setup. Can you do that with TIVO? (I really don't know as I haven't checked into TIVO just yet). GMG!

Maybe a fan using cash for their football tickets on Game Day at the stadium moves things a bit faster? We had upwards to 24,000 (in and outside the stadium) at our last game in Denton and if everyone were using their plastic cards to buy tickets, some may still be in line trying to get into the stadium for the Tulsa game! Anyone else notice how congested our parking was for the Tulsa game with us still being about 6,000 shy of capacity? I hope we have some ample parking (and street outlets) at our new stadium and wonder how much of the other 200 acres NT is not presently using at Eagle Point Campus will go toward parking (or will that go to future facilities)? NOTE: Our former NT golf course had well over 400 acres as I recall. Walked it a few times as I can tell you not much was going on with the golfing part of that walk.

Heckuva' good time to be an NT student attending a game at Fouts Field, eh? GMG!

I can see this dialogue happening for sure. GMG!

I think we caught a small break inasmuch that ESPN II let us kick-off this game at 6:35 PM rather than 6:00 PM. 30 minutes can make a big difference for our DFW fans who get off work at 5:00 PM and for TV viewers in a very large part of our country can have some time to eat dinner then kick back, relax and watch a college football game. I hope they get to see many, many Mean Green fans. I've got my VCR ready (it can tape up to 8 hours on SLP), but look forward to seeing many of you at Fouts Field (in person)! GMG!

Island Eagle, many of us on GMG.com (and beyond) are duly impressed with such a show of loyalty by your coming to the ESPN 2 nationally televised game tomorrow night (and your making the trip all the way from Galveston to boot). We are also very glad that you and all your fellow Galvestonians/Houstonians dodged Hurricane Rita, many of us were praying for all of you down there. See you at Fouts Field Tuesday Night. Have a safe trip to Mean Green Country from the Island City, uh, Island Eagle. GMG!

I know its been posted, but I feel it needed Subject Line headlines, too, Harry. We are proud for you and the entire Miers clan, Harry "Miers." (Now, Harry, lets talk about some pork-barrell ideas I've been meaning to discuss with you for a long time now)!

..............................................R. I. P. ............................................

You mean FSN's good ol' sports broadcaster, ie, Herbal Oglethorpe called us, uh, North Texas State? Oh, excuse me, that wasn't his name, either, now was it? In Texas, where there are 10 NCAA D1-A schools, any Lone Star State or Southwest region sports media type who can read and understand English as our spoken language should have a subtle clue by now that we have (in deed) been the University of North Texas now going on 3 decades (since we changed to UNT in the 80's). If I were that FSN sports broadcaster's (does he know we're the Mean Green?) TV station boss, I might quietly pull him to the side with the revelation about the 4'th largest school in the Lone Star State (which will one day be only behind UT and TAMU in size).

OK, if you get offered a job that will pay you about 10 X's more than you are making now, would you not consder that job? I will always believe the straw that broke the camel's back that gave Fry and his staff the sign to not stay in Denton and accept a, uh, "Big 10" job was when only about 14,000 showed up for the last game he coached at NT (a win over the UMemphis Tigers) and with a possible bowl game on the line. Well, whether or not back in the day of fewer bowls we would have gotten a bowl if we had sold out Fouts is not the point, still the fans knew what could have been on the line that night if they would have showed en mass yet most chose to stay home and (I presume) watch Junior Samples and Hee Haw re-runs. On the other side of the coin, I really do believe Hayden Fry when he said about 2 years ago while on our campus that if his teams would have been rewarded with bowl game, he would have turned down a Big 10 job, stayed at NT and built this program (AND probably built a new football stadium that would have cost half of the one we are going to soon be building at our Eagle Point Campus). So we can play the blame game in Denton all we want, but when it comes down to the nut cuttin' in this athletic program, its not neccessarily the coaches or their teams who don't allow us to go to the next level because in Mean Green Country--it's always been the fans who stay home on Game Day that do that part; and showing proof and statistics on that would be the easy part. Attendance folks, it really is that important. There are some NT fans in DFW even on this board thinking this minute about staying home and watching this nationally televised game in the comfort of their dens or living rooms, but when SMU ex Craig James (who will be NT ex Dave Barnetts's color commentator this Tuesday night at Fouts) starts in on NT and the Mean Green fans for all the empty seats at Fouts, just go look in a mirror. We expect 100 X's more from our coaches and football team than we do ourselves as Mean Green fans and that is just not fair to them, of course, most of you who are reading this post are not the ones staying home this Tuesday night, either. GMG!

I was at the new Wal Mart in Hudson Oaks (near Weatherford, Texas) today and even saw a display that "only' had OU stuff and I was wondering which buyer (who obviously went to OU or was a Sooner) got a big laugh out of having that sent to a Texas-based Wal Mart 3 hours away from Norman? Many times we really are at the mercy of these retail buyers who have no idea that NORTH TEXAS has a much larger customer purchasing demographic than many of the old SWC schools and for sure, some non-Texas mid-major schools of which many times you will even see their gear in DFW stores. Some of you have gone thru the "dog and pony' some of these area retailers give us when we ask "why don't you have any NT gear?" My take on this and what I have told some of these DFW merchants (as I know some of you have) is when I tell the sales attendant "nothing personal" but you and your store just lost a sale today because the powers that be of this store thought it more prudent to stock gear from Marshall U, Rice U, Iowa State, Slippery Rock U and others who have about 1/10'th the Metroplex purchasing power as the University of North Texas constituency. GMG!

According to some who were at the Ben E. Keith gathering last time Coach Fry was in Denton at a game where he was honored, it was he, DD, RV with many current and former Mean Green football players and Coach Fry whole-heartedly endorsed Coach Dickey and told our alums and NT Lettermen from his era to get behind Coach Dickey and his program jumping the that water of support (so to speak) feet first. Also, we may want to recall that quote from Coach Fry when said that had his NT football teams been in a conference with a bowl tie-in which would have rewarded many of those teams that he would have never left Denton in the first place but rather would have stayed and helped build the football program. Not being in a conference with a bowl tie really kept the USA from seeing some pretty good Fry-coached Mean Green football teams. There is no one on this board and beyond who is as enthusiastic about the future of NT football than Hayden Fry. He will probably be even more enthusiastic when NT AD Rick Villerreal and Coach Dickey take him across the interstate and give him a tour of all that is going on at those 200 acres. GMG!

Very nice lengthy feature article in Friday's Fort Worth Star Telegram about our Mean Green Lady's soccer team. Even discussed their recent victory over the SMU Lady Mustangs soccer varsity team. GMG!

As far as facilities go at our Eagle Point Campus with all these recruits: THEY AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET!

What a photograph & what a memory. Are all those thousands on the football field and in the stands in this photo all trading jokes about NORTH TEXAS or what?!?!?!? By all means, if your co-worker comes back with more of that same ol' "UNT is a joke" stuff, do like AV posted and just pee on his leg! Then tell him all of us at NT do have a sorta' British dry sense of humor. GMG!

We really do have much to get excited about this football and athletic program. Many of us remember the days that all we had was lip-service from the top and nothing on the drawing board except buckets of green paint to put a fresh coat on Fouts. Hope our ESPN play-by-play man, one NT grad Dave Barnett (including his color man and area resident, Craig James) focus many times this Tuedsay night with video, still photos and many, many comments about all that is going on behind them across the interstate, ie, our new Mean Green Athletic Village at Eagle Point Campus. GMG!

Good response.... Tell your co-worker to write down the names of all those who think UNT is a joke and have them write a list with 3 valid reasons as to why they feel that way; then see how quickly his list will probably get shorter than he anitcipated. You might also offer that it is also most satisfying to be part of something on the grow and on the go. Then invite him to the Troy U game (televised nationally) and a chance to see the Mean Green and some exciting history from our past with ex NT coach Hayden Fry and his 1975 football team celebrating the 30'th anniversary of their win over the, uh, UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS! (Then tell him: "Pretty funny stuff, eh)?"

Other Hayden Fry fans who followed his career when he left NT for Iowa in December of 1978 may want to clarify this, but he first had the visitors dressing room painted pink the first time he faced Bo Schembeckler and the Michigan Wolverines at the Hawkeye's Kinnick Stadium. Coach Bo was said to have thrown an old fashioned fit when he first took his Wolverine team into that pink locker room at Kinnick, too; so Fry's psychology in painting the visitor's locker room worked as planned. Our most special guest for next Tuesday nights nationally televised NT/Troy U at Fouts had a minor in Psychology from Baylor U. GMG!

Texas State has put their NCAA D1-A aspirations on hold indefinitely. That whole thing was more their late AD, ie, Jim Wacker's dream than it ever was the SWT administration. I think Texas State is a very good school, have had many friends who graduated from there, but even with their enrollment growth, I just don't see D1-A for the Bobcats anytime soon. If they tried to move up, TSU's main concern from the onset would be how to put a complete D1-A schedule together on an annual basis without having a D1-A conference to be a member of. TSU has never had a Baylor, Oregon State, Vanderbilt, TCU or similar schools at their campus stadium as we have, either. Still amazing to me is how these 2 losses have caused some of our alums to go into a complete tailspin. I bet Hayden Fry (who still loves NT to this day) would have some most pointed things to tell such NT fans in the next few days when he is in Denton for next Tuesday nights game at Fouts. I think what he would say would be very convincing and any alum/fan would have no doubt where he stands on the sujbect. GMG!

No disrespect to anyone about all these threads, posts and comments concerning our last 2 games that we (in deed) lost, but why have those 2 games suddenly become the bell cow for our entire Mean Green athletic program's past, present and future? And all this with a Mean Green football program that has given us many televised (& most satisfying) wins the last 5 years, 4 bowl games in a row and with a bowl victory over the CUSA football co-champion which even a few on this board are now pooh-poohin'? So some of you want to play (and beat) a Top 5 ranked Texas Longhorn's football program you say? Well, then go blow up Fouts Field, give those Big Bucks so we can turn dirt next week for our new stadium and then go out and raise enough money to quadruple our present football budget. (We are not even in the athletic budget ball parks of those last 2 teams who beat our team the last 2 weeks). I often wonder now how many Texas/Oklahoma blue chip athletes (you know, the kind that can help us win those OOC games) read this board and immediatley X us off their list of schools they'd be interested because of the kind of posts that get posted on this board on a regular basis after merely a loss or 2? Anyone think those blue chips might moreso want to attend a school who has alums/fans that have that "12'th Man" type attitude and spirit, and that over some NT alums who want to burn the barn down after almost every Mean Green loss claiming all is lost and beyond repair (which is tantamount to having your arm amputated because you discovered a seed wart on your index finger)? GMG! PS Some schools have had their own worse home loss in school history (UCLA 67**UT 7 @ DKR) and have come back (very) strong with their football program. With Texas, that loss even after all those great recruiting classes they annually bring in down in Austin. Hmmm? UT Coach Mack Brown must have been playing a whole bunch of first year & inexperienced UT football players during that UCLA loss, eh?

A fantastic idea..................if we were still in the SLC and 1-AA. Did they or did they not consult with our AD before all this with Texas State began from their part? Does our NT SGA know the difference "A" letter in "NCAA" makes even for their future professions in the the DFW Metroplex work-place if they graduate and stay in DFW? One "A" letter too many can get NT back on the statewide "poor perception of our school" bandwagon that many of us who have worked in DFW the last umpteen years can tell our young SGA'ers all about (if they would only ask, that is). Those of us who remember 12 long years in NCAA 1-AA may still wonder how long it will still take our school to recover from that era. But keep those ideas that concerns NT Athletics a-comin' in SGA'ers, just don't forget what division of the NCAA we are in (and plan to stay in), though. TSU has never come close to a 15K per game average at any time in their history last I checked (not that we are setting the woods on fire in that department, either.....yet). GMG!

I think we all really hate to see Travis Thompson leave the team so early in the season, especially with all the rehab and hard work he put in last year to get to this season. Hopefully, Travis has an open invite to come back once he as some more time to think about it. We don't know the whole situation and maybe we don't need to know all that on a public forum like GMG.com, but I hope the 2 parties can come together with a solution to make all happy if that is an option at all. One of the stories I enjoyed following here in the FW area was the TCU QB (name?) who stayed 5 years without any playing time until his 5'th year. As I recall, he became an important cog in the wheel and was most effective for the Frogs in his 5'th year on their football team and helped in winnning some key games for the Horned Frogs. Anyone remember his name? I just remember the situation surrounding that player. GMG!

Amen (once again) Emmitt! You are on a roll! It is encouraging that NT Athletics has been promoting this game for quite awhile and I believe Dentonites and Denton County citizens know the importance and all the reasons they all need to be seen at Fouts Field on this ESPN2 nationally televised game. If you as a fan can only make the 1'st quarter due to a weeknight game, then come out for the 1'st quarter (which I would wager turns into you staying for a 2'nd quarter). I wonder what efforts are being made to fill the south endzone/Daktronics scoreboard seats? HS bands could fill those seats quickly but that is all I am going to say about that. Nevertheless, I am most encouraged about Denton and the Denton areas larger corporation's participation in this football game. Yet we need all the Denton area "mom and pop" businesses at this game just as much. GMG!