stebo

Oh, I have heard them from a lot of people - and have my own (as I shared)... the thing is that there are probably a lot of nice guys and gals that are LSU fans. But I don't by the whole "a few bad apples ruin it for everyone" - from what I saw in person, the rest of the crowd not only approves of the drunks (and their actions) but they encourage it. Even Crip seems to think it is kind of funny and he seems like a normal enough guy. It is just part of the culture at the LSU games and that is not all that bad if you are an LSU fan... but I would never be able to bring my children to the games if I cheered for that school, it is definitely not a PG atmosphere - way over the "R" rating and no chance of going back. When RV signed this contract, I cringed. Not only will it be an a-whooping for the check, but our fans can't even enjoy a nice weekend trip out of it because of the a-holes that go down to Baton Rouge. So I will listen to this one on the radio, no big deal. I usually don't miss any game, none-the-less games that are within driving distance... but I will pass on the public flogging this year.

You are right in that every team has its share of a-hole fans... but like I said (why do I have to keep repeating myself?) - I have been all over this country to follow my Mean Green - and I have been heckled at almost every single place - even the places that you would never think heckling would occur (i.e. Air Force) - but the ratio was a lot higher in Baton Rouge for my experience. It is not just the one or two things that happened to myself and my date - it was everything combined... I am sure that there are plenty of nice LSU fans. I am sure that there are wonderful tailgaters. I am sure that you and your group are all nice guys. I am also sure that you are treated much differently then the opposing fans are. I would say that Oklahoma comes in a not-so-close second place for shitty places to go as an opposing fan - but I never felt in "danger" or "threatened" like I did in Baton Rouge. And like I said, it wasn't just one thing that caused me to feel this way - it was everything combined - it was the lacksadasical cop, the drunk parents that laughed at their kids screaming at defenseless (and harmless) North Texas fans, it was the beer getting tossed on us on the walk to the stadium, it was getting spit on by some college kids from the upper section as I was going to the concession area (I swear that is the dead-on truth, I guess that my crime was wearing a green shirt). Finally - our cheerleaders were taking a break about the time that I left - middle of the 3rd quarter - two of them worked for me at the time and we talked about how crappy we were all being treated. They agreed and said that they had been screamed at for the entire game from the stands. They normally will cheer the whole game but these cheerleaders had to actually take a freaking break and get the hell out of that place in order to get their composure back so that they could finish the game. Our conversation was brief as I wanted to get the hell out of there and onto the road - but they had been treated terribly as well - the constant "Tiger Bait" chant starting up EVERY SINGLE TIME that they tried to do a North Texas cheer. So much that they had to leave the stadium and cool off at a safe distance (it was actually worse outside the stadium in my opinion, but that is neither here nor there)... Now why were the fans in rare form? Well, LSU was not having a great season.. and they were coming off a rather shitty season...so the a-hole fans wanted to get their money's worth with their "bodybag" North Texas game. Couple all of that together with the fact that these insults were coming from a lot of people without quality dental work and all that you want to do is get in your truck and drive the hell as far away from that place as possible. Like I said, those (roughly 10-15%) of Tiger fans that ruined it for the rest of you showed why their colors are "Yellow" that day - they are cowardly and do not know the definition of Southern Hospitality. I know that you will never see my side of it; but I have no reason to lie about it... I have shared this story with a good friend of mine that went to LSU and he just shook his head and said "That sounds about right... sorry about that..." I am not saying that ALL the LSU fans are like that... but I would say that it is a higher percentage than at most places. Your "few bad apples" are more like a few hundred bad apples and that can ruin the fun for everyone. Maybe your fans have gotten some class since you started winning again.. but I didn't see it back then. I did have very nice experences at our UL and ULM games - nice Cajun folk. I still do not understand why the LSU folks battle with UL about their name. They have fought long and hard with the LSU folks about it and when they finally got it back (after it was stole from them the first time) - they were forced to stick a "city" designation onto it. Just a bunch of Louisiana BS to this Texas boy.

That site needs to be updated a little. They have the wrong invites for about 4 of the bowls (Liberty, Fort Worth, Houston, and Las Vegas)... Las Vegas has the right conference but wrong picking order. the other three are completely off.

There is absolutely ZERO reason for me to lie about any of that stuff. ZERO. I didn't say I got beer thrown on me in the stadium - it was actually right outside of a bar that was kinf of in a strip mall on the walk to the stadium. I doubt those yahoos could afford a ticket to get into the game. If that had been the only problem, I would have dismissed it. Secondly, I told you that the kids were there with their parents - thus adding validity to my story. And I understand the whole "tiger bait" thing - I just think it is funny for about the first 50 times it is chanted to me - and then after that it is annoying. Especially when your team is getting beat by 6 or 7 touchdowns. Finally, I don't spread lies about anything. What I said is exactly what happened to me. I haven't brought it up because I am not going to dwell on it... but I was giving advice to a Mean Green fan that you were trying to "help out" by scoring him some tickets in the LSU section... to Freak, I just advised against it. I didn't tell him not to go to the game... in fact I encouraged him to go to the game. But my experience was hell. I will never step foot into that place again. There is a reason that LSU and Death Valley has the reputation that you all do - it is well deserved and well earned. That being said, I am still alive - I didn't get killed or assaulted down there or anything. But the true colors of your fans showed up that day - YELLOW.

Quick question for Crip - as well as a suggestion for MGFreak. Crip, which guy are you on that website? Looks like you have a cool little tailgate crew.. we have tons of small ones and a few really big ones like the Greenbackers. Freak, as much as I like his pride in his school - If I were you I would not listen to Crip's advice about buying a ticket in the LSU section to save a few bucks. I have been down to Death Valley for a Mean Green game and just as Crip said - a few bad apples can ruin it for the rest of us. In LSU's case, there are more then just a "few" bad apples... they are notorious for them. My experience was so bad that I will not go back. I was spit on, had beer thrown on me, and my date was taunted by a group of 12 year old kids screaming "Tiger Bait" thoughout the entire game while their drunk parents sat still, not reprimanding them in the slightest way, for the entire game. We had not done a thing to warrant being attacked by these fans or these kids. The environment was anything but hospitable. I didn't even bother to get an usher or cop to try and help because there was one standing not 20 feet away and he thought that the whole display was funny as can be as well. I have been all over the country to watch my Mean Green play and have witnessed all sorts of a-holes in my life. Hell, I owned and ran a college bar in Denton for 7 years so I know a thing or two about having to deal with drunk idiots... but I have never felt physically threatened the way that I was down in Baton Rouge. And to be honest, it wasn't as much the taunting aimed towards myself that pissed me off - it was the lack of respect towards my date that hit below the belt. All of this was because I had gotten some tickets on the LSU side rather then in the Mean Green section. To top it off, the game was never in doubt - they were kicking our butts from the second we stepped on the field until the end (I think that they ended up beating us by well over 60 points, I wouldn't know because we left in the 3rd quarter after the taunting had finally broken us down)... Ironically enough, the tickets were given to me by a member of the Mean Green athletic department, lol... I was a corporate sponsor and he knew I was going to the game so he scored me two tickets for free (GREAT seats - 30 yard line - about the 5th row)... I am not telling you all of this to scare you away from the game - by all means, go down there and cheer on the Mean Green. They need as many fans as they can have down in the Bayou that weekend... but I would not attempt to save a few bucks on your ticket and leave the somewhat friendly combines of the North Texas cheering section. Like I said above - I have been all over this country to cheer on the Mean Green and there are bad apples at every stadium - but they just don't make 'em like that anywhere else but in Baton Rouge.... go with a group - sit in the Mean Green section.. and keep your wallet in your front pocket. Ignore what they say and enjoy the game. Maybe the Mean Green will give you an early Christmas present this year - that would be enough to make up for what those sons of bitches did to me the last time I ventured down there. I know that I will just listen to this one on the radio. I told myself that day that I would NEVER go down to Death Valley again and I never will. I can't say that about any other stadium in the entire country.

Oh, the old "reckless abandon" adage. That is the phrase that was used to describe Scotty Hall when he first started taking over the position... because he would tuck the ball in and run it himself when all the receivers were covered. Everyone was always worried about Scott hurting himself and Timmy Mack used the term "reckless abandon" when describing Scott... of course, Scott went on to become the most eficient passer in Mean Green history and Timmy Mack is now getting 9 word blurbs in the back of the DaMN because he was demoted to covering Frisco area high school gymnastics

Bingo - LJ was brought in specifically as a fundraiser and the current BOR is very unhappy that he has not lived up to his promises of bringing in the bling bling.

Well, Plumm - you just made something obvious to me. As bummed out as I am about losing Norval Pohl - I guess that it is coming at the right time. After all, we are losing the BOR next summer - so this current BOR will have to approve of the new Prez (I am guessing). I guess that this is one small light being shined on the recent developments. As to Matty thinking that having a non-Norval type as NT Prez - you are just going to have to trust us on this... the folks that sat through the years of Alfred Hurley and his pacifist/laisez-fare atttitude towards athletics to explain it to you... without a Norval Pohl running the show, your football team is an afterthought. Many things can be taken away that we have been given to us under Pohl. You risk taking away the power of moving finals so that students can attend the bowl game and celebrate their University with pride. You risk taking away the power of letting the Athletic Director serve as the Emcee of Freshman Orientation and instilling Mean Green SPIRIT and PRIDE in our new students from day ONE. You risk taking away a President that sees that the only way this University can get the National attention that it deserves (like getting a Front Page article in the USA Today) is through the glamour and glitz of entertainment - in the South that is the phenomenum that is Texas Football. You risk taking away contract extensions and raises for the coaches. You risk taking away brand new athletic facilities being "built" not just "talked about being built". You risk taking away (extensive) coverage of the teams in the Alumni magazine. In a nutshell - you risk taking away the power. Saying that the President of the University has no power is like saying that the President of the U.S. has no power because of the "checks and balances" regulated by Congress. This whole thing got turned around the day that Pohl stepped foot on campus. I know that you know nothing else other then winning (at least conference games) since you have only been a student for a few years... but you are just going to have to trust us on this one... the reasons why many of us are very upset at Pohl's resignation are ver valid ones. We have seen the dark side and do not want to go back. Couple that with the terms coming to a close on our athletic-friendly Board of Regents and you have a very scary future for the program. But Plumm did point out something that I had not thought of... if Pohl had to leave, this is the year for him to do it... that way the CURRENT BOR can nominate and elect the new President. So we got that going for us

CUSA might be looking good for North Texas and our fans - but to the Eastern half of its members they look like poop. That is why the fans stood up and BOOOOOOOOOOO'd the hell out of their conference commissioner at the New Orleans Bowl last year. They are NOT happy at all with the new additions. Now they are even less happy because they have lost their crown jewel bowl game - the Liberty Bowl - and have the priviledge of sending their champ to Houston to play the 7th place Big 12 team now... umm, not so good. As for the WAC, teams like Idaho, NMSU, Nevada, USU, and even Boise might be happy with the new look WAC and its two bowls in Hawaii and Boise... but teams like Hawaii and Fresno are looking to get out ASAP. In one swoop, the MWC could destroy the WAC by taking their best teams as well as BOTH of their bowls. So while Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UTEP, Houston, and Tulane fans might be really happy right about now with the new look CUSA... teams like ECU, UAB, Southern Miss, and Memphis are not - and teams like Marshall and UCF are just happy to be out of the MAC.

On recruiting: DD goes after everyone he can. Even Adrian Peterson was quoted in the Sporting News last year as saying that North Texas was one of the first schools to recruit him - he just had his eyes set on a BCS program. What we do is go after players that show interest back in us. We have a limited budget when it comes to recruiting and canot afford to be chasing after players that have zero interest in us. If we staretd to operate that way, we would end up with recruiting class the size of San Jose State. Tomey came into that position last year and thought that he could outwait a lot of the BCS schools and ended up having a 13 man recruiting class - with "more to come"... well, the more never came. Because of this, they are going into Fal practice with 10 scholarship frosh players and a ton of walk-ons that were not offered by anyone. As for DD's blunder in Waco last year - I will agree with both sides. I SEE the logic behind it. But I do not agree with it. If that had been NMSU and we had been playing for the bowl bid for that game, there is no way in hell that we would have punted. I just don't like playing our OOC games DIFFERENTLY then we play our conference games. I understand that Dickey was getting the new players used to the system so that when conference play came around there was continuity for them. But that is what scrimmages and practices are for in my opinion. By punting on 4th and 1 rather then going for the 1st down/a score that would cut the score down to 13, he offically conceded the game thus handled the Baylor game as a pre-season game that doesn't "count", in other words - a scrimmage. That is what pisses me off but I have gotten used to it. These tactics used to get me really riled up; but after 8 years I have grown used to them. DD has one playbook and it isn't going to change because of me. I am convinced of that. And I am fine with that as long as he gets me back to New Orleans every year. I still don't agree with it though - I think that OOC games really make us look bad, especially losing in state OOC games to very poor teams like Baylor. Our win against Baylor in 2003 brought out more people and got more interest in the Mean Green then the bowl game that year. As bad as the MUTS have been - their non-conference wins still are much "sexier" then having them fall short in conference play. Troy's wins against Missouri and Marshall last year have them going into the season ranked above us in most ranking services... Heck, they lost not one but two SUN BELT conference games and still got invited to a bowl as an at large team because of the quality wins in those OOC games. They have proven that they play to win every game, not just conference games. I know that DD does not want to lose OOC games - but I believe that he treats them as scrimmages. He uses them as a means to teach the team his system and get them ready for conference play. That has been enough for us until this year. It is time to raise the bar. It is time to put the emphasis on winning OOC games and letting the other games in conference take care of themselves, even if we lose a game or two in conference. That would actually benefit the conference significantly this year if we were to beat Tulsa and La Tech and lose to ULM... it would show that Sun Belt teams can beat teams in other mid major conferences and then get beat by teams in their own conference. It would show that the Belt has moved up another notch. Finally, on the contract stuff - I think that the BOR is doing all that they can to try and give our program some healthy breathing room for the next 5 years. We are entering a time of uncertainty (sp?).. This extension will cover their butts while the new BOR comes in and does whatever it is that they are going to do. It is obvious to me that LJ is trying to pull the emphasis away from the football team and put it back on academics. We have Pohl leaving soon to be replaced by ???? And next summer we get a new BOR, that scares the hell out of this Mean Green fan. I believe that the current BOR sees the (potential) storm on the horizon and is trying to set up the system/contract so that we are covered no matter who gets put into those seats starting next summer. The one thing that dissapoints me the most about the contract extension (this time around) is that a buy-out clause has still not been inserted into the contract. Right now there is a small buy-out clause in the contract if DD were to take a job at another school - I think we should have a rather large one. Why? We deserve it. We gave Dickey complete control of the football program - let him play out his OOC games as scrimmages, and let him make comments to the media about it being "them against the world" - and that is all fine as long as he keeps winning. But I think that the University needs to be rewarded for taking the risk on Coach Dickey and sticking by him through his growing pains/the rough times if another school comes calling. Every time they change or extend his contract I look for this clause to be inserted (a buy-out clause) and I have yet to see it. I am dissapointed that they (the BOR) had the opportunity to tweak his contract once again and add this clause and they chose not to do so. Maybe he won't agree to it, that is a possibility... but if a school wants him bad enough then they will pay that buy-out clause with no problem. Then we can use that money to bring back DeLoach (or promote Kenny Evans) as our HC. Sorry for the long post - my vacation is almost over so I won't be able to post my Plumm style posts after next week so I have to enjoy it whole I can

That is crazy, if you are down by 20 and get to 4th and 1 - you go for it. What does it matter if you lose by another 7 points? DD mailed it in on that game. I wouldn't change coaches over it but it definitely deserves criticism. 4th and 1 - down by 20 - you GO FOR IT (the first down at least)... if it had been 4th and 4 or 4th and 7 - then maybe you punt away - but even then I think you would have to think that over to what message that sends to to your offense.

Uhhh.. I guess that you did not go to UT last year?

This is Dickey's BASE salary. He also has a shoe deal, gets paid for the weekly radio show during football season, gets paid for the camp in the summer, and gets bonuses for various things (winning the Belt, making attendance, etc..) - I think that Dickey made in the neighborhood of $240K for last year's success. That might be underpaid to a lot of people - but we used to pay our head coach $107K. Also, Dickey got pay raises for his Assistants the last go around - and probably took less of a raise as a result of it.

Take the Belt - CUSA - plus a couple of MAC schools - stick them in a cup and shake them up - and out rolls two nice regional conferences. But it will take more of what has happened to CUSA for this to happen. They have gone down a bowl this year, possibly two. They will STILL be at 4 or 5 bowls, but they lost their crown jewel. After it gets down to 2 or 3 - and the Belt has 2, and the MAC has 2 or 3... then the schools will see that there is not much of a difference separaring them.

Still interesting article. It fills in a variable. The MWC is actually going to go through with the contract. This WAS a question mark. Now the sponsor will be anounced along with the opponent. The bowl is guaranteed a top 3 team from the MWC, so if TCU is bowl worthy - and #4 - they will be leaving home for bowl season. Now let's see where we (the Belt) and Movie Gallery fit in.

We played Richmond one time during the Fry era - beat the hell out of them. They are the same Richmond that William and Mary fans hate. They were both in the Southern Conference together for years. In fact, the year that we beat Richmond (our one and only meeting from what I can tell) - was their first year as an Indy, leaving that Southern Conference. They dangled in Indy land, just like North Texas until 1983 - when they were forcibilly removed from IA ball by the NCAA. I am guessing that they have been playinh IAA ever since but Howell's site only keeps stats on IA teams.

LOL, see above post. No pay per view, no way to see it live unless in person. The game is gonna be taped by the local cable channel - they will produce it on the fly and get it out to their viewers at about 2 a.m. that night. Even LSU fans will have to wait for TAPE DELAY - and then they have to see their beloved Tigers at like 2 a.m. for the show. Imagine the game being taped by KNTU (same premise) and replayed on local TV ch 22 at 2 a.m. - it is just not yet set up for a live broadcast yet. Now it might get picked up for a live broadcast - but as of this moment, there will be no satellite dish to pump this game into the atmosphere so that it can bounce off enough satellite so that it can get into the local bar or home.

You had better be willing to drive to Shreveport to watch the game. It is on Cox Sports TV - tape delay. In other words, it is on at about 2 a.m. after the game is already over - and only in states that offer Cox Cable television.

That I cannot do - I will be there right around 11:00 or so but can't get there well before 11:30. Getting the afternoon off was hell enough, lol.

Hmmm, I would guess that the "logo" will be a number - as in consecutive conference wins. A big fat 26 will look good on the bube tube for our National Conference game with Troy... that is what the number should be after we beat the MUTS. Then we can just advance that number each week. Anything but a friggin eagle. Unless you can get Adler's brown avatar eagle on the field somehow flapping its skinny ass wings - then that might be kind of cool

Finally, something that EagleD and I agree about! Now if I can just get him to change his nickname to MeanGreenR

Here is his ring:

I wouldn't mind a lighter green Texas Star in the center of the field with no words on it. Just keep it simple. No Eagle head, no eagle body - just North Texas (not UNT) in one end zone and Mean Green in the other.

No problem, I will bring a case of paper towells as well. Consider it done! See you this Saturday at 11:30!