Tennessee Fans Checkerboard Their Stadium

rcade · October 6, 2014

A fan-led effort at the University of Tennessee organized fans into an orange-and-white checkerboard by section on Saturday:

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/90102/tennessee-fans-pull-off-checkerboard-neyland-lil-jon-makes-appearance-sort-of

http://www.wbir.com/story/sports/college/vols/football/2014/10/04/fans-achieve-checkerboard-neyland-goal/16737015/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=wbir/sports-news

The effort was only a week in the making and required people swapping sections based on whether they wore orange or white.

Pretty cool, and it shows what a creative fanbase can achieve.

UNT Alumni Lifer · October 6, 2014

VERY COOL. I like the checkerboard look.

I don't understand why we don't have more green in Apogee. Most major programs' stadiums are filled with their colors. Apogee looks very plain & needs a color upgrade. Maybe that will help get fans more motivated to go to games (other than winning, of course). Surely it would help motivate players. It's all about the attitude. GREEN, GREEN, & MORE GREEN!

rcade · October 6, 2014

Has there ever been a greenout? That would get people to drag out the green shirts or buy them.

THOR · October 6, 2014

Has there ever been a greenout? That would get people to drag out the green shirts or buy them.

which green???

oldguystudent · October 6, 2014

which green???

The one that was the shade when I was in my time and is the only correct green there ever is or was. That's which one. Also, THE TOMATO! or something.

greenminer · October 6, 2014

A Green out would be awesome, given our history of branding changes. God knows how many different shades of green we would see.

Throw in a game vs. UTSA and Apogee would look like a chicken or bean salad.

rcade · October 6, 2014

which green???

Pantone 356 or hexadecimal #00853E of course.

Green Otaku · October 6, 2014

Has there ever been a greenout? That would get people to drag out the green shirts or buy them.

Every game should be a green out. Students do a good job mostly (at least when I was there) and wear a green shirt, the alumni side seemed to have random polos or other shirts. Sometimes I feel like the alumni don't know that you are supposed to make a home game look like this and wear your home color, unless its a special night (white out, black out, gold out, etc.)

UZXHIIJEHXHJZRK.20060912201057.jpg

Edited October 6, 2014 by Green Otaku

greenjoe · October 7, 2014

I've always liked the checkerboard pattern at Tennessee.

And any shade of green is green.

Blue is never green. Red is never green. Pink is never green. And white, despite being the other half of our colors, is easily confused with the opponents from across the field or on TV.

Beat UAB

GO MEAN GREEN

TheWestie · October 7, 2014

So here's what we look like...

Oh and just for fun...

A GOOD day at Fouts...

A BAD day at Fouts...

We've come a long way since the last days of the Bowl Era. Despite the Dodge debacle years, fans actually got more in touch and now with Apogee and D Mac we're at an all time high. If we just keep at it we'll get there.

MDH · October 7, 2014

^^ What game was that pictured at Fouts?

Any cool/cold game will be awful for us - very few own green jackets.

oldguystudent · October 7, 2014

Apogee seems so dark at night. Is that because of the giant fans outside blowing the light away?

UNT Alumni Lifer · October 7, 2014

Apogee seems so dark at night. Is that because of the giant fans outside blowing the light away?

Hilarious. Yeah, it really does look pretty dark.

UNTFan23 · October 7, 2014

Hilarious. Yeah, it really does look pretty dark.

The light belong on the field, not on the stands.

Green Otaku · October 7, 2014

^^ What game was that pictured at Fouts?

Any cool/cold game will be awful for us - very few own green jackets.

Doesn't seem too hard of a fix, just wear a green hoodie over your jacket.

Eagle1855 · October 7, 2014

^^ What game was that pictured at Fouts?

Looks like SMU...

SilverEagle · October 7, 2014

Every game should be a green out. Students do a good job mostly (at least when I was there) and wear a green shirt, the alumni side seemed to have random polos or other shirts. Sometimes I feel like the alumni don't know that you are supposed to make a home game look like this and wear your home color, unless its a special night (white out, black out, gold out, etc.)

Don't get me started. It's even worse than you described sometimes.

Have you ever attended one of the events like the signing day event, or one of the old kick-off BBQ's?. These are the events that the long time fans/big doners, and regular alumni attend. Often times it looks like it could be the Denton version of the antique road show. About half of the people showing up wear the official school colors (if that), and about a quarter wear whatever green garment they grab out of the closet as they are going out the door. The other quarter wear.....whatever. And in many sections of the alumni side of the stadium, it's pretty much the same. AND THESE ARE (SUPPOSEDLY) THE LONG TIME FANS!

And to make it worse, our school sells just about every variation of green and school logos that you can imagine. Not mention all of the shirts with cutesy messages and attempts to instill loyalty and pride in the passer by who might even take the time to read the message. My least favorite is the one where "pride" is defined. THEY ARE COLLEGE STUDENTS, THEY SHOULD KNOW THE MEANING OF PRIDE! As I've said many times before, when you put messages/propaganda on the shirt the question that pops up in my mind is "who are you trying to convince, me or you?"

How many variations of the longhorn logo or UT do you see Longhorn fans wearing at their game? How many variations of (crimson and cream) OU shirts do you see OU fans wear into the stadium? The same question for A$M. THAT is why, when you go to a UT, OU, A$M game you see a sea of Orange, Crimson, and Maroon......all the same shade!

Edited October 7, 2014 by SilverEagle

Green Otaku · October 7, 2014

Don't get me started. It's even worse than you described sometimes.

Have you ever attended one of the events like the signing say event or one of the old kick-off BBQ's?. These are the events that the long time fans/big doners, and regular alumni attend. Often times it looks like it could be the Denton version of the antique road show. About half of the people showing up wear the official school colors (if that), and about a quarter wear whatever green garment they grab out of the closet as they are going out the door. The other quarter wear.....whatever. And in many sections of the alumni side of the stadium, it's pretty much the same. AND THESE ARE (SUPPOSEDLY) THE LONG TIME FANS!

And to make it worse, our school sells just about every variation of green and school logos that you can imagine. Not mention all of the shirts with cutesy messages and attempts to instill loyalty and pride in the passer by who might even take the time to read the message. My least favorite is the one where "pride" is defined. THEY ARE COLLEGE STUDENTS, THEY SHOULD KNOW THE MEANING OF PRIDE! As I've said many times before, when you put messages/propaganda on the shirt the question that pops up in my mind is "who are you trying to convince, me or you?"

How many variations of the longhorn logo or UT do you see Longhorn fans wearing at their game? How many variations of (crimson and cream) OU shirts do you see OU fans wear into the stadium? The same question for A$M. THAT is why, when you go to a UT, OU, A$M game you see a sea of Orange, Crimson, and Maroon......all the same shade!

All good points, and no I have never attended one of those events to see how people dress, but I don't doubt you for a second.

One of the big problems is what you say, that there are too many variations with the green, etc. And lets be honest to what the other issue is. The alums are old and out of touch. It seems like this trend came about from student sections all wearing the same shirt and now it's common for the whole stadium to be 1 color. (someone correct me if I'm wrong here, just a guess)

eulessismore · October 8, 2014

Apogee seems so dark at night. Is that because of the giant fans outside blowing the light away?

Well, other than Ponder, there's not much in the way of city lights to the west, which is the POV of that shot. On a positive note for Ponder, in a recent Texas Monthly feature of various celebrities favorite Texas places, Larry McMurtry mentioned the Ranchman's Cafe in that fair city.

oldguystudent · October 8, 2014

I go to the steak house once every couple years. Am never disappointed.

eulessismore · October 8, 2014

I go to the steak house once every couple years. Am never disappointed.

I hope my old friend Dave is still running that place. He's done great work there.

Edited October 8, 2014 by eulessismore

class84 · October 8, 2014

I found myself in the "bad" day picture at Fouts, too funny. That was against Army, where we gave the game away on a blocked field goal in the last 4 minutes when we were inside the 5 yard line. I'd like to have a picture of me smashing my construction helmet into the metal bleachers and scaring the crap out of everyone left in the section. Good times, good times....

untjim1995 · October 9, 2014

Don't get me started. It's even worse than you described sometimes.

Have you ever attended one of the events like the signing day event, or one of the old kick-off BBQ's?. These are the events that the long time fans/big doners, and regular alumni attend. Often times it looks like it could be the Denton version of the antique road show. About half of the people showing up wear the official school colors (if that), and about a quarter wear whatever green garment they grab out of the closet as they are going out the door. The other quarter wear.....whatever. And in many sections of the alumni side of the stadium, it's pretty much the same. AND THESE ARE (SUPPOSEDLY) THE LONG TIME FANS!

And to make it worse, our school sells just about every variation of green and school logos that you can imagine. Not mention all of the shirts with cutesy messages and attempts to instill loyalty and pride in the passer by who might even take the time to read the message. My least favorite is the one where "pride" is defined. THEY ARE COLLEGE STUDENTS, THEY SHOULD KNOW THE MEANING OF PRIDE! As I've said many times before, when you put messages/propaganda on the shirt the question that pops up in my mind is "who are you trying to convince, me or you?"

How many variations of the longhorn logo or UT do you see Longhorn fans wearing at their game? How many variations of (crimson and cream) OU shirts do you see OU fans wear into the stadium? The same question for A$M. THAT is why, when you go to a UT, OU, A$M game you see a sea of Orange, Crimson, and Maroon......all the same shade!

I'm afraid that this isn't something that is gonna change here anytime soon. We have literally changed the shade of green, the mascot, the name of the mascot, and the design on the helmet so often in the last 40 years, to get everyone on the same page is not something that UNT is capable of doing. Add in the fact that a lot of people in Denton just like the "quirkiness" of being different, seeing ten shades of green, with two different mascot names, and 6 different logos will never go away. I wish it would, but I've fully come to believe that i won't ever change.

oldguystudent · October 9, 2014

Add in the fact that a lot of people in Denton just like the "quirkiness" of being different, seeing ten shades of green,

My only other college football experience is in occasionally hanging out on tightwad hill in Berkeley for the Big Game. Even today, you still see a lot of this

b179ad5424857a6a5aa0251a250f199aca345066

this

and this

walking around.

Ain't nothin' wrong with paying homage to the old logos.

SilverEagle · October 9, 2014

Well, to the credit of someone at the school, they are mainly pushing the diving eagle (the american airlines ripoff) on most shirts. They also use "North Texas" on a lot of their stuff too, but I really hate that official word mark. Give me the arching (and 3-d) North Texas or Mean Green on a shirt any day. The one thing they are really dropping the ball on is using the alumni NT-star on shirts.....large and bold. The alumni should also take the battle flag and put the NT-star in the place of the single star. They would sell a ton of those. The NT-star should be the official letter logo of the school.

Edited October 9, 2014 by SilverEagle