UNT fans don't earn points for originality

[GreenBat]

UNT fans don't earn points for originality

Deposed Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar signed on with Division I-AA Sam Houston State last week, and I shed a small tear for an opportunity wasted.

No, I didn’t lament the loss of a top-notch signal caller, but rather a wasted chance to do away with the poser University of North Texas tradition of throwing tortillas after touchdowns at every game.

The Mean Green didn’t get Bomar, but maybe, just maybe, UNT can still enjoy a nice payoff anyway.

According to legend, Mean Green fans, then known as Eagles’ fans, began throwing out tortillas in 1999 when UNT beat Texas Tech in Lubbock. Red Raider rooters have long tossed the Mexican flatbread after scoring, and the Mean Greenies wanted to ridicule them after UNT upset Tech, 21-14. Thus was born a copycat tradition.

However, as legends often are, this tale seems more fiction than fact. UNT sports information director Eric Capper came to the school in 2001, and he said that widespread tortilla panic did not take hold in Fouts Field until 2003.

The tortilla situation neared epidemic in 2005, when the school began trying to discourage people from throwing tortillas (because they’re a huge clean-up problem on the track and often fly into the team on the sidelines) by taking them away and even in some cases ejecting fans who were caught with stacks of the offending wraps.

Now, I’ve been against the tortilla tradition since the first time I saw it. Not because it could injure somebody, and not because it’s a pain in the rump to clean up. Just because it’s lame.

UNT fans are always saying they want the Mean Green to be a big-time Division I football program. Then, for crying out loud, get your own traditions. DO NOT COPY SOMEBODY ELSE’S!

Ever since I first had a tortilla bounce off my noggin at Fouts, I have been trying to think of a substitute projectile. And, no, pita won’t work either. The Mean Green need to throw something green.

First, I thought of frozen peas. They’re green, and the thought of a shower of peas raining down on the field does appeal to my sense of aesthetic beauty. However, if the folks at UNT don’t like cleaning up tortillas, then the peas would be an utter nightmare -- we’re talking split pea soup on the track and in the stands.

Next, I thought of celery. No go there either. Just ask Gillingham Football Club in Kent, England. Gillingham fans took to throwing celery after goals -- even writing unprintable songs to commemorate the act. Feel free to google it, the songs are vulgar but funny.

About 10 year ago, Gillingham banned celery from their stadium after a goalie was hit in the head by a stalk. So, celery is out, too.

And that brings me to Rhett Bomar. The quarterback, who was kicked out of Oklahoma after admitting to receiving thousands of dollars from a car dealership for work he did not do, reportedly looked at coming to UNT after he got the boot from the Sooners.

The Mean Green’s opening game in 2007 is at Oklahoma. When he heard about this, former Denton Record-Chronicle UNT beat writer Tim MacMahon remarked offhand that this would be great because all of the Sooner fans would be throwing money at Bomar in the game.

And thus was born a new tradition -- if not at UNT, then at least in my mind. UNT didn’t get Bomar, but it can still have all those dollar bills, y’all.

Mean Green fans, keep your tortillas for your tacos and put your mouth where your money is.

The next time UNT scores a touchdown, then reach down deep, crumple up a dollar bill and throw it on the track. Those in the good seats help those in the nosebleeds by passing along their donations, and everybody give some green to the Mean Green.

The money, of course, is for the school. Players, don’t touch, or you’ll soon be catching passes or blocking for Bomar down in Huntsville.

Capper was delighted when alerted to the idea and immediately started thinking of practical applications.

“Yeah, I love it!” he said. “Just crumple up those dollar bills, and we’ll put it right to the stadium fund.”

And, hey, Mean Green fans -- there’s even better news. The way UNT has been playing you won’t need more than a buck or two each Saturday.

ETHAN B. SZATMARY can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is eszatmary@dentonrc.com.

[Guest JohnDenver]

What a crazy article ... not very original either.

He is beating a dead horse with the tortilla tossing critique.

When I was in school in '99 students were tossing tortillas. Capper is a tad off on that one ...

[NTEdgex2]

I didn't see any tortillas on the Alumni side. Did this guy go to the game?

GMG!

[Cr1028]

Tortillas were being thrown on the student side and I think it's a ripoff too unless we are actually playing Tech. Why is there a need to throw things at the field like children. Just cheer.

[greenjoe]

The last line is uncalled for.

[KingDL1]

He couldn't even get the story right what a jerk-off, he was off by what 11 years. I guess he should pay better attention to his own information. It fills me with confidence that he is in touch with the fan-base. Tech didn't start it. The whole article is a year out of date.

[meangreendork]

WTF...Ethan's article wouldve been relevant if this were...the 2003/2004 seasons when we still did a lot of tortilla throwing.

[emmitt01]

Here's an idea. Let's throw a dollar bill every time Ethan isn't a tool or is offered a job by a major newspaper. That should be even cheaper for us to do.

[FirefightnRick]

You right King, he's off by 11 more years. It was in '88 when we were 1-AA, which was the greatest win over tech. And he also completely missed the actual reason why the tradition came back to Denton as it was because of the rude treatment shown to parents and fans of NT that day by the tech fans and how NT fans stuck it back in their asses at the end of the day.

Did this run today? Seems like this article came out a couple of years ago? Someone needs to Email him the original story and cut and past Capper as well, although I know he knows it by now because I have sent that to the AD dept before my self.

Rick

[jgb0607]

I was on the student side as well and tortillas were everywhere

[UNT_playmaker]

Ethan is a tool.....A bad one at that

[russell360]

I remember Tech fans throwing tortillas during the 1995 Cotton Bowl..

[MrStrange62]

of course the torillas are a copycat tradition... most traditions at most schools are. i think it is completely fair for us to continue throwing them.... even when we are not playing tech. for the most part people love seeing the torillas. i was listening to the game on the radio and when we we scored, thats the first thing he said was "here come the torillas!" i think that is just cool. anyway, that is my two cents.

[SeanMG]

Ridiculous that the DRC would publish an article like this.

I sent them an e-mail...of course it wont do anything, but I sent one anyways.