Game Day

[emmitt01]

Emmit when is the last time you did something productive outside your own benefit to try to improve the university?

If you've got a pen and a lot of spare time I could write you a list. But, rather than bore you, let's approach it this way. Hit the gym for the next few months or so and then I've got a jock strap in this department you might just be able to carry.

In the meantime tell me how your meetings with Dr. Bataille, RV, or various student groups have been going when you obviously took all of your brilliant ideas to them. Surely you wouldn't come on this board ranting and raving about change unless you were currently in the process or doing something about the problems you spell out so eloquently...would you?

[BIG DAWG]

HERE is my prediction: 2-3 years, UNT will be in excatly the same spot that it has been in: Bottom conference, 0 fan support, 0 name recognition.

This is exactly the type of mindset we need at the games this fall

He is right, it won't be Dodge's persona, his offense, or the recruits that he brings in that change the direction of the program...it will be fabricated traditions as we drive inside the 15 yd line that make Denton a happy place.

FIRE DODGE AND LETS MAKE UP SOME NEW TRADITIONS!

WHO IS WITH ME!?!?!?!?!?

Whatever

(DISCLAIMER: This reply is total sarcasm)

[PlummMeanGreen]

Okay DaddyDumps, above are your suggestions from the beginning of this thread. If you would look at www.meangreensports.com you would see that there is already a cheer for kickoffs.

The suggestions for inside the 15 yard line are fine, but aren't these basically stolen from Duke basketball?

Oh, and please don't question emmitt. He has plastered schedules all over storefronts throughout Denton, served BBQ to the team, been one of the Green Backers that set out to make tailgating a tradition, etc...

You haven't experienced it all until you spend a few hot July (or Augusts) walking around the Denton courthouse square (and beyond) plastering those schedule posters on the stores that will allow you to tape em' up on their windows (or other places in their stores). Some of us used to even hit Krum, Ponder, Sanger, Roanoke, Keller, Corinth, Lewisville etc, etc, etc,

SUMG and I (in another era) used to actually look forward to doing this for dear ol' alma mater each summer. Back then, UNT athletics said: "Sure, knock yourself out and we appreciate what you are doing." I would think that would be the case today.

Like Emmitt and some of you other Young Gun Alums, you know how it is--you just have this passion thing going for anything Mean Green and you merely want to spread the word (so to speak). Volunteering to do such things for our dear ol' alma mater gives you the same good feeling you get when you give to a charity or cause.

We applaud Emmitt and the rest of you who are doing the plastering of the Mean Green schedule posters now because it is a job that must get done. Those 2007 Mean Green football season schedule posters aren't doing any of us any good if they are in stacks collecting dust in the UNT athletic department.

PS: If someone organized it, I'd bet some of us Old Gun Alums would find the time to come up to Denton to help out with plastering those posters on store windows on some given day. For myself, it would have to be a weekday since I work many Saturdays.

Edited July 8, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

[JayDub]

OMG! You people are a bunch of freaking DORKS.

Oh, hey Pot...I'd like you to meet my friend Kettle.

Emmit when is the last time you did something productive outside your own benefit to try to improve the university?

Wow, you just proved just how uneducated you really are. Say what you will about Emmitt, the man has done more for this university and it's traditions than you could dream up.

[DeepGreen]

Oh, hey Pot...I'd like you to meet my friend Kettle.

Wow, you just proved just how uneducated you really are. Say what you will about Emmitt, the man has done more for this university and it's traditions than you could dream up.

Kinda like that other guy, what's his name? .....rickfire, uh, firerick, no, uh........firefightnrick! That's him! FirefightnRick! Talks a good game on this sight, like he knows something about NT, but is one of the 24 dorks on here who's all talk, no action. That dumb cannon, that's no tradition at NT. Why the hell would rickfire spend god knows how many man hours fixin that thing. It's not even a tradition here. He's just like that Emmitt fellow. Well, almost.

Disclosure statement: Ultimate sarcasm intended.

Edited July 8, 2007 by DeepGreen

[UNT_92_Fan]

Yes PLEASE dont lock this thread and Daddy Please keep posting because this is great. Daddy Dumpsalot intials... DD

Hi Darryl... sorry nobody liked your black jerseys....

[Zeke]

Inside Opponents 15 yrd line: Entire crowd starts bouncing up and down in anticipation for the TD and doesnt stop

Lets be a little smarter than this.

Opponent inside our 15 yrd line: Entire crowd bounce and make a ton of noise.

YES! But considering this a tradition is rather lame. It should be expected.

[greenminer]

The suggestions for inside the 15 yard line are fine, but aren't these basically stolen from Duke basketball?

Yes.

[GreenBat]

On kickoffs: Crowd swings towels and yells GOOOOOOO Mean Green

Inside Opponents 15 yrd line: Entire crowd starts bouncing up and down in anticipation for the TD and doesnt stop

DD are you a member of the WINGS?

That would explain alot.

They swing their towels all the tie including KO's and they try and get the crowd to cheer when the offense needs to hear the signals.

[RETSO]

I have an idea...lets string up dumpsalot in the parking lot before each game and beat him like a pinata before each home game.

We can even dress him up in the opponents mascot uniform...

Heck we could charge $5 a swing...great way to raise money for our new stadium.

[ADLER]

I have an idea...lets string up dumpsalot in the parking lot before each game and beat him like a pinata before each home game.

We can even dress him up in the opponents mascot uniform...

Heck we could charge $5 a swing...great way to raise money for our new stadium.

Hey man, that's not even funny to joke about.

Documentary about Inhumanity

[BIG DAWG]

Hey man, that's not even funny to joke about.

Documentary about Inhumanity

Very funny documentary...I think I still agree with RETSO

[Quoner]

Daddy Dumpsalot called us losers and questioned our credentials. That was pretty mean.

If only I didn't understand collegiate baseball attendance numbers, operational budgets, communications, how to rip off Duke basketball, the importance of hearing a snap count on offense, promotional brilliance, how to crap my pants because we are not currently on par with the Big 12 schools, how to dismiss the first signs of progress in years, and how to be a total douche*, we could possibly have more of an even playing field for our debates.

Sigh.

*As many here can attest, when it comes to being a total douche, just call me Summer's Eve - Sam's Club-sized.

[UNTflyer]

The University of North Texas football team finished #112 out of 119 on the CBS Sportsline poll. The hiring of Todd Dodge has lit a fire under a lot of us but we have a long way to go to build this program, and as fans all we can really do is show up and wear our colors. The students and AD need to make the traditions worthy of a top school.

For those who stay faithful and excited, the rewards will be great. If Dodge returns this program to a winning tradition with our new fans from South Lake, and we get the new stadium built, our attendance will rise and the game day experience will get better. Traditions will form. Students will come up with good chants. The band will come up with new stuff.

I believe something special is happening for the Mean Green. Let's be patient and enjoy the ride.

[Cr1028]

And, while I'm thinking about it...does anyone else have a problem with our Fight Song lyrics appearing on our souvenir cups?? It seems a bit high schoolish to me.

I couldn't tell you how many times I've handed those signs or cup with the lyrics on them to some fish who didn't know the words and apparently had no inclination of reading them either. I think until we have enough of a reputation where most peole want to learn the lyrics on their own, we should have them on signs and cups so when the game gets exciting, said fish will understand "when in rome".

[JayDub]

DD are you a member of the WINGS?

That would explain the all-around douchebaggery that DD has perfected here...

[FirefightnRick]

Emmit when is the last time you did something productive outside your own benefit to try to improve the university?

TastyGeek same question to you.

Put your list away E, I think he was asking, lately? Like, did you and TastyGreek really answer the call to travel to Lafayette on a WEEKNIGHT to root for a longshot to win the Belt Basketball Championship this past March?

P.S.

God that guy on the left is such a DORK

Rick

Edited July 9, 2007 by FirefightnRick

[cdizzle86]

First off I wanna start off by saying that I rarely ever post on here, but I check this site numerous times day so I feel like I know what has been going on lately. I realize by posting what I'm about to say might put me under fire just like DD, but I care too much about UNT athletics to sit and just watch all the negativity go on. I hope that you all can respect my position and rethink yours with an open mind. With that being said......

I understand completely what DD is saying. We (UNT) have got a great opportunity in our hands to do something really special. We have a chance to make UNT something awesome. To me it seems that a majority of the people on this board are content with the ways things are right now. And yes we have a great new coach that has breathed new life into UNT football, but we cant expect him to change everything around by himself. We as the loyal fans to UNT have to step up and make a difference. Times are changing around campus and we need to take full advantage of it. Hypothetically speaking, what happens if TD doesn't make a good transition to college football? Are we just gonna sit around and wait for another "God-like coach" to pull us out of the dumps? Cause just like DD was saying, we will be in the exact same spot that we were in just a few months ago. Now is the time for us to step up and not make changes, but make additions. As far as traditions go, why not try and start a few more? Is it going to make things worse? I went to every home game last season and to about half the year before (I'm only a Junior) and I always brought along a few friends hoping that they too would become UNT die-hards, but as games went on I noticed more and more students just sitting down (partly because we were losing). I think if we had a few more exciting traditions going on during the games that we would have a more supportive crowd. Also, think about what all comes along with better traditions....better fan support....better recruits....better football. It's all relative.

I'm not knocking the traditions we have now, I'm simply saying that this is a great time for UNT so why not leave our mark. 20 or 30 years from now when the new stadium is sold out every Saturday with an energetic crowd, wont it feel great to know that you had a part in it? To know that you just didn't sit around and let one coach turn the whole program around...if it were even possible.

Alright I'm done with my soapbox speech. I feel like I'm giving a pep talk from Remember the Titans or something. Let the heckling begin.

[UNT_92_Fan]

First off I wanna start off by saying that I rarely ever post on here, but I check this site numerous times day so I feel like I know what has been going on lately. I realize by posting what I'm about to say might put me under fire just like DD, but I care too much about UNT athletics to sit and just watch all the negativity go on. I hope that you all can respect my position and rethink yours with an open mind. With that being said......

I understand completely what DD is saying. We (UNT) have got a great opportunity in our hands to do something really special. We have a chance to make UNT something awesome. To me it seems that a majority of the people on this board are content with the ways things are right now. And yes we have a great new coach that has breathed new life into UNT football, but we cant expect him to change everything around by himself. We as the loyal fans to UNT have to step up and make a difference. Times are changing around campus and we need to take full advantage of it. Hypothetically speaking, what happens if TD doesn't make a good transition to college football? Are we just gonna sit around and wait for another "God-like coach" to pull us out of the dumps? Cause just like DD was saying, we will be in the exact same spot that we were in just a few months ago. Now is the time for us to step up and not make changes, but make additions. As far as traditions go, why not try and start a few more? Is it going to make things worse? I went to every home game last season and to about half the year before (I'm only a Junior) and I always brought along a few friends hoping that they too would become UNT die-hards, but as games went on I noticed more and more students just sitting down (partly because we were losing). I think if we had a few more exciting traditions going on during the games that we would have a more supportive crowd. Also, think about what all comes along with better traditions....better fan support....better recruits....better football. It's all relative.

I'm not knocking the traditions we have now, I'm simply saying that this is a great time for UNT so why not leave our mark. 20 or 30 years from now when the new stadium is sold out every Saturday with an energetic crowd, wont it feel great to know that you had a part in it? To know that you just didn't sit around and let one coach turn the whole program around...if it were even possible.

Alright I'm done with my soapbox speech. I feel like I'm giving a pep talk from Remember the Titans or something. Let the heckling begin.

The difference between your post and DD's....

Your's is not just a load of "NT SUCKS this and that"

We do have alot of great traditions, Nobody is saying that we cant have new ones. The Pit Crew is a new tradition. I don't know if you go to the basketball games or not but before the First Pit Crew came thru and then the resurgence this last semester, those games were dead since my arrival in 2001. Nobody is opposed to the things the Pit Crew bring to the games right? So Can we start something new? hell yeah. Is now as good a time as any? Sure. What do we do???? WE STOP TALKING AND DO SOMETHING. People come on here and say things are just talked about and never done and then have the balls to go after a guy that does more with his left teste* for UNT than most involved here is ridiculous. Do U want to see a change Dizzle? and I mean this with all the respect in the world because you posted in a mature manner....What Are you going to do? What are your ideas and what do the people that are willing to help need to do to help.

We are all for a Better UNT.... In the words of Sean Connery in SNL's Celebrity Jeopardy.... You're Sittin on Goldmine Trebeck.....

*Its 445 in the morning....Teste is a funny word

Edited July 9, 2007 by UNT_92_Fan

[Daddy Dumpsalot]

The difference between your post and DD's....

Your's is not just a load of "NT SUCKS this and that"

What do you think I was trying to do by starting this thread? Before anyone can go to the athletic department and say "We have some proposed 'additions' to what we are currently doing in regards to gameday experience" I have to have a list of them. BUT not one person replied with anything positive. I got things from 'Our traditions are great' to 'click here' to 'all youre doing is harping on UNT. For once I would like to read a post like this..blah blah'. I even posted a link to Flst War Chant as an idea of something that we could develop. The only thing that was of any help is FFR saying that he has tried to get the University to adopt something like this. But of course nothing has happened.

To those of you who spend countless hours begging to put up UNT posters, I'm sorry for saying you weren't helping UNT at all. I guess I was just hoping UNT to get to a point where we dont need to go put up posters on every store front. MY BAD!

By the middle of the thread, it became pointless because it became apparent that the 'faithful' fans on GMG were completely content with everything. Traditions dont start themselves. Yes tortilla throwing caught on quite well for the 20 or so people who were doing it. Might I suggest why! Because their gameday experience was so boring and pathetic that they had to find a new way to amuse themselves. What better to do then throw tortillas in the band's tubas and at the cheerleaders? (trust me I've seen it)

Lets walk through the typical average fan's UNT gameday experience shall we:

Show up 30 mins before game (2 hrs if in fraternity)

Try to find some beer to drink

15 mins after the kickoff you get talked into coming in to the game to watch an opponent you have never heard of

You walk into a half empty stadium and decide that since there is room on the empty bleachers youre just going to lay down

You watch the game and when (if) we get a first down you scream 'thats good for another......' with about 2000 other fans

You start talking to people around you and socailizing a little and lose track of the game

Eventually something good happens and you hear people screaming and decide to do so yourself but not sure why

We score and everyone goes crazy while the cannon booms and the drunk guys in ties attempt to do pushups

Here comes the kickoff - the 3000 fans that know to raise their talens (and know what that is) do so. 1500 of those make some noise. 50 of those say 'gooooo mean green'

Maybe at some point during the game we can yell 'DEFENSE' - to get the crowd to pay attention

Then, as everyone anticipated here comes the neverending 'NORTH' Texas chant - AWESOME!

Now skip to the 4th quarter and we're down by 2 touchdowns but driving, the excitement builds and BAM we throw an interception - uh oh there goes 1000 fans right out the gates. As the opponent marches down, there goes the rest.

Game over we lost - Time to sing Glory to the Green - uh oh only 500 ppl know it so it gets a little awkward and even embarrassing to some (if we Won the game - substitute 'won' for 'lost')

Time to leave and get excited about the next home game

*actual numbers may vary

Im truly sorry for trying to pep this experience up a little bit and any toes I may have crushed in the process.

[NT80]

In the reality of it all, fans can't do much to attract other fans, besides just bringing new fans you know yourself. There is not a group of 20 Sooner fans on their board debating how to get more fans to their games. It is the fans wanting to see the program and/or opponent that supplies the lure to games, not gimmicks.

This will be my 9th NT coach to watch. I am excited to see what the new coach can do. I think we'll see an increase in attendance because of him, and eventually a better level of play. But I also expect to be around to see what the 10th coach can do too. I don't come for gimmicks, or coaches, or administrators, or even for other fans (I will still attend after many of those have long left). I come to watch my school play. Be a fan of NT, that's all you need to do.

[Quoner]

What do you think I was trying to do by starting this thread? Before anyone can go to the athletic department and say "We have some proposed 'additions' to what we are currently doing in regards to gameday experience" I have to have a list of them. BUT not one person replied with anything positive. I got things from 'Our traditions are great' to 'click here' to 'all youre doing is harping on UNT. For once I would like to read a post like this..blah blah'. I even posted a link to Flst War Chant as an idea of something that we could develop. The only thing that was of any help is FFR saying that he has tried to get the University to adopt something like this. But of course nothing has happened.

To those of you who spend countless hours begging to put up UNT posters, I'm sorry for saying you weren't helping UNT at all. I guess I was just hoping UNT to get to a point where we dont need to go put up posters on every store front. MY BAD!

By the middle of the thread, it became pointless because it became apparent that the 'faithful' fans on GMG were completely content with everything. Traditions dont start themselves. Yes tortilla throwing caught on quite well for the 20 or so people who were doing it. Might I suggest why! Because their gameday experience was so boring and pathetic that they had to find a new way to amuse themselves. What better to do then throw tortillas in the band's tubas and at the cheerleaders? (trust me I've seen it)

Lets walk through the typical average fan's UNT gameday experience shall we:

Show up 30 mins before game (2 hrs if in fraternity)

Try to find some beer to drink

15 mins after the kickoff you get talked into coming in to the game to watch an opponent you have never heard of

You walk into a half empty stadium and decide that since there is room on the empty bleachers youre just going to lay down

You watch the game and when (if) we get a first down you scream 'thats good for another......' with about 2000 other fans

You start talking to people around you and socailizing a little and lose track of the game

Eventually something good happens and you hear people screaming and decide to do so yourself but not sure why

We score and everyone goes crazy while the cannon booms and the drunk guys in ties attempt to do pushups

Here comes the kickoff - the 3000 fans that know to raise their talens (and know what that is) do so. 1500 of those make some noise. 50 of those say 'gooooo mean green'

Maybe at some point during the game we can yell 'DEFENSE' - to get the crowd to pay attention

Then, as everyone anticipated here comes the neverending 'NORTH' Texas chant - AWESOME!

Now skip to the 4th quarter and we're down by 2 touchdowns but driving, the excitement builds and BAM we throw an interception - uh oh there goes 1000 fans right out the gates. As the opponent marches down, there goes the rest.

Game over we lost - Time to sing Glory to the Green - uh oh only 500 ppl know it so it gets a little awkward and even embarrassing to some (if we Won the game - substitute 'won' for 'lost')

Time to leave and get excited about the next home game

*actual numbers may vary

Im truly sorry for trying to pep this experience up a little bit and any toes I may have crushed in the process.

Very accurate post for the most part - but none of this is going to get fixed by you or on this message board. Winning is what makes sports in the DFW market unless you have a strong bond to your school that is developed outside of game day. I loved my time at NT, but since I had to butt heads with someone in almost every department and fight for graduation because some other douche in a group project decided to cheat, it took me a year or so to feel that desire to go back. So many people I talked to feel like some aspect of the university went out of there to screw them. They are trying to make this feel more like a college while you are on campus (I attended two schools so I have a baseline for this), but there is a lot of fraction in the culture to undo.

I think that if we were winning and not drawing fans, it would be time to have this conversation. Everytime we start winning or play a name opponent at home, people show.

We are at the mercy of the product on the field - just like almost every sports team in existence. There is not enough money to create a wheels off game day atmosphere yet, but if that is your goal, why not volunteer or donate money marked for that exact purpose?

Besides, we've got big thinking Rick V at the helm. Game day will take care of itself....

[Stan R]

Besides, we've got big thinking Rick V at the helm. Game day will take care of itself....

Are you being facetious or do you really have a beef with the way RV runs game day? I hope you are serious because prior to RV I can tell you the game day was a joke. No Joke.

[Daddy Dumpsalot]

In the reality of it all, fans can't do much to attract other fans, besides just bringing new fans you know yourself. There is not a group of 20 Sooner fans on their board debating how to get more fans to their games. It is the fans wanting to see the program and/or opponent that supplies the lure to games, not gimmicks.

This will be my 9th NT coach to watch. I am excited to see what the new coach can do. I think we'll see an increase in attendance because of him, and eventually a better level of play. But I also expect to be around to see what the 10th coach can do too. I don't come for gimmicks, or coaches, or administrators, or even for other fans (I will still attend after many of those have long left). I come to watch my school play. Be a fan of NT, that's all you need to do.

In all fairness NT80, you, me, and the rest of the ppl on here are not your typical fans and we couldn't fill 1% of the stadium if we could all show up. If we even brought 4 friends, a liberal # would be 1.5%. So while I admire your faithfulness there are 25,000 other seats to try to attract people to. I come to watch the games as well, but your Freshmen-Seniors and even some alumni come for an experience. And, how that gets displayed is whether people will come again or not and support.

I think establishing traditions is far from 'gimmicks'. You would not call the ATM yell practice, or the war eagle hey, or the War chant, a gimmick.

Traditions are not going to get started with 50 ppl holding up the eagle claw or yelling stuff. It's going to have to be an organized attempt. Hence, my suggestion of writing stuff on towels and giving them away. Everyone loves free stuff.

And the stuff about bouncing in the stands in anticipation for the drive. You're right it might be a little loud for our QB to read their rush defense. Give me a break! We better just wisper during our drives too so not to distract our players. BTW you will also see that no where in that post did I make mention of creating a ton of noise for our drives. So you say doesn't DUKE do this. Doesn't UT have a cannon and light their tower too? Almost all of our 'traditions' are done by other schools and they most asuredly did them before we did.

[greenminer]

I think establishing traditions is far from 'gimmicks'. You would not call the ATM yell practice, or the war eagle hey, or the War chant, a gimmick.

Traditions are not going to get started with 50 ppl holding up the eagle claw or yelling stuff. It's going to have to be an organized attempt. Hence, my suggestion of writing stuff on towels and giving them away. Everyone loves free stuff.

You could probably make a case that every tradition is gimmicky/high schoolish, but because everyone is into it and having fun...it stays.

The war chant is an exampe. It wasn't some huge effort to get the entire crowd into the game, or some administration scheming for new traditions. It started as a single organization (The Marching Chiefs) putting it together to have fun at an '80s Auburn game. Students around the band picked up on it (probably because the game was exciting, and FSU was fairly established...it probably helped that FSU was already a regular 8-game winner year in and out) and soon everyone joined in. And it stuck.

I dont think it mattered that this was a huge marching band, or if it started something with 10 people. It was just something that's catchy, visible and likeable to the fan, and happened when there was a winning product on the field.

If the War Hawk/chant was done to have fun and they were perennial 2-win/year losers with our UNT fan apathy, there would no doubt be some passionate FSU fan in the 80's rising up, calling them out to try to reinvent their wheel, state the War Hawk as gimmicky and high schoolish because nobody joined in, and his initials might have even been DD.

War Chant history

During a very exciting game with Auburn in 1984, the Marching Chiefs began to perform the cheer. Some students behind the band joined in and continued the "war chant" portion after the band had ceased. The result, which was not very melodic at the time, sounded more like chants by American Indians in Western movies. Most say it came from the fraternity section, but many spirited Seminole fans added the "chopping" motion, a repetitious bend at the elbow, to symbolize a tomahawk swinging down. The chant continued largely among the student body during the 1985 season, and by the 1986 season was a stadiumwide activity. Of course, the Marching Chiefs refined the chant, plus put its own special brand of accompaniment to the "war chant", and the result exists today.