McCarney implores fans, students to fill seats

[Harry]

North Texas head coach Dan McCarney and his players left little doubt Monday of just how important they believe their game Saturday against Middle Tennessee is to their hopes of posting the Mean Green’s first winning season since 2004.

The importance of that showdown with the Blue Raiders led McCarney to call for a big turnout from UNT’s students and fans in the Mean Green’s first home game since a win over Ball State on Sept. 14.

“I hope we have a great atmosphere,” McCarney said. “I got down on my knees and begged our fans and students to come back since I took the job. We have all kinds of recruits who come in on unofficial visits and a team that responds and reacts to our fans. Who wants to come in and play in front of three-quarters-empty stadiums, half-empty stadiums? I don’t, players don’t. Recruits don’t want to see that. They want to see support, they want to see energy, enthusiasm and passion. I think they will see that.”

UNT (2-3, 0-1 Conference USA) is 2-0 at Apogee Stadium this season and 9-4 overall at home under McCarney, who took over a program that was 1-16 at home in the three seasons prior to his arrival.

- See more at: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20131007-notebook-mccarney-implores-fans-students-to-fill-seats.ece#sthash.IqulgGWa.dpuf

[ragpicker]

Texas-OU weekend hurts with so many leaving for Dallas, but we could still get a good crowd with those that stay if we do some creative promotion-or ANY promotion for a change.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

MTSU being our old rival from the Sun Belt...helping us kick off our first C-USA home game...should help.

Maybe we should have marekted it in Austin. Tickets selling on their end of the Cotton Bowl are scalping for less than on the Oklahoma side: http://www.stubhub.com/red-river-shootout-tickets-oklahoma-vs-texas/texas-vs-oklahoma-10-12-2013-4184122/

At least if they are going to watch mid-major grade football, we could have invited them to the C-USun Belt grudge match between us and Middle Tennessee. Cheaper and less heartbreak for them.

[FirefightnRick]

Maybe this is where catering to the fanbase and creating an environment that puts the fans and the team and coaches on a more personal level BACK IN AUGUST would pay off?

Rick

[UNTLifer]

The TU/OU game is an excuse. That game starts at noon which is a full 6 hours prior to our game.

FFR, I might agree, but the Spring Game with the garage sale, announcement of the All-Century Team, etc... didn't fill the seats. Winning will create the demand and demand, outside of the faithful on here, will drive ticket sales, Mean Green Club donations, etc.... We need to string together a number of winning seasons to eradicate the losing mentality of the fanbase.

[untjim1995]

So what kind of attendance are we expecting for this game? With the myriad of easy excuses at hand, I predict 13k as the announced crowd.

[houstonmeangreen]

The TU/OU game is an excuse. That game starts at noon which is a full 6 hours prior to our game.

FFR, I might agree, but the Spring Game with the garage sale, announcement of the All-Century Team, etc... didn't fill the seats. Winning will create the demand and demand, outside of the faithful on here, will drive ticket sales, Mean Green Club donations, etc.... We need to string together a number of winning seasons to eradicate the losing mentality of the fanbase.

But most , I think , do the State Fair , or are too drunk, or just don't want to go to two games in one day...I can see that !! Now if your at home watching it on TV...then get to Apogee as fast as you can.

Edited October 10, 2013 by houstonmeangreen

[FirefightnRick]

FFR, I might agree, but the Spring Game with the garage sale, announcement of the All-Century Team, etc... didn't fill the seats. Winning will create the demand and demand, outside of the faithful on here, will drive ticket sales, Mean Green Club donations, etc.... We need to string together a number of winning seasons to eradicate the losing mentality of the fanbase.

But that was April without some of the new talent coming in and...l...... "sigh".... never mind.

Rick

Edited October 11, 2013 by FirefightnRick

[Hunter Green]

Just win, baby!

[PlummMeanGreen]

So what kind of attendance are we expecting for this game? With the myriad of easy excuses at hand, I predict 13k as the announced crowd.

Have no idea what we draw this Saturday but.............23 years ago this very weekend in a dump of a football stadium called Fouts Field we drew close to 23,000 (in a 20K seat stadium) for a game that didn't have "gotta win this one to have a real chance for a minimum .500 season and/or a bowl game" ramifications written all over it as our game with the MUTS has now

. Hmmm.............23 years ago this weekend? Really haven't grown our fan base too much in 23 years now have we? (And none of that Coach McCarney's fault, either). I'd offer one major reason as to why we haven't but I think we've covered that subject quite thoroughly most all this week on GMG.com. LOL!

And of course, 23 years ago we were still classified NCAA D1-AA, too.

GMG!

Edited October 11, 2013 by PlummMeanGreen

[UNTLifer]

Family weekend always draws well. 20k+

[Green Crazy]

then factor in the possibility of rain. I always go in optimistically, but the crowd at 5 minutes to kickoff kicks me in my optimistic nuts.

[KRAM1]

Anyone who claims to be a UNT fan and then goes to the OU-TX game or stays home to watch that game (or any other for that matter) is really not a UNT fan. No fan goes to another school's game and bypasses their own game given that they are in the proximity of the game. Not talking about those in distant areas...mainly focusing on the DFW area and surrounding counties.

Talk about the definition of a fair weather fan (no pun intended)... That would be the classic example.

Now, would folks with no real connection with either of the schools and just looking for a college game to attend..well, that's a different matter, and the OU-TX game could win out in that case...if they could get a ticket of course and wanted to fight the game and fair traffic.

[BadKarma]

Why would anyone want to go and watch the longhorn slaughter at a dump in the middle of a cesspool?

[UNT90]

Family weekend use to draw well. 14k

Fixed.

I think we are seeing a declining interest due to an impatience with losing.

Hope I'm wrong.