Rick Gosselin (DMN) Article on North Texas

[KRAM1]

The DFW media has ALWAYS been ready to embrace UNT athletics. Hell, half of them are UNT grads. UNT just hasn't given them any reason for such an embrace. They have actually done the program a favor by ignoring it's failures (a favor I wish they wouldn't do).

Give them a reason to talk about us, and they will talk about us a lot more than they do about SMU or TCU.

We just haven't given them that reason.

Well, how about the fact they are UNT grads? Should be enough to at least mention UNT from time to time. Heck, some of the local media grads act as if they are not grads at all. I remind folks tat SMU was getting coverage from these folks even when they couldn't beat Denton High on a good night.

Really happy to see this article. Perhaps the tide really is starting to turn in favor of the Mean Green. Really nice article.

[Chief Rising Eagle]

The tide is indeed turning, my friends. The clues are appearing everywhere.

[VideoEagle]

The best part......UNT is on the front page of the sports with the 2 largest pictures.

smu is on the bottom of page 9, no picture, and the headline is "SMU numbers not adding up."

Why does this matter? What SMU does or doesn't do really doesn't affect NT at all. We need to stop spending so much time and energy comparing ourselves to SMU. Or TCU either but we don't seem to do nearly as much of that. When we play them, THEN it will matter. Right now La Tech matters a whole lot more than SMU.

[UNT90]

Well, how about the fact they are UNT grads? Should be enough to at least mention UNT from time to time. Heck, some of the local media grads act as if they are not grads at all. I remind folks tat SMU was getting coverage from these folks even when they couldn't beat Denton High on a good night.

Really happy to see this article. Perhaps the tide really is starting to turn in favor of the Mean Green. Really nice article.

Perhaps because they are just like us and don't want to constantly hear from grads of other programs that they work with about how bad UNT sucks?

Perhaps the headline "Breaking news! UNT still terrible" doesn't make for good journalism?

Give them a reason and get outta the way. We have yet to do that.

I'm shocked they are still willing after last basketball season.

Edited October 16, 2013 by UNT90

[MeanGreenTexan]

Why does this matter? What SMU does or doesn't do really doesn't affect NT at all. We need to stop spending so much time and energy comparing ourselves to SMU. Or TCU either but we don't seem to do nearly as much of that. When we play them, THEN it will matter. Right now La Tech matters a whole lot more than SMU.

well, newspaper coverage probably doesn't mean a whole lot to the people it matters to, but it does matter.

We directly compete with SMU for fans & recruits. They are a peer institution when it comes to athletics. TCU has climbed the ladder to the Big 12 and are now on a different plane. Whenever we're made to look better than SMU by media, it is noteworthy, and is a good thing... even in the midst of a game week against a conference foe.

[meangreener]

We're definitely on the rise and about to blow up. Really awesome to witness it.

[FirefightnRick]

I know I've seen that picture of the crowd at the NMSU game before - it was horrible. Does anybody have that photo?

Here's one I have of that game. That's the students in the back. Of course, the 187 is an exaggeration but it was a poor turnout for sure.

Rick

[meangreener]

Here's one I have of that game. That's the students in the back. Of course, the 187 is an exaggeration but it was a poor turnout for sure.

Rick

Wow.

Just, wow.

We've really made some serious strides, haven't we?

Edited October 17, 2013 by meangreener

[bstnsportsfan3]

and not a single student wearing green.....shameful

[casual fan]

and not a single student wearing green.....shameful

You assumed they were our students. Look at the two white caps on the guys in the stands. Now look at the cap of the coach standing on the sideline at the far right.

It's hard to have home field advantage when you are outnumbered.

[adman]

You assumed they were our students. Look at the two white caps on the guys in the stands. Now look at the cap of the coach standing on the sideline at the far right.

It's hard to have home field advantage when you are outnumbered.

yeah, even the stinking ref is wearing a white cap....

[casual fan]

yeah, even the stinking ref is wearing a white cap....

+1

No wonder we could never catch a break.

[FirefightnRick]

That big # 78 is gmg.com's Ol' Green Guts btw.

Rick

[HoustonEagle]

Definitely our worst helmet.

Edited October 17, 2013 by HoustonEagle

[emmitt01]

Here's one I have of that game. That's the students in the back. Of course, the 187 is an exaggeration but it was a poor turnout for sure.

Rick

On this play Ja'Quay Wilburn is about to get the ball. No, I don't remember the exact play...but trust me he is.

[CMJ]

I seem to recall we had to hold on for dear life at the end of that game.

Wilburn had like 200 years.

[meangreener]

What's incredible no matter our attendance is how we've gotten everyone wear green.

[Cerebus]

I seem to recall we had to hold on for dear life at the end of that game.

Wilburn had like 200 years.

I sat in my own section. I was literally (not figuratively... literally) the only person in my section. There was a guy sitting a section over with his girlfriend and whenever the team did anything good we would run across the metal bleachers just to high five each other.

ETA: Ja'Quay Wilburn's younger brother (Jorrian Wilson) set all sorts of records at Permian but we didn't recruit him last year for some reason. Don't feel too bad for him, he was academically accepted at Harvard and he plans to play football there.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Cerebus

[CMJ]

I sat in my own section. I was literally (not figuratively... literally) the only person in my section. There was a guy sitting a section over with his girlfriend and whenever the team did anything good we would run across the metal bleachers just to high five each other.

I was in the bottom left section by the "tunnel" the players came out of (that's where the Talons who weren't on Cannon Crew or running the flags sat back then). I think there were probably about ten of us, and a couple with their kid about 3 rows above. And that was it for the whole section.

[MeanGreenDadx2]

Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal.

Good marketing can fix it. Repackage it and call it bacon.

[greenminer]

SMU officials for the recount

[untjim1995]

Perhaps because they are just like us and don't want to constantly hear from grads of other programs that they work with about how bad UNT sucks?

Perhaps the headline "Breaking news! UNT still terrible" doesn't make for good journalism?

Give them a reason and get outta the way. We have yet to do that.

I'm shocked they are still willing after last basketball season.

I love college basketball even more than college football, but the reality is that absolutely no one in this state cares about college basketball unless they are going to be in the tournament from the Big XII. UNTs debacle last season in basketball was awful, for sure, but no one in the media reports on college basketball that much because very few care about the sport the way I do and a few others on this site do.

[GrayEagle]

My recollection regarding attendance is a little different than most.

Since our return to Division 1A we've only had one season where we averaged less than 14K which, while not great, wasn't terrible in relation to other Big West and Sun Belt schools. The one really bad year (98 or 99) we only averaged a little over 10 thousand (after averaging 19,000+ the previous year). A small crowd was usually eight thousand at the beginning. I say at the beginning because people were disgruntled with 'Dickey Ball' and would leave at halftime in protest so that by the fourth quarter there were often a thousand or less who could endure that kind of torture. Remember, Darrell Dickey didn't have a winning season until 2002 and that only lasted three years. That was followed by seven losing years yet we averaged at least 15 thousand every year. North Texas is one of a handful of "marginal attendance" FBS schools that has not failed to average 15K since the 17,000 figure was lowered to that amount.

Don't get me wrong. I am as appalled by our poor attendance as anyone and firmly believe that there should be a special promotion for every game until we reach 90% stadium capacity consistently. Pre-Fouts our average attendance was greater than the enrollment at North Texas. I don't expect that again but the point is that North Texas has supported its athletic teams in the past and can again.

[meangreener]

My recollection regarding attendance is a little different than most.

Since our return to Division 1A we've only had one season where we averaged less than 14K which, while not great, wasn't terrible in relation to other Big West and Sun Belt schools. The one really bad year (98 or 99) we only averaged a little over 10 thousand (after averaging 19,000+ the previous year). A small crowd was usually eight thousand at the beginning. I say at the beginning because people were disgruntled with 'Dickey Ball' and would leave at halftime in protest so that by the fourth quarter there were often a thousand or less who could endure that kind of torture. Remember, Darrell Dickey didn't have a winning season until 2002 and that only lasted three years. That was followed by seven losing years yet we averaged at least 15 thousand every year. North Texas is one of a handful of "marginal attendance" FBS schools that has not failed to average 15K since the 17,000 figure was lowered to that amount.

Don't get me wrong. I am as appalled by our poor attendance as anyone and firmly believe that there should be a special promotion for every game until we reach 90% stadium capacity consistently. Pre-Fouts our average attendance was greater than the enrollment at North Texas. I don't expect that again but the point is that North Texas has supported its athletic teams in the past and can again.

I agree. Compared to other schools in our position, our attendance really isn't god awful. We need to be better. Far better. But still.

Everyone also loves to say that attendance was weak during the Fry years but we were much smaller back then.

[PlummMeanGreen]

I agree. Compared to other schools in our position, our attendance really isn't god awful. We need to be better. Far better. But still.

Everyone also loves to say that attendance was weak during the Fry years but we were much smaller back then.

And Gray Eagle posted: Don't get me wrong. I am as appalled by our poor attendance as anyone and firmly believe that there should be a special promotion for every game until we reach 90% stadium capacity consistently.

A Response:

Jack, I look forward to the day we don't have attendance threads (unless we're bragging about how we now have to expand Apogee because we've had 20 sellouts in a row) but until then and..............because of our DFW location, we will have to have (as you call it) special promotions each Game Day at North Texas even when we're winning because...........................................of our location in the DFW Metroplex.

Fry's AD successor at UNT Andy Everest once told several of us.........'If North Texas were only located 30 more miles north (Gainsville era) we would not have to lose so many students who merely go home or choose among about 1,000 other weekend event options in DFW."

_________

2 Eras of Mean Green Football:

1973

City of Denton...........39,000

Denton County..........99,000

UNT..........................17,000

2013

City of Denton...........120,000

Denton County..........770,000

UNT..............................37,000

_________

Fooled around with a lesser version of Photo Shop and came up with a True Texican MG poster idea on my Facebook page so.....................This.... or

If any comments please keep them nice & civil. I have a lot of family/relatives who read my page. Thanks in advance.

https://www.facebook.com/SoundworkS.DeeJay?ref=tn_tnmn

Edited October 17, 2013 by PlummMeanGreen