What I Don't Understand

[SilverEagle]

I know you get less selective as you get older, and you have a few years on me... but we didn't get Jennifer Aniston, we got Shelley Duvall.

....and for you (much) younger graduates, we got Ugly Betty.

[UNT90]

Dude, the people complaining here...it's amazing.

We complained about the coaching - a new one was hired

We complained about the stadium - a new one was delivered

We complained about attendance - a new record was set

We complained about parking and walking - a bridge over the freaking highway was built

We complained about tailgating - a nice hill and alumni center were provided

We complained about uniforms - they were changed back to Green, and this year we had TWO additional special uniforms, a throwback and a black

We complained about the wide receivers' playmaking ability beyond Brelan Chancellor - the receivers stepped it up

We complained about the size and depth of the defensive line - the defensive line stepped it up

We complained about the quarterbacking - the quarterback broke almost every I-A/FBS passing record in the school's record book

Now, we are going bowl for the first time in nine years...and, all people want to do is complain about the opponent?

Good grief!

As I've said before, it would surprise me 0% if either McCarney or Villareal left this place. Rick, who I openly criticized in the past, just as much as everyone else, has more than answered the bell. And, so have McCarney. Both have far exceeded anything I ever dreamed of for this program.

And, look, sue me for not dreaming of us being national title contenders yet. What I wanted was better facilities, better coaching, and a competitive mid-major program. We now have all that. The bounty will increase in time.

But, for pete's sake, just be happy right now for what we have! I mean, we are in a New Year's Day bowl game, for crying out loud!

(It was hard for me not to cuss while typing this...but, I'm starting my New Year's resolution to cuss less early.)

I think what takes the cake is complaining about complaining...

[flyonthewall]

Dude, the people complaining here...it's amazing.

We complained about the coaching - a new one was hired

We complained about the stadium - a new one was delivered

We complained about attendance - a new record was set

We complained about parking and walking - a bridge over the freaking highway was built

We complained about tailgating - a nice hill and alumni center were provided

We complained about uniforms - they were changed back to Green, and this year we had TWO additional special uniforms, a throwback and a black

We complained about the wide receivers' playmaking ability beyond Brelan Chancellor - the receivers stepped it up

We complained about the size and depth of the defensive line - the defensive line stepped it up

We complained about the quarterbacking - the quarterback broke almost every I-A/FBS passing record in the school's record book

Now, we are going bowl for the first time in nine years...and, all people want to do is complain about the opponent?

Good grief!

As I've said before, it would surprise me 0% if either McCarney or Villareal left this place. Rick, who I openly criticized in the past, just as much as everyone else, has more than answered the bell. And, so have McCarney. Both have far exceeded anything I ever dreamed of for this program.

And, look, sue me for not dreaming of us being national title contenders yet. What I wanted was better facilities, better coaching, and a competitive mid-major program. We now have all that. The bounty will increase in time.

But, for pete's sake, just be happy right now for what we have! I mean, we are in a New Year's Day bowl game, for crying out loud!

(It was hard for me not to cuss while typing this...but, I'm starting my New Year's resolution to cuss less early.)

And And And

We have a chance to hang a banner in the new stadium that says "2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl Champions". I will trade that this year for Michigan or Boston College or Syracuse. As we stay competitive we will get better named opponents, but we have to earn that.

Future recruits will see that banner "Bowl Champions", they will not remember who we played.

[SilverEagle]

Dude, the people complaining here...it's amazing.

We complained about the coaching - a new one was hired

We complained about the stadium - a new one was delivered

We complained about attendance - a new record was set

We complained about parking and walking - a bridge over the freaking highway was built

We complained about tailgating - a nice hill and alumni center were provided

We complained about uniforms - they were changed back to Green, and this year we had TWO additional special uniforms, a throwback and a black

We complained about the wide receivers' playmaking ability beyond Brelan Chancellor - the receivers stepped it up

We complained about the size and depth of the defensive line - the defensive line stepped it up

We complained about the quarterbacking - the quarterback broke almost every I-A/FBS passing record in the school's record book

Now, we are going bowl for the first time in nine years...and, all people want to do is complain about the opponent?

Good grief!

As I've said before, it would surprise me 0% if either McCarney or Villareal left this place. Rick, who I openly criticized in the past, just as much as everyone else, has more than answered the bell. And, so have McCarney. Both have far exceeded anything I ever dreamed of for this program.

And, look, sue me for not dreaming of us being national title contenders yet. What I wanted was better facilities, better coaching, and a competitive mid-major program. We now have all that. The bounty will increase in time.

But, for pete's sake, just be happy right now for what we have! I mean, we are in a New Year's Day bowl game, for crying out loud!

(It was hard for me not to cuss while typing this...but, I'm starting my New Year's resolution to cuss less early.)

If giving feedback about services rendered is complaining, then all those solicitations to "rate" a company's performance (anywhere from buying milk at Albertson's to buying a car from your local dealer) on-line should be called "complain and bitch about us on-line". But they are not. They are called "feed-back". More than anything they want to be rated a 10. And if you can't rate them a 10, then they want to hear what they could have done better for you. And in asking you to do that, they never say the word "complain" or "bitch".

If, in your mind, the athletic department should always get a "10" from us regardless of how crappy their performance is, then how is it that we are ever going to get better service and/or decision making from our athletic department? I realize that the athletic department does not make the final decision about our opponent, but they need as much "feedback" as they can get from the fans.

Maybe you're too polite to give honest feedback. But when someone tries to feed me "pasture patties" and tries to tell me it's chicken fried steak, I'm NOT going to make yummy noises and say "mmmmmm this is some great Chicken Fried Steak". Instead, I'm going to pass up the "steak" and just eat the mashed potatoes and green beans....and rolls. Which, by buying two tickets to this game, is exactly what I did.

[MeanGreenTexan]

If giving feedback about services rendered is complaining, then all those solicitations to "rate" a company's performance (anywhere from buying milk at Albertson's to buying a car from your local dealer) on-line should be called "complain and bitch about us on-line". But they are not. They are called "feed-back". More than anything they want to be rated a 10. And if you can't rate them a 10, then they want to hear what they could have done better for you. And in asking you to do that, they never say the word "complain" or "bitch".

If, in your mind, the athletic department should always get a "10" from us regardless of how crappy their performance is, then how is it that we are ever going to get better service and/or decision making from our athletic department? I realize that the athletic department does not make the final decision about our opponent, but they need as much "feedback" as they can get from the fans.

Maybe you're too polite to give honest feedback. But when someone tries to feed me "pasture patties" and tries to tell me it's chicken fried steak, I'm NOT going to make yummy noises and say "mmmmmm this is some great Chicken Fried Steak". Instead, I'm going to pass up the "steak" and just eat the mashed potatoes and green beans....and rolls. Which, by buying two tickets to this game, is exactly what I did.

I guess I'm confused.

Are you saying that the Athletic Department deserves negative (maybe you prefer to call it "constructive") feedback about our bowl opponent?

[JesseMartin]

If you guys look at the bowl schedule, there are some good matchups and some less exciting ones...but there are also quite a few non-AQ teams set up to be sacrificial lambs (unless they rise to the occasion and upset a much, much better team). So though it would be great to have Michigan in a down year, or maybe BC...at least we aren't being fed to the wolves like some of the other Go5 teams.

[foutsrouts]

I think what takes the cake is complaining about complaining...

It's certainly the most irritating.

[foutsrouts]

TFLF and OGS: Enjoy mixing with those 800 UNLV fans!

This isn't communist Russia, people can express their opinions without the grim censor of the party groupthink shaming them.

I love that we are in the HOD bowl, I will be dragging as many people with me as possible. Doesn't mean I wouldn't have rather played someone who could bring 10-20,000 fans of their own and made the game an easier sell to those I want to bring.

If no one ever complained and there was no one here but cheerleaders, this board would be so boring that even the cheerleaders would stop posting and go away. Without something to argue about you've got nothing but our old friend Mister Apathy.

[UNT90]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/ranking-bowl-games-1-35-045900052--ncaaf.html

It's not even publicity like this that is the problem.

The problem is this link was sent to me by a person I was trying to entice to attend. He politely refused then sent me this link.

This opponent hurts. But it's still a great local bowl game that will be tons of fun.

[3XL]

TFLF and OGS: Enjoy mixing with those 800 UNLV fans!

This isn't communist Russia, people can express their opinions without the grim censor of the party groupthink shaming them.

Cerebus - please tap the brakes on all the Commie talk? you're wearing my a#s out...

...the Cold War is over...man! ...and we won!!!!!!

this is a sports forum...maybe you should look into joining a Doom Forum, Tactical Strike Gear Forum or some sort of Trench-Coat wearing Forum.

Edited December 9, 2013 by 3XL

[PlummMeanGreen]

No one I know is complaining about our coach or the team, either. They have done their job, albeit we did have a HFC who (like many of us) was disappointed with some regular season games turnstile numbers. Look folks, before Fry came to student Dan McCarney's University of Iowa they had had 20 losing seasons in a row with sellouts at each game during that span of time (if I recall Fry's story on all that). That alone clinched it for Fry to take the Hawkeye job.

Many of us old gun alums just think that had we taken care of business the last umpteen years beginning with season ticket sales of which if you haven't notice UTSA, Old Dominion & Charlotte all 3 now dwarf our own totals. Newbies doing all that while we plod along like a plow mule in this our 100'th year of playing football? Not good--how could anyone explain otherwise?

if those whose job description has something to do with ticket sales up there had sold tickets with increasing numbers commensurate with our enrollment and population growth annually, then there wouldn't be what seems a dire expression "IT'S ON YOUR BACK NOW OR ELSE WE FAIL" aimed toward our fans and alums; that is, all of us who already show up at games All that represents to some of us is a department that hasn't been doing their job the past years. Chicken have come home to roost? (One has to wonder had Coach Mac had a 3 or 4 win team this Fall how much scurrying around there would have been in the UNT Athletic Department since he's now the main Hoss whose coattails many over there are riding on in order to keep some of their respective jobs). If an NCAA FBS program doesn't have wins and significant numbers of fans--then just what does it have?

Had we been developing new fans, ie, the casuals and borderliners even just the years we've been at Apogee, then selling $75 dollar tickets this week would not have been near as difficult. As it is, we have a rather lengthy cold calling list to get the fans we really need for this bowl game.

STILL.....This HOD Bowl Thing Can Work With A Smile From Lady Luck & "IF"........ The UNT Students Show Up Along With First Time/Long Time UNT Alums In Dallas-Fort Worth Who Show Up At The Cotton Bowl Stadium Ticket Windows With $75 Dollars In Hand On New Years Day:

Yes, there is still a good chance for the HOD Bowl game to draw a good crowd, but much of that will be based on "day of game" walk-up ticket sales--much like we have to have at Apogee truth be told.

North Texas would be wise to get the HOD Bowl folks to give us a few ticket windows exclusive to North Texas fans so they can buy their tickets to sit with the rest of us.

Still................Cerebus is spot on in his above post....IMO.

Edited December 9, 2013 by PlummMeanGreen

[Got5onIt]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/ranking-bowl-games-1-35-045900052--ncaaf.html

It's not even publicity like this that is the problem.

The problem is this link was sent to me by a person I was trying to entice to attend. He politely refused then sent me this link.

This opponent hurts. But it's still a great local bowl game that will be tons of fun.

This ranking wouldn't be that much better even with a lower rung B10 school as the opponent.

[Cerebus]

Not sure why that's an insult, but I'm sure I'll run into some fine people from Nevada.

Where they are from isn't the point of what I said, the fact that there will be few of them is. I expect a Cincinatti @ NOB level turnout.

In this particular case, I just see no reason to complain. I just don't. I bought a ticket, I'm going to Dallas, I've never been in the cotton bowl, and I'm going to enjoy myself regardless of what ESPN, The Dallas Morning News, or the popped collars on mockingbird have to say about it.

So will I, so will almost everyone else on this board. It would have been even better if 10-20k alumni who WEREN'T die hards would have heard about us taking on a B10 team and decided to head out to see that. Some of those disconnected alumni will turn out for the NOB themselves, but UNLV as an opponent won't bring anyone on name recognition.

[Cerebus]

Oh OK, we are going to go straight to name calling and insults, awesome. I never said you couldn't express your opinion.

I called you a commie and then posted a picture of George Washington fighting zombies. It was all tongue in cheek. This is the internet.

The people complaining about the bowl opponent are mad at the situation, not the people perfectly happy the bowl. That is the main difference, the people who are complaining about the complainers are tasking shots at fellow North Texas die hards. Of course people are going to get defensive about that.

[CMJ]

This ranking wouldn't be that much better even with a lower rung B10 school as the opponent.

Bingo...I think last year's contest was around the same spot...and that had 2 auto qualifier schools.

[GrayEagle]

Honest criticism is good unless it's all you do; then it can get tiresome.

If you are disappointed that we did not have a Big Ten opponent, you certainly have a right to complain. Also, get ready for next year because it's highly doubtful that the HOD Bowl will have a Big XII opponent either. It's #7 or #8 on the Big 12's list of commitments. So let's just be thankful for what we have.

UNLV might be far down on the list of opponents that you'd like to see but it's at the top of mine. I'd like to have payback for my road trip to hell. Back in 2000 (I believe it was) my wife and I went on a charter trip to Las Vegas to see us play UNLV. The flight was about the only good thing that happened to us. We lost a couple of hundred in the casino, my wife caught a 24-hour virus while there, complete with vomiting and dehydration, and we got the crap beat out of us at the game. Worse than that, it happened during the game and I spent the last half down at the first aid station and in an ambulance, followed by a few hours in an emergency room. More $$$ down the drain. I'll never forget that trip but I can get some measure of satisfaction if we return the favor.

[GreenBat]

Why do people think that NT has earned a Big 10, ACC or Big 12 opponent? Hey I'm happy that NT was not among the schools left at home. This fan base does not deserve to go to a Bowl game. Especially one that's in its backyard. This football team deserves a fan base that supports it and does not bitch. Why would you cheer any less for Zach Orr hitting the UNLV QB than if he hit an Iowa QB? Would it excite you more if Brelan Chancelor returns a punt for a TD against Syracuse than against UNLV? Be Happy with the crumpled $100 bill.

[Cerebus]

Why do people think that NT has earned a Big 10, ACC or Big 12 opponent?

Because we were invited to a bowl game whose host for the four year contract was a B10 team? Because the bowl had always gotten a B10 team before? Because a B10 team had played a CUSA team previously in this bowl? Because until NIU lost and MSU kept winning all the forecasts had a B10 team here? Because even despite placing two teams in AQ bowls if Sandusky had kept his hands to himself Penn St would have been eligible and we would have had a B10 opponent this year?

Any of those really.

EDIT:

Also, stop living in a porcelain tower. WE won't care if Zach Orr is hitting the UNLV QB instead of Iowa, but those couple hundred thousand alumns that don't follow Mean Green football, BECAUSE THE UNIVERSITY IGNORED ATHLETICS FOR SO LONG, will care.

This is a great team, I am not sure what they deserve, but they do deserve better than what has shown up to see them, but that is a moot point. This University for decades ignored athletics and I am frankly amazed 20k people showed up this year with our past history.

Edited December 9, 2013 by Cerebus

[RaiderEagle]

Excellent post! I agree, if you win enough the recruiting will improve and I think UNT has a lot to offer recruits if they can just get them to take a visit.

I have a somewhat unique perspective on UNT, I think. I received my bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech and then almost a decade later received my MBA from UNT. When I arrived at UNT I didn’t know exactly what to expect in terms of the student body, the campus, the athletic facilities or even the city of Denton. After a few weeks of attending classes I began to think very highly of all those things. The location alone is about as perfect as any school could hope for when recruiting football. The proximity to DFW is perfect and unlike the schools in Dallas and Ft. Worth, Denton has an awesome “college town” vibe that any 18 year old kid should be drawn to. I think if UNT does what you suggest and schedule teams they are fairly certain to beat they will start to see the caliber of recruit increase. I don’t see any reason the Mean Green can’t become a Boise State type program if the cards are played right.

What I don't get is how many on this board can talk about how challenging its been to be a Mean Green fan for so many years, and now we have 1 winning season and a bowl game and suddenly we can look down on some programs.

News flash, we aren't above anyone at this point. I have four letters for you if you think we are - UTSA.

Getting a big program to come in and kick our ass in a the bowl game would have gotten alot of pub, and would be bad for recruiting. If you were around for the early 2000's you had to have learned one thing - winning is better for a program than anything else, regardless of who you are beating. I saw our fan base grow exponentially through those years and alot of them stuck around now through these many losing years since then. We need to follow the K State model from many years ago, win alot first, then worry about upgrading the opponents when you have recruited the talent and depth to do so

You may not want to hear it, but news flash, UNLV is more of a national program than we are. We had quite a few on here look down on UTSA and they handed us our ass at our place.

Quit whining, quit thinking we are above anyone at this point, and quit making North Texas look like a bunch of amateurs.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Because we were invited to a bowl game whose host for the four year contract was a B10 team? Because the bowl had always gotten a B10 team before? Because a B10 team had played a CUSA team previously in this bowl? Because until NIU lost and MSU kept winning all the forecasts had a B10 team here? Because even despite placing two teams in AQ bowls if Sandusky had kept his hands to himself Penn St would have been eligible and we would have had a B10 opponent this year?

Any of those really.

EDIT:

Also, stop living in a porcelain tower. WE won't care if Zach Orr is hitting the UNLV QB instead of Iowa, but those couple hundred thousand alumns that don't follow Mean Green football, BECAUSE THE UNIVERSITY IGNORED ATHLETICS FOR SO LONG, will care.

This is a great team, I am not sure what they deserve, but they do deserve better than what has shown up to see them, but that is a moot point. This University for decades ignored athletics and I am frankly amazed 20k people showed up this year with our past history.

I think your argument is being mis-understood greatly. I understand what you're saying, and I agree. But it's best to just back away... that's what I do.

[southsideguy]

I am sure UNLV is feeling the same way about us. They want to play a big name school.

[3XL]

EDIT:

Also, stop living in a porcelain tower.

Carebear - stop living in your hardened delusional bunker of entitlement. Perception is reality. We are an 8-4 mid-major that many outside of our 400 mile radius have never heard of. We didn't win C-USA...we didn't win the west & we got "spanked" at home by UTSA.

Let's take what we earned...try not to cry like little babies...be excited...beat UNLV...then keep moving forward.

these are good times Green People...

GMG!

Edited December 10, 2013 by 3XL

[GreenBat]

Carebear - stop living in your hardened delusional bunker of entitlement. Perception is reality. We are an 8-4 mid-major that many outside of our 400 mile radius have never heard of. Remeber...we got "spanked" at home by UTSA.

Let's take what we earned...try not to cry like little babies...be excited...beat UNLV...then keep moving forward.

these are good times Green People...

GMG!

Holy Shit. Somebody actually gets what I'm trying to say.

[SilverEagle]

I guess I'm confused.

Are you saying that the Athletic Department deserves negative (maybe you prefer to call it "constructive") feedback about our bowl opponent?

They certainly need feedback. Otherwise, they might think that we as a fan base will always accept/tolerate any sort of crap that anyone wants to feed us....and try to tell us it's chicken fried steak.

[foutsrouts]

I am sure UNLV is feeling the same way about us. They want to play a big name school.

I have no problem with the opponent, but I do hate the idea of our guys playing in front of 25k instead of the 45k that a couple of our potential Big 10 opponents might have drawn. It is what it is and all we can do is our best to get the crowd out. I just hope the weather cooperates, because my last two Cotton Bowl bowl experiences were freakin' colder than this weekends weather.