University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (11/20/17)

[Cooley]

On 11/20/2017 at 9:10 PM, DeepGreen said:

Have to say I’m really disappointed in losing this game.  Losing at home to a team I have no idea where they are located???  The season is early, but c’mon man.

SMU takes this team down 95-64 tonight.

[Army of Dad]

On 11/20/2017 at 9:42 PM, Andrew said:

Anyone know if Army of Dad still goes to the games still? He has been in the same seats for atleast a decade (I think), but I haven’t seen him this year yet. I also haven’t seen him on the boards in almost a year. @Army of Dad you still out there?

Basically, no I'm not.

Retaining Benford for five full years was the straw that broke this fan's back.

No school that takes it's athletics seriously would do something that foolish. When combined with the decades of evidence that shows UNT (as a whole-alumni, AD, administration) doesn't care as much as I did about North Texas winning it was time for me to step away and funnel my time and money into other pursuits.

I still drop by GMG from time to time, but I have no desire or plans to attend games anymore. 

[GMG24]

34 minutes ago, Army of Dad said:

Basically, no I'm not.

Retaining Benford for five full years was the straw that broke this fan's back.

No school that takes it's athletics seriously would do something that foolish. When combined with the decades of evidence that shows UNT (as a whole-alumni, AD, administration) doesn't care as much as I did about North Texas winning it was time for me to step away and funnel my time and money into other pursuits.

I still drop by GMG from time to time, but I have no desire or plans to attend games anymore. 

you should check mens team out, finally play some defense and play hard.  shooters need to be more consistent but team is fun to watch finally. 

[Andrew]

2 hours ago, Army of Dad said:

Basically, no I'm not.

Retaining Benford for five full years was the straw that broke this fan's back.

No school that takes it's athletics seriously would do something that foolish. When combined with the decades of evidence that shows UNT (as a whole-alumni, AD, administration) doesn't care as much as I did about North Texas winning it was time for me to step away and funnel my time and money into other pursuits.

I still drop by GMG from time to time, but I have no desire or plans to attend games anymore. 

The team plays hard and the timing may have been perfect to land McCasland who can coach!

Edited January 8, 2018 by Andrew

[MCMLXXX]

Just this morning an alum who attended a few games during the Jones era, and never bothered with Benford,told me he had taped the Georgetown game and just got around watching it. He grew up in northern Va and went to a lot of Big East and ACC games in his youth. He said we finally have someone who knows how to coach (he said neither Trilli or Jones or Benford could coach) and he is coming back.

[GrandGreen]

3 hours ago, Army of Dad said:

Basically, no I'm not.

Retaining Benford for five full years was the straw that broke this fan's back.

No school that takes it's athletics seriously would do something that foolish. When combined with the decades of evidence that shows UNT (as a whole-alumni, AD, administration) doesn't care as much as I did about North Texas winning it was time for me to step away and funnel my time and money into other pursuits.

I still drop by GMG from time to time, but I have no desire or plans to attend games anymore. 

No one can make anyone be a fan, but I really don't understand your view.  

If you were a fan in the past, why let a questionable decision to allow Benford an extra year deprive you of seeing the best NT basketball in decades.    No the team isn't yet as good as some of Jones' best, but McCasland is a far superior coach than Jones.   You are also not likely to see any team consistently play any harder. 

If you like NT and college basketball, I don't understand a boycott against a program that is currently doing almost everything right.   

I assume you are not a football fan because you had to quit when Dodge was hired or McCarney given an contract extension.  Both of those bad decisions dwarf how many years Benford was allowed.     Even worse was the hiring of RV and allowing him a 15 year career with NT.   

[Green Lantern]

8 hours ago, Army of Dad said:

Basically, no I'm not.

Retaining Benford for five full years was the straw that broke this fan's back.

No school that takes it's athletics seriously would do something that foolish. When combined with the decades of evidence that shows UNT (as a whole-alumni, AD, administration) doesn't care as much as I did about North Texas winning it was time for me to step away and funnel my time and money into other pursuits.

I still drop by GMG from time to time, but I have no desire or plans to attend games anymore. 

Sucks that it killed your enthusiasm to this point.

As others have pointed out, Grant’s team plays extremely hard.  Think you’d really enjoy this brand of basketball. It’s a great pallet cleanser after the Benford era.

I renewed season tickets this year after not doing the last three. I travel a bunch for work and can’t make every game. If you ever want to try this team out without investment on your end, let me know. Be happy to hook you up with tickets so you can see for yourself what we’re all talking about. This team is a ton of fun to watch and Grant is an excellent coach.

[Harry]

9 hours ago, Army of Dad said:

Basically, no I'm not.

Retaining Benford for five full years was the straw that broke this fan's back.

No school that takes it's athletics seriously would do something that foolish. When combined with the decades of evidence that shows UNT (as a whole-alumni, AD, administration) doesn't care as much as I did about North Texas winning it was time for me to step away and funnel my time and money into other pursuits.

I still drop by GMG from time to time, but I have no desire or plans to attend games anymore. 

Good to hear from you.  Miss having you at games.  What do you guys do with your free non North Texas time these days?  Hopefully something fun.  

[MeanGreenHoops]

Interesting thoughts. I'm basically the same as Army of Dad.

For me, it actually had to do more with removing my emotional attachment to it since it was painful. Maybe lame. But it happened to me. I think it also happens to a lot of folks you see on here over time. I don't think I went crazy and started just spewing hate on here about everything the school is doing, however my investment in the program now is no longer emotional. That means I no longer feel obligated to go.

That doesn't mean I won't go again, it just means I will probably wait until there is more reason than they don't suck anymore.

[TreeFiddy]

Benford’s last season was going to be a lost season anyway. There were lots of things in play, including still paying off the McCarney contract. 

If by waiting it meant that we were able to get McCasland, keep Woolridge, Lawson, and Simmons from leaving then it doesn’t seem all bad. 

The comments claiming that waiting proves that the university isn’t serious about sports seems misguided. 

[MeanGreenHoops]

3 hours ago, TreeFiddy said:

Benford’s last season was going to be a lost season anyway. There were lots of things in play, including still paying off the McCarney contract. 

If by waiting it meant that we were able to get McCasland, keep Woolridge, Lawson, and Simmons from leaving then it doesn’t seem all bad. 

The comments claiming that waiting proves that the university isn’t serious about sports seems misguided. 

Depends. I don't blame them for waiting for on Benford's last year, it was the previous 3 that shouldn't have happened.

[Army of Dad]

On 1/8/2018 at 1:25 PM, GrandGreen said:

No one can make anyone be a fan, but I really don't understand your view.  

If you were a fan in the past, why let a questionable decision to allow Benford an extra year deprive you of seeing the best NT basketball in decades.    No the team isn't yet as good as some of Jones' best, but McCasland is a far superior coach than Jones.   You are also not likely to see any team consistently play any harder. 

If you like NT and college basketball, I don't understand a boycott against a program that is currently doing almost everything right.   

I assume you are not a football fan because you had to quit when Dodge was hired or McCarney given an contract extension.  Both of those bad decisions dwarf how many years Benford was allowed.     Even worse was the hiring of RV and allowing him a 15 year career with NT.   

I was more of a MBB fan (and a very loud one) than anything else and over time slowly began to attend football games. We even kept our season tickets for the entire Benford era.

I know me well enough to know that once I stopped going I was unlikely to return. I wasn't ready to give up on UNT sports so we kept going. Finally dumping RV kept me strung along for another basketball season. I couldn't stand the thought of Benford getting all five full seasons and I never thought anyone would be so dumb as to allow that to happen.

Those awful decisions you cite in your last paragraph are some of one the ones I'm referencing as the long running evidence that the community cares less about winning than I did. WB might end up making lots of good moves but his inaction on Benford was just too much for me, especially when taken along with the history. 

I'm not boycotting UNT sports, I've just had my passion for it killed off.

On 1/8/2018 at 6:11 PM, Green Lantern said:

Sucks that it killed your enthusiasm to this point.

As others have pointed out, Grant’s team plays extremely hard.  Think you’d really enjoy this brand of basketball. It’s a great pallet cleanser after the Benford era.

I renewed season tickets this year after not doing the last three. I travel a bunch for work and can’t make every game. If you ever want to try this team out without investment on your end, let me know. Be happy to hook you up with tickets so you can see for yourself what we’re all talking about. This team is a ton of fun to watch and Grant is an excellent coach.

I appreciate the offer. Unfortunately, once something kills the love I had for it it's pretty much dead. 

On 1/8/2018 at 6:53 PM, Harry said:

Good to hear from you.  Miss having you at games.  What do you guys do with your free non North Texas time these days?  Hopefully something fun.  

Yep, been spending way more time hunting, fishing, and training to get in better shape for a backpack elk hunt this coming fall.

It's amazing how much more sleep I get during basketball season now. After missing only a handful of home games in the last decade it's strange when I find myself with free time on what used to be game nights.

That said, I do miss tailgating and thank you (and everyone) for being so inviting over the years.

Edited January 16, 2018 by Army of Dad

[southsideguy]

i didnt renew my season tickets for benford's last season.  I bought a couple a general admission tickets and pretty much sat where i wanted to sit.   The view was the same,  bad coaching.  When we hired our new coach, i thought I would support him and bought season tickets.  Man did I get a great seat for season tickets.  The difference in the team is night and day.  We going to be good and i mean really good in the near future.  Benford last season the only cheering I heard was from the other teams' fans.  The crowds are not good this season but the fans are back into the game and the team never quits.  If you have not been to a game I suggest you take in one and you will be excited for our future.  Glad to see NT moving in the right direction again.  

[greenminer]

One thing to consider, check and see if Mean Green Premium packages are still available. You can check into games online without leaving your home, just to see what it's like.  It might be worth considering, since it doesn't require the total commitment of the drive time and it's at your preferred PC/mobile device.

If it doesn't rekindle anything, you can cancel the Premium account at any time and move on.