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Surely no one is surprised that parents root for and defend their kids first and foremost.

Being a parent in the stands is a bit trying at times no matter if its Jr High, High School , or D1 Football. And yes, comments from fans about you son can easily set you off, specially when you know he is having a rough go of it. Sitting in the parent section make it easier because everyone knows who is who and tend not go nuts on players performances, except good ones, then it's high fives all around (nod to Chief Warrrant Officer Byrd (US Army Retired) . Sitting in other sections with season tickets is a bit of a hazzard, because you will hear lots of arm chair quarterbacking, and if your son is a quarterback, that can be a problem. I never had that problem, but I know what Derek Thompson's mom and dad went through for three years. Let's just say I am glad my son played Defensive Tackle. Give the guy a break. Unless he is being a total a$$ towards other fans, let him be. When your kids start playing sports, you will understand.

4 post-game interviews! Kidsy did a great job with his interview. I am just so intrigued by Dajon's poise. Seems completely confident and controlled. Every player on Offense seemed to play inspired and seemed more confident around him. Excellent showcase for North Texas...showed the SMU highlights from Beyond the Green, featured Apogee, the Eagle under the scoreboard. Camera angles showed the crowd well...even, for the most part, in the second half when most on the student side left or moved to the shade. Commercials were reasonable in length...much shorter for us fans in the stadium to have to wait through. Will romance bloom for Mean Green Lady and Mean Green Man? I somehow missed MGL through the first three home games. Didn't know Brelan Chancellor was at the game. Kidsy gave him props and called BC his big brother from last year. Favorite McNulty play: watching him calmly scoop up the snap that sailed over his head and throw the ball out of bounds. About as much poise as we have seen from any QB not named Dajon this year. Before Dajon, either Nicholls first or second string QB would start for NT. 2nd string Hebert was the better of the two. Didn't know that Beau Hebert was Bobby's son. Amazing how big Nicholls OL was, and how slow. Can't believe NT time of possession was under 20 minutes. Loved seeing Tillman make the effort to get off the field on his own. Clearly a CUSA broadcast, but announcers Thulin and Moreland were energetic, even in a blow out. Really did a nice job of spotlighting the University and the Conference. If I heard it right, they used a NT student announcer on the sidelines. Kid did OK. Cure for Corbin kids were great...very enthusiastic. Was nice to see them on the field for the coin toss (NSU players shook their hands also...well done). They also showed the boys in the locker room for Coach's pre-game talk and interviewed them on the sidelines with their families. Harry alluded to this in another thread, but I am amazed at how many players got in the game. The participation report may require two volumes. And a little perspective about playing SMU and Nicholls: Spoke with a lady at a church we were doing some volunteer work for in South Dallas. She saw my Parents Weekend shirt and said..."I saw North Texas last night on TV and I love your uniforms. That is a bright green!" A Baylor friend at church asked if we had hired Briles away from Baylor. "First SMU, then last night." He had no idea we had lost to LaTech. We beat a team by 74 points. In the Metroplex, if you beat SMU, people notice. When you win by 74, whoever you play, people notice. GMG

That's just creepy. Quit watching Greer's father and start watching the game.

1) Clear motive, envy. 2) Shaky attempt to establish alibi. 3) Guilty conscience. I think we have a clear suspect.

Get your watch parties ready : IU's home game vs. North Texas on Oct. 4 will kick off at 2:30 p.m. ET on the @BigTenNetwork. — Indiana Football (@HoosierFootball) September 22, 2014

Good news for me then... my kid has absolutely no athletic talent what so ever.

90 why don't you go somewhere else? You're a miserable individual. It's a great series because people (other than yourself) enjoy the game. Unfortunately a crappy kickoff time screwed up a great crowd, not to mention a non existent offense. Please for everyone else go somewhere read the message board and just keep your thoughts to yourself. Good lord I've never heard someone be so damn negative ALL THE FLIPPING TIME.

It has to be tough after hearing the fan base boo you son for being put back in during the La Tech game. I won't judge him for not cheering, it could be said we as a fan base threw the first stone. This should pretty much end right here.

Yes he did. The nickname that 1000 people have suggested ever since Dajon first committed.

Schedule all August and September home games for 7:30 kickoff on Saturday night. No excuses for any changes. There, problem fixed. The daytime games have been too f'n hot. Students contribute far too much to spend every damn game staring into the glare of the sun as that's a great way to entice them to stop coming back. Let games be fun. Put them at prime time when people actually want to see events, and have time to tailgate with their friends beforehand.

Kidsy lived up to the hype and guaranteed a TD when him and Dajon were on the field at the same time!! Great kid and was extremely appreciative for all the Mean Green support! He wouldn't stop thanking us for the support for this program! A great kid and representative for our program now and into the future! I really hope the program will recognize him more and give him more attention. I know he is young but this is even more reason to do so. I'm confident he will be moving forward. I would like to see him as the deep guy for the kickoff return team

You're the hero we need, but not the one we deserve.

You're disappointed on one guy? And that guy is the father of a QB who lost his starting job? And that guy heard the same disgraceful things about his son that I heard on 9/11 of all days? I'm disappointed in you Poindexter. Shoot, I'm disappointed in the lot of y'all. I was right there next to HickoryHouse when the security guard tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around expecting a friend or fellow fan wanting to say what's up. Instead, I was told to tone it down. Are you kidding me.... After the SMU game, I had the opportunity to talk to some coaches. Why was I graced with this opportunity? Well, I stick out in our crowd. When there's one guy who happens to be wearing a mask & cape going absolutely crazy for his team among a sea of people who look like they are at a funeral when in reality, they are at a college football game, it's easy to stick out. The coach had the same opinion I had on the fan base. Basically, y'all sit there and expect to be entertained. That's fine, you do you. You pay your money and you can make the decision how you want to act at a COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME. I believe there will be a good shot on Beyond The Green this week that will illustrate exactly what I am talking about. As the camera rolled, I turned around and yelled at everyone behind me to make some noise. Started waving my arms up and down and let everyone know they were on TV. I was met with blank stares. All these faces that just don't look happy to be at a COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME. This is my first go-round in the alumni section. From my student days starting in 2002 up until last year in the endzone, I knew it would be a challenge. I had always looked over at the alumni side and thought "Why so serious?" Stop making so much damn noise with a keyboard and start contributing to the Apogee Advantage. PS I'll be making wanted posters for myself for our next home game since my attempt to be a hero has turned me into a villain. Congrats MEANGREENNATION, you've made me the bad guy.

I was talking to another faculty member about the shift away from an alumni driven policy to a student driven policy last week and he made a very astute point. "If we get the students to the game, in an enviroment and atmosphere we can control, it has much farther reaching effects than just one more # on the turnstile for the student side. If you get a student to buy into the benefits of being a student, then they will also hopefully buy into the requirements to stay a student." ie lower drop rates, higher grades, better acceptance and identification with the UNT brand. All of those go hand in hand with the desire for the university to increase our academic reputation. It is a fine line to dance between partying so much that we get the party school monicker and providing school sponsored nonacademic events that enhance the student experience, but the slow march to a better academic standing will be closely tied to keeping and graduating our students in a timely manner (4,5, and 6 year graduation rates) as well as research funding and entrance exam scores. It is important to have the alumni in the stands now, but the students are the long term investment in the program and the university and sometimes that part is forgotten. Athletics is the biggest marketing tool we have and unfortunately it is one of the things we did not pay enough attention to in the past.

I won't be surprised to see Greer transfer at the end of the year, especially if Dajon cements himself as Starter. With Connor Means and Chumley coming in, combined with the pursuit of Florida's Riddle... I can't see Greer getting another shot unless he's last man standing and Mac doesn't want to burn Means' redshirt. I don't think Greer is a D-I QB. Let him excel at the D-IIA level. There's no shame in that - at least he gave it his best shot. I think with DW we have a QB the "right" size to be a true dual-threat. If Riley was DW's size, I think he would have made a better fist of it then he did.

It's the Sword of Damocles for those in the athletic directors' and commissioners' chairs isn't it?: (1) You want to make your product as widely available as possible on television and other digital outlets, and yet (2) You are trying to get students into the stands at the same time. Not enough digital/live access and one set of donors is angry at you. Attendance not enough for other donors and, so, that set is angry with you. I tend to skewer the commissioners more than I do the athletic directors because they have the television and bowl negotiating to do. I personally think the C-USA commissioner panicked when his best football schools began to depart - just a few years after the best basketball programs jumped ship under his watch. Schools that find themselves in our situations - athletics not pushed, and neglected even, for decades - get stuck in this false "television markets" sell by the commissioners. Miami-based schools = Miami television market or Houston-based schools = Houston television market. FAU and FIU may be located in and around Miami, but to think the Miami television market has them anywhere near the front of the line is a joke. They stand in line behind The U, Florida, Florida State, and probably every other SEC and ACC school you can name. Ditto Houston and Rice. Try to tell me Rice has anywhere near the media clout of Texas A&M, LSU, Texas, or any SEC or Big 12 regional. Add Cougar High to Rice as well, which is why they've been bypassed twice by the Big 12. The Big 12 owns Houston without the Cougars, so why throw them a bone? And, now, with Texas A&M in the SEC...why throw them a bone when you can just bone them? I've always believed you get to a point media-wise where you begin to eat yourself. I think this is happening now. And, let me throw in this other, unmentioned angle. It used to be that a trip back to the campus meant reconnecting with old friends and colleagues. That is wholly secondary now because of things like facebook. People don't have to wait for homecoming to see how their old classmates are doing. They already know. And, they probably know more than they care to in this age of digital, social network oversharing. If you've taken marketing, you understand that there is a price point for the value of your product. Game Day Football as a product now has many more challenges to its sell than before. And, again, as a non-"traditional power" school, the ability to reach the alumni based on loyalty alone is a tougher sell. And, thus, the paradox that the much-derided (on this board) t-shirt fan may be as valuable - or, more so - in the future than the actual graduate. Whether the person with their butt in the stadium seat has your school's sheepskin on the wall or not, money is money...right?

There are a lot of people that are out there trying to sell this thing. Guerilla marketing with mean green club reps etc. The tailgate experience is improving. We are picking up fans each year, but at some point, the product has to help sell itself. I was afraid that the LaTech game was just a huge momentum killer, and that Nichols would be a hard sell. I can tell you that our tailgate was a robust as ever and we ran out of food for the second week in a row, without cutting back on anything and adding brats to the menu. All that any of us can do is keep beating the drum. We can't get tired head because we lose one game. This is a journey that is going to take years to accomplish. I just keep inviting people, hoping that if they show up and drink one of my bloody mary's and eat one of my ribs, then maybe they will get hooked, and "oh by the way, we are dragging your ass into the stadium for the game." When they come back the next week, the line is "You are welcome to come to my tailgate party anytime you would like, but we require you to be a $500.00 mean green club member." We have signed up 6 this year. That may not seem like much, but its like I heard the old dodge driver Darrel Dickey say one morning, "When you are trying to eat an elephant, you just have to do it one bite at time." Attendance was pleasing to me at the Nichols game. That is all.

Not to mention the stadium, tennis courts and upgraded softball facility within walking distance. This is typical short-sightedness by the Denton anti-growth crowd

The dozen major conventions the University now hosts? The ten thousand new students? The hundreds of thousands of new people living north of the bridge? The I35 expansion project and it's effect on continued growth?

Scheduling bitches is fine and sometimes necessary. However bitching about schedules is never fine

Impressive is never what yesterday's performance (stats/production) was intended to be. The skill set, talent, composure, and the way Dajon went about yesterday's performance was impressive and that's what we should've been looking for. Not just stats. Dajon's stats can only be so impressive, but his performance is translatable to when we start playing better opponents. Alternatively, Greer's 9-12 and settling for five field goals against SMU was not a performance that translated well. Dajon also was not playing yesterday to win a job. He won the job once Coach Mccarney announced him as starter. It was to get him some work going into a bye week, followed by games that will be important as far as bowl, division, and conference implications every week going forward. As he represents by far our best chance at doing all three of those things. Tomorrow we start get ready for Indiana, and Dajon has something to build on and continue to find out all the nuances of becoming a division 1 quarterback. Last year we came out very flat offensively, particularly in the passing game, after both of our bye weeks. Dajon will be the major reason on whether we change that or come out flat. But there is reason for all the optimism surrounding him.

I seem to recall, you eating many times in both these venues and so did (and still do) I. I fail to see how eating at a UNT venue before a home game is anti-Denton in any way. The caterers for these events employ Denton folks and, more often than not, are local area businesses. And, everyone there is supporting UNT which is the major employer in the City of Denton. Hardly seems anti-Denton to me, but perhaps you can help me understand how it might be considered as such. I am interested in your comment about UNT dragging its feet in relation to DISD's reluctance to join the partnership as well. DISD gets zero tax from the property as it sits...even with the abatement, they will draw tax revenue they currently do not have. That puzzles me a bit when folks moan about the tax abatement thing. It is, however, looking less and less like the convention center and hotel will become a reality...at least anytime in the foreseeable future. Now, THAT is pretty typical of Denton...very shortsighted, anti-business and anti-growth. Remember the Denia folks and all their whining about Apogee and how it will kill their neighborhood access? Did not turn out that way at all...as most knew from the beginning. They do not even block those streets off on game days any longer. But, that reality will not stop the same folks from whining again should the convention center idea ever get off the drawing board.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/11/colleges-worry-about-future-football-fans-student-attendance-declines A friend and former colleague I took to the LaTech game sent me this last night. It's something we've all been aware of at least peripherally and a problem I think our AD has flipped on its head to some degree. We seem to focus nearly all of our resources towards procuring the student attendance and filling our luxury monocle'd club seats and suites. The huge bet there being that those rabid undergrads will remain faithful alumni and come back to the West side of the stands if they remain nearby in the metroplex after graduation. (these are quite a few factors to go the right way to get the desired outcome) This leaves seemingly little to no attention given to the existing Alumni side as it stands now; last weekend's game notwithstanding, though one could attribute the West side's robustness to Family Weekend and the movement of the sun. What do you think? Discuss collegiately.

Actual reaction:

This whole thread is full of some pretty strange stuff, but I guess I shouldn't have expected to click on a thread entitled "disappointed" and expect not to be disappointed by its contents. It is appropriately named, anyway.

Wow.

I have been advocating for this approach for several years now. I think it is by far the best strategy for the long term health and prosperity of UNT Athletics. I have had numerous discussions a long these lines with University folks in recent months. The University is very aware of the long term benefits. On the other hand, attracting fans to the alumni side will not be abandoned. Thus the efforts and coordination with the trains, busses and downtown merchants, the participation in the Concerts on the Square Program, newspaper ads, work with the local schools, etc. while folks can argue the pluses and minuses of such a strategy, finances determine a lot of it. With limited finances one needs to use available dollars where the better results could be expected. Draw 100 more fans to the alumni side spending the same dollars and attract 2-3,000 new students? New students who could become alumni side seat buyers in the future. Easy choice as far as I am concerned...and for one I hope this strategy continues and is expanded.

At this point, if there's an away game, and it's at all possible to be televised, you can bet your sweet ass it's gonna be at EastSide.

There was a guy walking into COTA wearing Mean Green gear as I was walking out and I gave him the eagle claw hand sign. Just wanted to say hi if you are on the board. I know sometimes in the past for me it was hard to tell if someone was saying they were Mean Green too or just busting my balls. Just wanted you to know I'm Mean Green too since I didn't have NT gear on at the time.

RV commented on a pod cast that with limited resources, throwing it at alumni has not been productive. They have been productive in bringing students, bucking the national trend. Several of us have said that it will take current students graduating and moving to the alumni side for that side to fill up consistently. We lost too many years with bad play and bad promoting to get those alumni to care. Think back to where we were 10 years ago ... we have grown tremendously. Think of where we could be in another 10 years ... with consistent winning that could be a huge improvement in attendance.

In all serious I think we are lacking a home run threat. If DW has a good showing against Indiana, I think it's time to burn the Goree redshirt. He can be a game changer is CUSA play.

The arguments against the convention center seem to revolve around the idea that UNT would be the sole users. In terms of conferences, UNT either hosts as a site for other recurring conferences, or runs its own conferences, so it isn't always the same conferences every year. These conferences bring folks from around the world, and they always look for a place to eat (where local students and professors mostly send them to the square or nearby Thai cuisine). I am speaking from experience and not conjecture. I have no idea what conferences the region would be bringing in, but I am sure all parties involved would be recruiting heavily. Although total enrollment has increased by a couple thousand, retention has increased. This puts us at around number 4 I think. Not sure why this is a point being made here in a negative context. We're still a big school and less people are transferring away. That hotel is going to have to compete just like any other hotel, but if the convention center is filling up with conferences several times a year, it shouldn't be an issue (people are hired specifically to recruit conferences and events). Also, Texas Motor Speedway will provide a boost every once in a while. I'll end my rant with a loaded question, why don't you want growth for Denton?

As I've gotten older I try very hard not to say anything on this board that I wouldn't say to that person's face. That goes for the stands, too. I'm far from perfect, but I try. I believe it's possible to be a die hard fan and not say derogatory things about our players.

I agree with this as well. He did say that he was a receiver and returned punts and kickoffs in HS so these positions are natural to him. I think this is why he isn't indecisive with his moves, they are more natural instincts if you will. Also,special team return personnel have to have top end speed, or that other gear, to finish the play and get 6.

I didn't even know he was blind. - Izzy

THat 11am start time sucked, but I'd rather be able to tell my friends to "watch us on tv tonight" then not.

By your logic we lost to LaTech, and LaTech lost to Northwestern St, so Northwestern St should beat us. If Northwestern can beat us, then Indiana should kill us. Luckily, the transitive property does not apply in football.

Agree with DT90. Expecting him not to primarily root for his son would be as unrealistic as expecting a random student to not root for the team and instead be concerned that Greer had his feelings hurt. That being said, try not to be a jerk to anyone. For the record I have been pushing Dajon to be the QB since he stepped on campus, but it doesn't mean he should be appointed the QB for the next 3.5 years. If Greer can put in the work and surpass him, then he should get the starts.

As to the comment about 2 bodybag games next year...if these new starters (and the ones next year that replace this year's seniors) come along nicely, I'd like to think we could beat Iowa.

So, I don't think you're being realistic. I think you're trying to not get your hopes up, which is entirely different. In fact, I'm thinking you kind of do this every year, post well wait and see, we really don't know anything until game X. Then when it goes sour, which has been pretty much every year but last, you haven't got your hopes up, so you don't feel too let down. I get it, it's a kind of defense mechanism, and nothing wrong with it at all. Some others do go all crazy we're going to win every game from here on out so you try to balance you're own worry about feeling that, because it isn't really likely. But, either way, DW is for real. He will win us some games. And it's fun too look forward too. I believe you are looking forward to it too, you just don't want to get too excited because something might go wrong. It happened to us in basketball with Tony Mitchell. I get it, i feel somewhat the same way, but I can sit back and look at the T-Mitch time as well and go, man that was fun, even though it wasn't as fun as I'd hoped it would be. Hope that makes sense.

Having had the pleasure of meeting you and the Mrs. the other day... There's no way you're 67.

It happened to me two years ago, they stole my pole and flag!

Whatever drives you to be so negative, it's okay. It's not your fault.

Getting the money is also RV's job. It doesn't take a lot of effort to whore yourself out twice a year to cover expenses, does it? Who cares if you don't fill the stadium, your budget is covered with the money game(s). What RV said in the podcast is that he would rather play teams that matter on the road because we get paid. Go back and listen if you don't believe me. That makes his job far easier. I don't think his job should be easy.

Is no convention center/hotel really a bad thing? The last hotel on that site failed...why do it again?

I don't want to go all UNT90 on you but if there is one thing I would gripe about Saturday, it would be DW's accuracy and - to a lesser degree - decision making. Your point stands! He was better than Greer. But he threw into double coverage, and threw several passes that required WRs to adjust. I hope that gets better because lots of teams on our remaining slate can capitalize where Nicholls State could not. As far as this thread is concerned, if fans are not allowed to get excited about potentially good things, then what are fans allowed to do?

Long Dajon Silver?

Would Greer or McNulty have had the same game against this terrible opponent...?? To me the answer is a resounding no... Williams is this team's QB going forward... The QB competition is over... No matter what happens...

I swear you'd rearrange the furniture in a blind kid's house. We all know this is vastly inferior competition but let people feel goid after the quarterbacking we've endured.