[Troy Message Board Predictions on UNT Game]

That one guy thinking that dusk brings on Troy playing worse.

That would be something.

[Tailgating this weekend]

We need a Tailgate Tribute to Epic Meal Time.

As in..... a MUSCLES GLASSES McCARNEY Epic Meal Time tribute??

Right? Amirite???

[My First Game At Apogee Stadium This Weekend!]

I also need to purchase a ticket. I know I've seen the "fill the wing" thread here. Is the wing a good spot to sit? or should I get a regular seat? Heck, I might just go stand with students so I can get rowdy.

See y'all in Denton!

Come say hi to my wife and I in the Wings - we often get lonely!

We'll have the huge MUSCLES GLASSES McCARNEY sign.

[TroyFootball05's Thoughts About Saturday at Apogee]

For Troy it all depends on turnovers and how the defense handles the mean green offense.

...we're already looking great on making turnovers happen, and our offense is super ball-controlling'. I doubt we'll allow as many opportunities for the offense that you all are accustomed to from those factors alone.

But everyone's right, its Special Teams on this one.

[Troy Trojans Look-A-Like Thread]

Alright, last one.

Kevin Pantastico...

...looks like Kal Penn.....or Kumar. If only we had Harold....

[Troy Trojans Look-A-Like Thread]

I wish Patrick Stewart...

...actually looked like Patrick Stewart.

[Troy Trojans Look-A-Like Thread]

Dionte Ponder

looks like Whoopi Goldberg...

[Troy Trojans Look-A-Like Thread]

Jaquon Robinson

looks like the artist formerly known as Mos Def...

[I have this insatiable hunger...]

YES! This. This was of course my inspiration for the correlation to Coach Mac. All hail Muscles Glasses.

[I have this insatiable hunger...]

""Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is ..."

....my name to have just a little bit more ink on the end of that 'r'.

[I have this insatiable hunger...]

I was all excited and then realized you name is Christopher WALKER.

I have disappointed many with such confusion.

Also, I will never again post from my phone. So many typos.

[I have this insatiable hunger...]

So my entire time here at UNT, I've been to every home game, watched as many away as I could, have bewn happy to pedicab folks to Apogee, and my football appetite has been satiated.

I grew up in a football-friendly environment; originally from the Atlanta, GA area, graduated high school with Ryan Mallett (yes, that Texas High School). All has been pretty cool thusfar.

But something clicked this year. I wanted to support and cheer on in new ways: I created a meme-moniker for McCarney, joined this forum, and will be assisting the Alumni Pavillion in gamed at prep, etc.

And to the soon-ire of my wife, I cannot meet this hunger to consume all information related to our football team. I'm google-news searching, researching highlight clips over an over, an this site is on an hourly refresh-click.

Is this.... Is this what the elder-statesmen call...

....spirit??

[CBS Sports Week #3 Conference Power Ranking]

7!

I'll take that. Has the Sun Belt had a better start to a season? As a football conference, it's been a good year I would say.

The SunBelt is lookin' mighty fine this season....which makes me can't wait for next year even more.

Those two may not make much sense together, but whatever.

[Trojans hoping to turn yards into points]

DJ Taylor was in heat?

Bwahahaha.

[Changing the culture at UNT]

The problem is, UNT is located in DFW. DFW fans, for the most part, are fair-weather fans. Look at the Rangers of late VS the Rangers of the early-to-mid 2000's. Look at the Stars of today VS the Stars of the late 90's-early 2000's. DFW loves a winner and will not show up for a loser. The only team around here that has a huge enough fan base to fill up their stadium when they're losing is the Cowboys.

Apparently, that attitude is alive and kicking in Denton as well.

Okay, so I've had this running theory for years.

What makes those teams with the most consistent attendance (the biggest of the big) maintain such? I think its geography and anthropology, and more specifically those two in terms of isolation.

Alabama, Penn St, Ohio, St, Michigan, Tennessee, LSU, Florida, Auburn, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Clemson, SoCarolina, Michigan St, Florida St, Iowa, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Kentucky; each of these big name schools do not have any major cities within 30-45 minutes that provide any contrasting anthropological significance, any significant cultural draw, beyond a few pro teams. Yes, I realize there are major cities nearby, but those are typically state capitals or major cities who also attribute their draw to the universities nearby, not the other way around. Additionally, they are not near any other major university within that distance as well. Generally speaking, their university athletics programs are the major attraction for miles around. Equally those universities have instilled a culture from the earliest of undergrad years (freshman and sophomores not having cars to escape away for example) that further establishes this cultural dominance.

Texas, Georgia, Washington and USC are my anomalies in this equation; not sure what to make of them.

Anyway, UNT is within 30-45 minutes of two major metroplexes, and two if not soon to be three other major universities within those metroplexes. It has to compete for the attention of anyone who has grown up with more of a draw to those schools (by families, TV or otherwise) and then those who may be drawn to other musical or social enterprises that are booming in this area.

And then you have Denton and even the campus itself to contend with. Denton is a super-active town for the weekends - nightlife, music, tons of amazing festivals, etc. Then the campus is bustling with the activities of 500+ student organizations, 1000+ per year concerts from the College of Music (full disclosure, I'm a music composition senior - come to my concerts! ), dance programs, art, yada yada, yada.

I'm not saying that any of the above is bad, in fact I love living in Denton to embrace and experience all of it, but it is a lot for North Texas Athletics to contend with. You won't really find much better to do in South Bend, Tuscaloosa, or Eau Claire on Saturday home games; you might here.

There's my hypothesis, tell me what you think.

NOW.

With all that said, I fully agree that the onus going forward is completely on the administration's shoulders to change the mold and build a better family from the ground up on new students.

Oh, and for us to win games.

[Attendance estimates for Troy Game ?]

If we hit 20k that's a victory, so WHEN we beat the Trojans, Owls and Cougars in succession, it will have excitement at an all-time high for the Tuesday night ESPN2 game

On the Tuesday ESPN2 game, there's actually a committee directly under Dr With (VP of Student Affairs) that's working to max out attendance for that game.

On this Saturday, I think 23-24k is likely. What really has bummed me the most over the TSU game was how thin the "old folks" side was. That, and then my wife and I being all lonely in the Wings.

Come join our Wing party!!!

[I was flying by the Stadium today.]

By the way, the delay on the bridge as it were right now is that central Admin rejected the design of the walkway/sidewalk from the Fouts side of things. They're scrambling to make a temporary work-around - has Facilities rather frustrated.