Thoughts from Los Angeles

CMJ · September 30, 2018

Okay, so I'm still in Denton, but I do go back to the City of Angels tomorrow morning....

I was on campus and at Apogee just about the whole day. I had a feeling it was gonna be a big crowd when I was up in the Student bookstore and there were tons of families buying Mean Green stuff there. Really, I should have had the vibe on Thursday night when we got to town and stopped into Albertans and the cashier asked if we were in town for the game. As much of a buzz as I ever have felt in the Little D for a home game.

The tail gating energy was fantastic. I'm sure that was a mix of our record, Joe Greene's statue unveiling, Parents Weekend, and all the rest. (Mean Joe was a bit of a rambler and the crowd was getting a bit anxious by the time they finally unveiled the statue, but it was still a moment I am extremely glad I was on hand for) It was as big of a festival atmosphere as any tailgating area I've ever seen and I was really inspired. And when the game started, the crowd did its job. Even when when we were struggling, people in my area of Apogee were very much into the game. There were some negative comments thrown around - some seemed to nearly give up with defeatist chatter midway through the 3rd quarter - but I really thought the crowd was gonna will the team to a win. And we nearly did.

Even though we lost, I think we are the better team. Not last night mind you...you can't really claim to be better when you lose. But there were about 8 plays last night, any one of which if they go our way I think we probably win. Everything from the failed two point conversion (which to me looked like he got in just as he hit the ground) to the back to back fumbles, to the hit upright, to others that I am having a tough time recalling at 6:30 in the morning. I know it's always the mantra of teams/fanbases that say they were just a few plays a way, but we really were.

I wish we had run the ball more. It would have kept their pass rush more honest...their one guy (#45) basically dominated half the game by himself). LA Tech had some really long drives in the second quarter which probably gassed our defense for the rest of the night. However, I thought the D played quite well in the second half despite this. We got big stop after big stop the last quarter and a half. We definitely had our chances!

It was nice being back for a home game for the first time in years and seeing so many familiar faces. For those old friends I didn't get to see, I wish I had run into you.

Until next time!

Go Mean Green.

Edited September 30, 2018 by CMJ

UNTLifer · September 30, 2018

Great post.

Venson · September 30, 2018

Great thoughts and you were spot on.

CMJ · September 30, 2018

Ha! Thanks fellas.

As an aside, my girlfriend had a great time. She'd never seen a UNT football game (well in person anyway...I've made her watch a few on TV with me the last three seasons), but she had nothing but nice things to say about the experience. I think I have her completely sold on going up north to the Cal game next year.