My Weekend In Baton Rouge

greenjoe · September 15, 2008

The wife and I left Friday for Baton Rouge. We encountered some rain about midway to BR but nothing scary. (note: roads are not as well marked in Louisiana as in Texas. Here, one wouldn't drive too long to see the route number or distance to the next town. Not so in LA. )

We got up Saturday morning and had a great breakfast and visited with some LSU fans at the hotel restaurant. Then, we took a tour of the hotel, drawn by Huey Long on the back of a bar napkin, and visited the old and current State capitol building. Went to the State museum and had an excellent meal before the game. Lots of LSU fans asked about Texas (!) and our "college". I never came across anyone that wasn't friendly and anxious to help us with our questions.

We took the shuttle to the game and found the same friendly fans and felt a lot out of place. There were 91,600 fans in purple and yellow, and about 9 people dressed in Green. But again, no one said anything unfriendly.

I've said this before. North Texas fans MUST wear GREEN at an out of town game. White, grey, and black are too easily confused with the home team. There aren't many green teams. We need to do a better job of identifying ourselves on the road. And at home for that matter.

We sat on the 47 yard line on the 6th row behind the NT bench. What a wonderful college gameday atmosphere. Loud and constant. The band was playing when we entered the stadium about an hour and fifiteen before kickoff, and didn't stop except to enter and exit the field. They took no breaks and the dancers (the Golden Girls) sat in the stands with the band and danced to every song. No breaks ever.

We did the tourist thing along the way back and got rained on again.

Perhaps my best North Texas road game experience ever. Except for that game thing. I'd recommend Baton Rouge to anyone but expecially for a game. I hope to go back again soon.

Quoner · September 15, 2008

They took no breaks and the dancers (the Golden Girls) sat in the stands with the band and danced to every song. No breaks ever.

Glad you had a good experience representin' us Cajun style....but have...to....do this...can't fight urge.

Edited September 15, 2008 by Quoner

BonfireBrian · September 15, 2008

I was there as well. Had a lot of fun over the weekend. There was a group of 8 of us there.

Not sure what they consider "visitor" seating, but it seems that us in green (probably total of less than 100) were somewhat scattered. There was 8 in our group, and probably 15 total UNT fans in our section, all on the first 5 rows on the 30 yard line. I noticed some to our left (closer to the goal line) and you said you were on the 47.

Either way, great gameday experience and a fun atmosphere. I would recommend to anyone as well.

GreenAlums · September 15, 2008

I was there as well. Had a lot of fun over the weekend. There was a group of 8 of us there.
Not sure what they consider "visitor" seating, but it seems that us in green (probably total of less than 100) were somewhat scattered. There was 8 in our group, and probably 15 total UNT fans in our section, all on the first 5 rows on the 30 yard line. I noticed some to our left (closer to the goal line) and you said you were on the 47.
Either way, great gameday experience and a fun atmosphere. I would recommend to anyone as well.

BonfireBrian, congrats and thanks for attending the LSU game to represent the core of committed fans of North Texas football. I'm sure you went there with plenty apprehension but it sounds like it worked out well. Thanks again!!

ntsumgspe · September 15, 2008

Just got back from New Orleans/ Baton Rouge extended weekend. Proudly wore my North Texas shirt and newly purchased from ShopMeanGreen.com hat. Didn't have any bad experiences with LSU fans, in fact, nothing but great times. Had a few "Tiger Bait" shouts. Alot of the fans seemed confused that there was a Mean Green fan there. I was tailgating with a friend of mine and his family that are all LSU fans, and they thought it was GREAT that I was there supporting the Mean Green. Our seats were in the North End Zone, Section 239. I now know the true meaning of "One is the Loneliest Number." There was not a single GREEN shirt other than mine in the entire upper section. The only other MEAN GREEN fans that I saw seemed to be directly behind the bench; didn't see anyone before/during/or after the game. That was brought up to me numerous times. Let's get out to these road games and proudly wear our GREEN and support the MEAN GREEN !!!

GO MEAN GREEN !!!

eagle37 · September 15, 2008

We were there as well. Words cant explain the tailgating parties. LSU fans are professional partiers. The stadium was very intimidating from where we sat (6th row). We sat in front of Stanley Roberts and his friends and talked most of the first half. There were some recent grads from UNT in front of us, but most of us I realized were scattered between the 30's on the 6th rows.

I am proud of the team. They really showed some spark in the first half, so much so that one possession of LSU's they went 3 and out and the crowd started to boo. I think that our offensive line played well, especially in the 1st half and gave Vizza some very good time to throw and find receivers that were open. The defense was okay, but we were definitely out manned on the defensive side. We started to blitz and run some stunts in the second half and put a little pressure on the quarterback, but LSU's overall team speed was just too much. Our special team coverage was terrible. It seemed like they had at least 20-30 yard returns on every punt and kick-off and ran a punt back. We also shot ourselves in the foot with dumb personal fouls and hurt ourselves. I would have liked to seen a little more aggressiveness in some situations where we could and should have gone for the fourth down and also some punt blocking opportunities. I think by playing a team like LSU we let our ca-hones hang and go for it when we have the chance.

I keep seeing improvement in this team over the last three weeks. By being that close to the team during the game I was watching the bench when the offense and defense came off of the field. I saw that everyone was talking and seemed to continue to encourage each other along with the coaches. It was a good feeling to know that they all want to win and still have a good attitude as a whole.

I was impressed overall with the teams effort and attitude of the coaches and players. I admit at the start of the season I drank too much koolaid and thought we would be .500 this season. Realistically I would be happy if we can get 3-4 wins. I was talking to another UNT fan at the game and we were discussing the amount of freshmen and sophomores on this team. It is encouraging that we have such a young team and know that over time this will become a more solid and competitive team.

Eagles, I am still behind you and support you all, coaches and team. Keep going and keep your head up!