So? That North Texas: Aren’t they 1-0?
Hell. Yes.
First off, your humble MGN scribe turned 24 yesterday. Being a loyal but practical kind of guy I planned to watch the game until it became unwatchable (like I said, practical) and then proceed to my birthday festivities. Turns out the only unwatchable parts were the awful Campus Connection spots. Thankfully, I couldn’t hear them very well over the cheers.
It was awesome. After taking most of the day to soak it all in, I think I can say with relative certainty that a collective weight has been lifted. One that we didn’t know we were carrying.
The cynic in me says: ‘dude that was one game.’ This is an inarguable point. Yes, it was one game, but it wasn’t just one game. Let me explain:
Any of you remember starting class in elementary or middle/junior high school without knowing if any of your friends were going to have the same teacher? Maybe it was a new-school type thing for you. In any case, this season is like that. Many of us walked into the classroom with trepidation and dread. Then we sat down and met a cool ass kid and then things suddenly looked up. You think that maybe this year isn’t going to suck like you thought it might’ve.
If you don’t believe me just look at all the reactions all over the internets. GMG.com, the alumni on the Ticket, twitter, the newspapers and so on. Proving that point is not my goal here so I won’t clutter your time with examples that support that thought. Just go with me here.
Last night tweeted: ‘ its like we are a real life football team.’
I thought I was being original in that thought. I wasn’t.
I think that statement just about sums up fan reaction.
We all feel this way because, like many are saying*, it wasn’t a fluke-y win. We kicked their ass with that ground game, had explosive plays, and had a hard-hitting, stingy defense -with a little hard hitting kick coverage unit thrown in for good measure.
In all the ways that we sucked last year- tackling, being explosive, coverage, grit, clutchness, etc -we were better. I think there is no better way than to sum it up. We are actually competitive. Whowouldathunk?
The thing that most inspires the fan base right now is not even the performance but the attitude behind it. Its been talked about throughout the preseason. Everyone was saying how the team looked tougher and more together and how the attitude was so different from last year. I didn’t watch preseason practice. I couldn’t say one way or another if this was true.
For me the thing that made me believe that this wasn’t an aberration wasn’t the statistical and physical dominance (we should have scored those 13 points we let get away btw). George Dunham interviewed Riley after the game. The guy just sounded like he had been the starting QB for the last 4 years. He said all the right things, giving credit to the defense, both lines, his backs and receivers, reassuring the fan base that there was more of this to come and even threw up the Eagle Claw to the fans in the stands.
It made me think, This Riley guy is a cool ass dude. Maybe this year isn’t gonna be that bad after all.
Other Things:
Conversions:
I suppose the mini MG fever sweeping the metroplex may have something to do with the fact that we beat a MAC team, let alone one coming off a 12 win-nationally talked about season. I did do my part in converting a non-fan. After taking him to the watching party -and forcing him to deck out in Mean Green- his Facebook status the next day:
Had my first UNT football game watching experience and it didn’t suck. They won and I really wasn’t expecting that. No body was. Kinda weird. Am I a fan now?… Go mean green?
Lucky Gear:
Everyone has their lucky gear they don for the games. I think I have my new one(s):
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