My thoughts on Tim Floyd coming to UTEP

UTEP has become one of my favorite schools to cheer for in college athletics.  The only school they are behind are my beloved Baylor Bears.  I have been fortunate enough to have gotten to attend both football and basketball games this past year.  The basketball team’s 16 game win streak this year was fascinating to watch and add a little Randy Culpepper flying through the air like he got shot out of a circus canon makes the experience that much better.

Then there are the fans.  The fans here in El Paso are passionate when their teams are doing well.  However, with Tim Floyd now at the helm, I expect the The Don (I can call it that now…right?) to be close to sold out every game next season.  Watching the press conference when Floyd was announced felt nostalgic and I am not even from here.  I could almost get a sense of what the atmosphere was like here in the 80′s when Haskins was coaching up the Miners.

Here is to a productive 2010-2011 athletic season for all UTEP Sports! Go MINERS!

My name is David and I am living El Paso.

Texas vs. The Nation All Star Game will be back

Well, I guess it never “left” but it is now official, for the most part.  Organizer Kenny Hansmire hit up all the local media outlets and apologized for his comments on Saturday after the game.  I’ll give him props for knowing when he was in the wrong and admitting that it wasn’t just the citizens fault.   Thank you Kenny.  Now I think would be a good time for our mayor, John Cook, to clarify what he said about El Paso. On the radio he said the he was embarrased by the city and lack of a turnout.  Embarrassed by the citizens who helped put in $200,000 for the game.  26,000 is a decent number, especially with everything going on that day.  Can it be higher, yes, but there are some changes that need to be made.  

I understand he was trying to appease Kenny but there was no need for throwing us under the bus.   Mayor Cook has done a lot for El Paso but his comments seemed off base in my opinion.

Now that all of that is off my chest, let’s move forward.  This game is nice fixture but it needs a major overhaul.  Like Kenny said, they need to go back to the drawing board and expectations need to be realistic.

•   As others have said, if you bring in some known players who wear the burnt orange and current cowboys players, then you might get a pretty good attendance on game day. 
• Maybe throw in a Texas Music Festival that runs before and during the game. 
• Make it a rule where every 7th play has to be a hail mary pass…those are always fun to watch
• Keep the flyover
• TV blackout in El Paso

 

I really hope to see the game next year be here in El Paso because I believe everyone will have the same expectations rather than what transpired this year.  I’ve met Kenny before and he is a nice man who truly believes in this game, he is just still trying to work the kinks out. 
My name is David and I am living El Paso.

Articles of El Paso Interest 2/08/10

El Paso schools struggling.  http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_14357559   Education is so important to our town’s future and it needs to be addressed/fixed asap…I know this takes time and it is a state wide program but I bet there are some local remedies that we can put in place to help fix this problem.

It appears that Texas vs. The Nation might have seen its last game in El Paso.  After 26,000 people showed up, the mayor and Kenny Hansmire decided that El Paso was unworthy of such a game.  My thoughts on this….bad scheduling on Kenny’s part (middle of the day, UTEP game that night, Super Bowl weekend) 

He can blame El Paso all he wants but if thinks he did no wrong, then he is lying to himself.  I think its great to host a college all star game because it opens up our city to those who might not come here otherwise and gives players a chance to shine for scouts, however, they need more  to pull us in besides a logo that says Pro Football Hall of Fame…seriously Kenny, that is supposed to make us want to come?    I understand that he was frustrated and disappointed but he has to know that saying a comment like the one below is only going to create a very unapologetic public towards his game.

Here is Kenny’s quote from the El Paso Times:

“We have the logo of the Pro Football Hall of Fame out here,” Hansmire said. “El Paso wants to be an NFL city? Good luck.”  

This game needs big names to draw fans and that will be the case no matter where you put it.  Oh yeah, here is the article.  http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_14352016?source=most_viewed  If I were Kenny I would try the game here one more year and if it doesn’t work out then go somewhere else.  However,  judging by his statements and the pulse of the public, it appears he is already heading back east towards San Antonio or Dallas.

This is not an El Paso phenomena, it happens everywhere where these games are played, just look at what happened with the Hula Bowl.

http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stories/012005aaf.html (cash strapped game needs to stay in Hawaii)
http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2005/08/29/story1.html (2006 Hula Bowl might be homeless)

My  name is David and I am living El Paso.

Brut Sun Bowl Today

I hope many of you are making the trip to go watch the Stanford Cardinal face off against the Sooners from Oklahoma.  A nationally televised game on CBS, beautiful weather, and sold out stadium should put a good face on El Paso.

http://www.sunbowl.org/

I wish I could watch today, but I will be working…so enjoy it for me!

On another note, I heard the UTEP Bookstore is closed today which is kinda crazy with all of the people that will be around there today…dumb move on UTEP’s part if it is in fact closed.

My name is David and I am living El Paso.

Dear Oklahoma, El Paso is safe, come to the Sun Bowl!

Any person who thinks that when they get off the plane they will be greeted with gunfire, explosions, people hanging off the back of trucks with guns have got it all wrong.  El Paso is safer than all other major cities minus one.  Let’s take a look at the pain that awaits some of you out of town fans:

• Great weather, Sunny, 60 degree temperatures more than likely
• Beautiful mountains and sunsets
• A one of a kind football stadium
• A population who will treat you right and welcome you to their town
• Culture, history, and great food
• The only loud pop you may hear will be fireworks going off when your team scores a touchdown

I understand your fear, I moved out here over a year ago when the violence in Mexico was spiraling out of control, but this city is safe and if it weren’t for the media, you would never know what was going on over there in Mexico…unless you traveled over there and witnessed something.

We, El Paso, welcome all of you Oklahomans and Stanfordites with open  arms.  If you want, e-mail me and I can give you some advice on places to go visit…heck…maybe I’ll even join you for a beer.

My name is David and I am living El Paso.

Poll of the day | Are you going to the UTEP game Sat?

My name is David and I am living El Paso.

8 great reasons to watch the El Paso Generals

1)  It’s Arena Football and our team is really good

 

We probably scored on that play

2)  High Scoring…78-63 was Sat. nights score

3)  Beer & Hot Dogs…translates into beer and hot dog smelling burps…but who cares…right?

4)  The Amigo Man

He plays dirty in dodgeball

 

5)  Free T-shirts & Footballs

6) The Strelz and his entertaining announcing

7) Loud Music

8 ) Mascot Dodgeball

Paydirt Pete is getting frisky

 

I really did have a great time and I look forward to going again. I think my favorite player is a receiver named Woodie who made some great plays and had a signature dance (bird dance?) If you haven’t yet checked out this team, they play next week I believe.  Check out their website for more info.  Quick thank you to Art (poster on this site) who was kind enough to give me two tickets to go check them out!

EL PASO DOWNTOWN PLAN UPDATE:  Edson Gardea of NeoMedia Design Group   just posted a link to an animation  done by a group out of Memphis for paso del norte…there is also a link for one done on Santa Teresa. 

My  name is David and I am living El Paso.

UTEP Football

With football season slowly approaching, I thought a little preseason poll would be fun.  I’m curious to know if UTEP will be bowling next year?  I had the opportunity to attend a few games last season and I had a blast.  The Sun Bowl is a great venue to watch some football.

My name is David and I am living El Paso.

El Paso moving in the right direction.

This past weekend was a lot of fun.  I helped out with the Texas vs. The Nation game and had a great time.  This game seems to

Texas vs. The Nation

be getting better every year and I look forward to 2010.  Not sure if anyone saw the media report with the guy from Pitt saying there wasn’t anything to do in El Paso.  Those are the types of comments that are going to and will continue to hurt the city until we fix it.  El Paso has a lot to offer, but is poorly marketed.  I think it’s time this city goes viral and should start a youtube channel with well produced videos showing what El Paso has to offer.  Then they need to create a network of bloggers (with a strong national/international following) who can speak about the city.  

 

Fly them down here, give them a true El Paso experience, and then tell them to go write about it, whether it was good or bad.  In conjunction with that, we need to have a traveling delegation going around to different cities and speaking to companies and public interest groups telling them why El Paso is a great place to visit or move.  Some of you might say that we already have groups doing this…they aren’t doing it the right way because we continue to have people speak negatively.  

Word of mouth marketing is the cheapest and most effective way of promoting a city.  People listen to other people, not billboards.  Once we do get people to make the trip here, we need them to have an enjoyable experience.  Are there any El Paso tour companies that focus on taking people around the El Paso area and giving them an enjoyable experience?  

One thing I learned from talking with people in town for the game was that there was nothing to do downtown.  I know I have written about this topic numerous times, but it bears mentioning again.  Until we have an enjoyable downtown, this city will not move forward.  One of the main reasons I was excited about moving here were the plans that were made to make downtown a great place to visit again. 

This city is moving in the right direction and I hope that this time next year, players will having nothing but positive feedback on the city of El Paso.

 

My name is David and I am living El Paso.

Happy Monday El Paso

Good morning/almost afternoon,

 

Well I have a confession.  I wasn’t able to make it to either showing of the symphony….I feel really bad….but I plan on going at some point.  I was really busy with work this weekend.   I did make it to the UTEP game…30 min late.  I had a wonderful time and always enjoy cheering on a new hometown team.

My brother-in-law flew in from Phoenix yesterday for the Texas vs. The Nation game.  One of his favorite restaurants to eat at was Forti’s when it was in the airport.  Since they are no longer there, I took him to the one on Chelsea St.  I had never been there myself, so it was a treat for me also.  The food is superb and is now my #1 mexican food restaurant here in El Paso.  That’s right…I have a favorite mexican food restaurant.  Food is great, atmosphere is lively, and the prices are reasonable.  

 

Beto O’Rourkes weekly meeting was this morning and County Commissioner Veronica Escobar was the featured speaker.  She was interesting to listen to  and it was good to learn how the county works.  Next week at the meeting will be U.S. Congressman Reyes.

 

My name is David and I am living El Paso.