North Texas Daily

In the Pro Football Hall of Fame sits a bronze bust of a University of North Texas alumni. Charles Edward Greene was enshrined in football history in 1987. He’s more widely known as “Mean Joe Greene,” and is easily the most recognizable football player to come out of UNT.

So why is he not enshrined on the very campus where he studied and played? After all, the man is living legend among football fans.

Joe Greene was taken with the fourth overall pick of the 1969 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers  and played 13 seasons with them.

He was a 10-time Pro Bowler, a four-time Super Bowl champion and a central piece of the “Steel Curtain” defense.

You can’t honor this man, North Texas? It’s hard to argue against Joe Greene, especially given his pedigree. I know the fans and other alumni want it. Just look around at some of the very serious motions by fans to make this project happen.

If North Texas athletics does not want to pull from the athletic budget, I am honestly curious if they would consider getting the statue crowd funded. A lot of people would throw money into a GoFundMe.

If those events transpire, then it just boils down to one thing: would the athletic department take the money for the project?

The fact a statue has not been built yet is almost baffling to me.

Joe Greene was such a success story to come out of this university. Why would you not want to honor that for all eternity? He was a fairly local product, who stayed in his home state to go to college, which at the time was still relatively small. He went on to win Super Bowls and be a part of one of the most iconic defenses in history. In fact, he was a cornerstone of that defense!

He’s one player that everyone looks back and thinks, “wow.” But not only do the people who were around during that time period remember him, all football fans remember him and most average people remember him.

Nearly everyone watches the Super Bowl, and Joe Greene was the face of one of the most famous Super Bowl Coca-Cola ads ever! The commercial of him with the kid and the Coke is iconic. They show it every halftime at Apogee. How can you almost ignore his greatness by not giving him what he really deserves?

It becomes especially confusing when you consider what other schools saw fit for a statue. TCU unveiled a Gary Patterson statue. Let that sink in for a second. Patterson is in his 16th season of coaching the Horned Frogs, and has brought them to national prominence, but when you really look at it, Patterson has failed to win the big dance. But he gets a statue.

The University of Central Florida is honoring former head coach George O’Leary with a statue. O’Leary went 81-68 at his time at UCF, and winless twice. O’Leary fell under fire when a student-athlete died under his watch when he collapsed during offseason conditioning drills that O’Leary and his staff were overseeing.

Not the most sparkling of resumes, but UCF showed they love him. Joe Greene on the other hand, was a successful student-athlete who put his university on the national stage with four Super Bowls and 10 Pro Bowls.

What more does he have to do, UNT? The man is 69-years-old and still shows up to every football camp to address the student-athletes. He was at Wren Baker’s introductory press conference and shook hands and chatted with anyone who wanted to talk.

He loves this university. It’s time to show him you love him, too. Put a Mean Joe Greene statue outside of Apogee Stadium.

Featured Image: Photos of famed UNT alumni “Mean Joe” Greene are displayed throughout campus and in both Fouts and Apogee Field.