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Viewed from the front, Eva Martinez's modest house looks like a small fishing boat about to be swallowed by Monstro, that whale in "Pinocchio."

Martinez lives on Sunshine Terrace Southeast, south of University Stadium. She had planned to sell the home earlier this year.

"That thing wasn't there when we started listing the house," said Marcela Santos, Martinez's daughter and Realtor. "We had an offer, and the appraiser made a comment about how it affected the value."

"That thing" is the University of New Mexico's new $7 million, 86,100-square-foot indoor practice facility, which opened earlier this month. It's a great, big sore spot for some nearby residents, but it's not the only one. With new pre-dawn practices this year providing a whole new kind of wake-up call, the mood on Sunshine Terrace has dimmed significantly. For Martinez, the big problem is being stuck with a house she doesn't want. The offer she had was revoked, the "For Sale" sign uprooted.

Across her back fence, the new practice facility stands 76 feet tall, high enough to dam any notion of a view from Martinez's yard. The enormous building's south wall is almost all she can see. (There are also some tractor tires stacked on the other side of her fence, left over from construction.)

"I'm glad it's not in my backyard," said Betty Romero, who lives farther west on Sunshine Terrace. "I've seen how it's blocking their view. What a monstrosity. I would have been really upset about that."

Instead, she's only a little upset. Romero said she wasn't able to watch fireworks this summer displayed from Isotopes Stadium as in years past because of the building.

UNM Associate Athletics Director Greg Remington said the program was able to erect the building where it pleased because the practice field is state property.

"People have said things about the practice facility blocking their view," Remington said. "But there's nothing we can do about it."

And Monstro isn't the only bother in the neighborhood.

It isn't an alarm or radio that wakes Shawne Riley up around 6 a.m. three mornings a week. It's whistles, scoreboard buzzers and this:

"You don't like playing football, do you Willy?!"

"Please come across the (bleep)ing ball!"

"Move your (bleep), man! What are you doing!?"

On a recent morning, a Lobos assistant football coach could clearly be heard screaming at his offensive line as they crunched their huge bodies into practice dummies or each other. This year, for the first time under 10-year coach Rocky Long, the Lobos are holding early morning practices through the season.

Three days a week, starting before sunrise, they're all about 25 yards from Riley's house — mere feet from her backyard fence. Her deck would be a rabid Lobo fan's dream. Her 8-year-old daughter's room — where the coach's swear words resonate clearly — is a nightmare.

"It's like an R-rated movie in there," Riley said.

Riley said it's a rude wake-up call every single time. She's allowed herself some choice words back.

"He (a UNM coach) went off on this searing, profane tirade, and I said `Clean up your language!' " Riley said. "He had nothing to say after that."

Long said the team needs all the real estate it has and can't stay away from Sunshine Terrace in the morning.

"We could switch things around and not have the same players down there," he said. "But we have 105 players, and they're all spread out."

Long said the early practices have been tremendous for his team. The Lobos have more time to recover between early and evening practices, they're hitting the field at a cooler time of the day, the players can easily schedule classes around the early time and "they're up and ready to go to school."

Long also said the team won't be cracking dawn on weekends or holidays, when area residents will want to sleep in.

Long also lauds the new indoor facility. "It's neat to have, and it's beautiful," he said. "There's been times in the past where we've missed practice because of thunder and lightning. In the winter, it allows you a place to go to get work done without elements being a problem, and there's a recruiting advantage."

It works out nicely for the Lobos. For the residents on Sunshine Terrace, it's a whale in the backyard.