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I am a Pitt Fan

Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Sep 012013

I’ve sat through 2-9 records. I’ve been disappointed by 9-4 records.

… watched 13-9, jumping up and down, hooting and hollering throughout that agonizing and ultimately triumphant fourth quarter against West Virginia.

13-9

… was present when Rod Rutherford scampered 62 yards to score the lone touchdown as Pitt beat Pennstate, 12-0, at Three Rivers Stadium in 2000.

Pitt 12, PSU 0

… started the “asshole” chant at Joe Paterno in 2000 at Three Rivers Stadium.

… bore witness when Larry caught that touchdown pass. And that one. And that one. And that one. And that one.

… will never forgive Oklahoma’s Jason White for denying Larry Fitzgerald the Heisman Trophy.

… saw Tyler Palko lay the wood on that BC player and Darrelle Revis’ ESPY-winning kickoff return for a touchdown.

… was so fucking proud when Pitt beat Notre Dame in five overtimes at ND Stadium.

… think Walt Harris made the right decision to start Palko over Joe Flacco.

… watched helplessly as Cincinnati came back in the fourth quarter to deny Pitt a BCS bowl berth.

… stood in the home student section at Beaver Stadium, too afraid for my life to say a word, watching Pitt fight and scratch and claw against Pennstate, only to lose 20-17 when LeVar blocked a last gasp field goal attempt.

… remember the “slide” against UConn.

… shook Dave Wannstedt’s hand after watching him give a talk to alumni after he was hired at Pitt.

… tried putting on a brave face when Mike Haywood was hired. (I couldn’t even convince myself though).

… was subjected to the Swinging Gate.

… wish Walt’s experiment with the Spread Offense, years before it became en vogue, had succeeded.

… refreshed ESPN Gamecast over and over and over again sitting on a connection in Bangladesh, ‘watching’ Pitt win the Tangerine Bowl vs NC State.

… sat through that entire bullshit meltdown in the rain against Youngstown State last season.

… saw Chryst rally the program to thump Virginia Tech after starting out 0-2.

Pitt 35, VT 17. Sept 5, 2012.

… have said a couple nice words about Tino Sunseri and even Bill Stull before him.

… DITKA, Dorsett, Marino, Curtis Martin, Russ Grimm, Chris Doleman, Rickey Jackson, Joe Schmidt. Beat that. Only three other schools can. Ruben Brown, Larry Fitzgerald, Darrelle Revis. We’re coming for the last three.

… have been a Pitt football season ticket holder in all but one year since 1998.

… refuse to give up hope.

HAIL TO PITT.

On Paul Chryst and Overhauling the NCAA

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Aug 282013

As the host of College Gameday (both football and basketball), ESPN’s Rece Davis has a front seat view for the major events in college sports. He has to control and manage the sizable egos of his co-hosts. But he has some really great insights as shown in this interview with Cardiac Hill.

On overhauling the NCAA system:

I’m like most college fans. I love the nostalgia associated with the game. I wish that simply donning the blue and gold and hearing Hail to Pitt made every player tear up and that was reward enough. For some, it is. What I can’t come to terms with is restricting athletes in ways that no one else associated with college sports or no other student on campus is restricted.

I fully realize there would be issues, probably major ones, but I think it would be more a transparent enterprise. In the long run, it would be healthier for the game.

Davis is absolutely right. Holding to the status quo does nothing to save the games from Athletic Directors and Presidents who have lost their minds and morals chasing greater and greater TV revenues. If these so-called academics cared about the principles of amateurism, they wouldn’t have expanded the calendar to 12 and sometimes 13 and 14 games. They wouldn’t relax their academic standards to such a degree that “passing the SAT” (read: 800) is an actual thing.

There has to be a middle ground between providing some compensation to players for their efforts on the field, ensuring that they truly receive an education and, well, winning.

Pitt vs Virginia Tech, 2003

Pitt Logos Through the Years

College Football, Football 3 Responses »

Aug 222013

Golden Panther on the prowl with tail up

Or… Really, He’s Writing About the Damned Script Logo?!

Yesterday, I wrote about the second most annoying common issue that Pitt partisans bring up – the lack of an on-campus football stadium. Today’s let’s delve into the most aggravating common issue – the script logo, which Pitt used from 1973-1996.

I get why people pine for the return of the script logo. It’s pretty unique and just so happens to coincide (at least in its early years) with one of Pitt football’s most successful spells, a period that included a national title and three straight 11-1 seasons as well as a cavalcade of stars. Of the 8 Pitt players enshrined in Canton, 6 wore the script logo – Chris Doleman, Tony Dorsett, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Dan Marino and Curtis Martin. Ruben Brown stands a decent chance of adding to that total.

I love the script logo but I’ve come to accept that the administration won’t bring it back. Furthermore, a whole generation of Pitt fans has grown up without the script logo and so have no attachment to it. The current block logo is pretty decent, if not a little unimaginative. And both Larry Fitzgerald and Darrelle Revis (two possible Pro Football HOF candidates) made it proud.

script logo, 1973-1996

block logo, 1997-present.

If Pitt were to use the old script as a third uniform in the same way that ND occasionally wears their green uniforms, I think that would be a decent compromise. But if the administration really wants to get creative, why not bring back logos for eras past.

Heinz Field vs Panther Hollow

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture 2 Responses »

Aug 212013

… Or On Pitt Sports Capital Priorities

There are two stories related to Pitt sports that just will never die. The first is the Pitt script logo.

The second issue that never dies is the fact that Pitt no longer has an on-campus stadium. The Pitt News reported on a group of alumni trying to drum up support for a new stadium to be located in Panther Hollow. The plan appears to reasonably well thought-out, if not a bit earnest. A couple tidbits:

Mack and Andra’s plan is far from short-term. Both men consider the plan a long-term solution to Heinz Field’s inevitable deterioration within 20 to 25 years. They say that Pitt needs to consider where the football team will play if the Pittsburgh Steelers decide to build their next stadium in a location outside the Pittsburgh city limits.

… In addition to a stadium that could hold from 44,000 to 50,000 people, his plan includes a dormitory built into the stadium, a track surrounding the field for the men’s and women’s track and field team and an area for office space.

… In order to make room for the large new complex, a number of properties in Panther Hollow between Joncaire and Boundary streets and Yarrow Way would need to be purchased. In addition, Mack said the Frick Fine Arts Building would need to be moved onto Schenley Plaza, and Mazeroski Field would be demolished, though he said the new stadium would also include a Pittsburgh Pirates museum.

… Mack said the plan includes the building of a multi-level parking garage that could hold between 1,200 and 1,500 vehicles. He also said that the Allegheny Valley Railroad could expand its commuter service operations and extend into Panther Hollow using the pre-existing railway.

Click here to read the whole Pitt news article or visit the group’s site.

Pitt vs Pennstate at Pitt stadium, 1958

The Freedom to Love One’s Sport

College Football, Football, Futbol/Soccer, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Jul 312013

The Economist’s Democracy in America blog did a pretty good job recently of refuting Malcolm Gladwell’s analogy betwixt dog-fighting and college football. It centers largely around the idea that by the time a boy has reached an age where concussions and micro-concussions really start to take a toll, he has enough agency to make the cost-benefit analysis concerning future glories/money vs health concerns.

fitzgerald-pitt-vs-vt

However, for me, DiA essentially buried the lede with a rather inane and insecure diatribe about its dislike for the sport of American Football in general:

Then there’s also the fact that American football is a stupid, tiresome sport. I will freely admit that it has taken me many decades to free my mind from the thrilling propaganda of NFL Films and see football for what it really is: hours of tedious milling-about punctuated occasionally by a few seconds of largely incoherent shoving and scrambling. When Canadians feel the need to change your game to make it less boring, there’s a problem with the game. American football is relatively unpopular internationally because it is inane, and slowly but surely doggedly provincial Americans are coming around to the superior form of football enjoyed passionately by billions around the globe.

I’m getting pretty tired that we seemingly can’t get past the point of trying to say that one sport is better than another. This is sport. American football, futbol, baseball, basketball – there are modern-day spectacles where we gather in our coliseums to watch our versions of gladiators. But it’s just sport! It’s entertainment. The need to praise one sport to the detriment of another strikes me as a very insecure and immature pursuit. It’s apples to footballs. Each sport defines prowess in different ways. The most honest attempt to rank one sport vs another will always be subjective.

Also, note to all those who love futbol and want to see it grow in the USA: don’t trash American football! Or baseball. Or basketball. Or even ice hockey. You’ll only come off as elitist and snobby. You won’t get football fans to see the beauty and grace of futbol. You won’t get them to care about outcomes concerning Liverpool or Manchester United or FC Barcelona or even the LA Galaxy.

Photo Credit: AP

For-Profit Universities are not the (Sun) Devil

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Jul 292013

Apparently, the PAC-12 and Arizona State, in particular, have a problem with the idea of admitting for-profit universities to Division 1 athletics. The case surrounds Grand Canyons University’s soon-to-be entrance into the WAC. From ESPN:

“As a Conference — together with our Presidents — we believe that a broader level of discussion is needed before the final decision on whether to grant for-profit institutions membership in NCAA Division I,” the league’s statement read. “We have asked the NCAA Executive Committee to include it on the agenda of their August meeting. Our major concern is how athletics fit within the academic missions of for-profit universities.”

And this from noted party school, Arizona State University:

“We do not believe for-profit schools provide a good foundation to support student-athletes, who work so hard to balance significant time commitments to sports and their academic work,” the school’s statement read. “We cannot play teams that exist for profit and have them use their games against us to advance their stock prices, as was discussed by Grand Canyon University during a recent telephone call with investors.”

Now I tend to believe that student-athletes in the money sports (football, men’s basketball and at some universities, baseball and women’s basketball) get type-cast a lot. They may not be the most rigorous students but eventually most of them straighten-up, get through college and move into the real world. I knew a few at Pitt; these were good kids who knew their role in college. They loved their sports but knew they wouldn’t be making it big-time in the pro’s. So they did their best to balance academics and athletics and got their degrees.

Their universities, however, don’t make things easier. Tutoring and student services notwithstanding, there’s a whole laundry list of evils associated with the commercialization of major university athletics, most of it driven not by the athletes but the the arms races started by the universities themselves. Yet, college presidents and athletic directors go on and on with paeans to amateurism and scholarship, while making it even harder on the athletes. If high-major universities cared less about money and more about their football and basketball players, they wouldn’t deny their four year scholarships. They wouldn’t have added a 12th game to the schedule, with allowances that occasionally allow teams to play upwards of 14 games including their bowl game. They wouldn’t have allowed ESPN and CBS Sports and Fox and other networks to dictate more and more useless bowl games. I could go on and on.

For-Profit status actually saved Grand Canyon University from going-under. The athletics department’s budget went from $3 million to $10 million. It is building a $200 million arena. It has over 44,000 students, 9,000 of whom live on-campus. A school nearly goes bankrupt, gets saved and turned around and yet, the nation’s venerable institutions of ~~hypocrisy~~ higher learning don’t want to let it play at the big boy’s table.

The level of hypocrisy needed in order to call into question a for-profit university’s commitment to its student-athletes while continuing to make a mockery of those same student-athletes simply boggles the mind. Especially coming from Arizona State University, one of the biggest party schools in the country. Pitchforks down.

Hooray for baseball, the NFL is meh

Baseball, College Football, Football, Pro-Football No Responses »

Jul 252013

As a rabid Steelers fan, I know it’s blasphemy but I have seldom been less excited about the coming of the NFL season. It’s not about the team itself. I’m confident that if Ben Roethlisberger stays healthy, the Steelers will once again be elite contenders in the NFL.

Over the past few years, I’ve become less and less intrigued by the NFL as a whole. If not for the Steelers, I wouldn’t be an NFL fan. The game is boring. Every team plays roughly the same type of offense… some variant of the West Coast offense with sprinklings of running or passing spread plays. There’s no innovation on either side of the ball.

Pitt picked 5th in ACC Coastal Division

College Football, Football 1 Response »

Jul 242013

The ACC media poll is out and Pitt was picked fifth in the Coastal Division. Wait, who’s in the ACC Coastal Division? Let’s take a look:

Coastal Division (First place votes in parenthesis)
1.	Miami (65)	736
2.	Virginia Tech (27)	654
3.	North Carolina (22)	649
4.	Georgia Tech (6)	522
5.	Pitt	313
6.	Virginia	230
7.	Duke	228

I can’t say I disagree strongly with these rankings though I’m not sure that UNC or Georgia Tech really deserved any first-place votes. However both programs are in a stronger position than Pitt (for now). Considering that it’s only year two of Paul Chryst’s tenure, breaking in a new starting RB tandem and a new QB, I’ll be happy with 7 wins and a bowl game. Continue reading »

ND and PSU > WVU

College Football, Football 1 Response »

Dec 122012

Cardiac Hill discussed the unlikelihood of renewing the Pitt-WVU Backyard Brawl series in the near future.

And if the game doesn’t happen in the next few years while Pitt is waiting to renew their series with Penn State, it just doesn’t look like it will happen at all. The Panthers have clearly placed a priority on the series with the Nittany Lions and after you throw in a cupcake game and a random series against other BCS foes as Pitt has played recently with teams like Iowa and Utah, there’s simply no room.

Because Pitt has ND on the schedule until 2016, there would be no room for WVU even in this interim time before the PSU series is renewed. While it’s true that Pitt will have both ND & PSU on the schedule for 2016, by and large, I don’t think Pitt AD Steve Pederson wants two regularly scheduled regional high majors in the non-conference schedule. He’d want more variety.

13-9 Continue reading »

The ACC is a Better Fit for Pitt

Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Nov 202012

For years after the ACC first raided the Big East for Miami and Virginia Tech, Pitt partisans dreamed of a move to the Big Ten. TV markets, however, dictated that Pitt would/will never get an invite. The Big Ten Network is already in the Pittsburgh area because of Pennstate. Ratings themselves don’t necessarily matter. If you have expanded cable, you get the BTN whether you watch it or not. So you’re paying for it no matter what. The B1G gets paid, period. I still prefer the ACC.

In football, we can still maintain a strong northeastern and mid-atlantic presence against former Big East schools Syracuse, BC and VT. We get a better toehold in Florida with the additions of games against FSU and resumption of games against Miami-FL. We can expand our recruiting south to places like the Carolinas. And historically, Pitt hasn’t needed a rivalry presence to recruit Ohio; the River City Rivalry with Cincinnati stretches back less than a decade. Moving to the B1G would open up the midwest more but that’s about it.

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