in Admin Pitt, Pitt Football, Players 909 Words

What Pitt POV is Thankful For…

First off I am thankful that we have a following on here who are well-versed in all the aspects of college football and in Pitt football particularly.  Add to that the fact that we  love to dissect and discuss that subject, with all its many pros and cons, in a civil and respectful manner and it is the best of the best.

I thank each and every one of you all for that.

We have a university that we are proud of in all ways, not just by the wins and losses we garner out on the field of play.  Our university is so much more than just that.  Pitt does things the right way, even if it means starting over again with new head coaches or disciplining our players in ways that better both themselves and the team. Making the correct decisions isn’t easy sometimes but Pitt gets it right way more often than not.

I thank the Pitt administration for that and Pat Narduzzi specifically.  Regardless of how I choose to weigh the good, bad and indifferent about his football coaching duties to me his real mission at Pitt is to be the leader of 100+ young kids and young men and to set examples they can emulate both when they are at Pitt and into their future lives.

Pat Narduzzi has done that as well as possible and I thank him for that.  Many fans overlook his off-the-field duties and actions.  I feel they are as, if not more, important than the final scores of games. 

Here’s to you Coach Narduzzi for seeing the big picture and working to better it.

I thank James Conner for being just about the best role model and football player one can find.  He exemplifies all that is good in sports and in life.  He may have faltered and wondered “Why me?” in private but in public and in his dealings with other seriously ill people he was as upbeat and confident as one can be.

His wonderful talent and execution aside he is a plain joy to watch and the times I have had in conversation with him I have walked away thinking … “Man, what a great Coast Guard Officer he’d make!” which from me is about the highest praise I can give a young man or woman.

So thanks James – have one on me after the season is over (and I’m serious as hell about your capacity as a future military officer, get in touch with me via E.J. if you are at all interested).

Thank you to the players, coaches and administrators who have come and gone through the football program.  It hasn’t been all positive and certainly hasn’t been angst-free.  But it has always been entertaining and a source of great amusement at times.  The Pitt fans I know may say they live and die with Pitt football but I highly doubt that.  But they are crazy fun to listen to and engage with.

So I also give thanks for the friends I have made through Pitt football since I was stationed back on the East Coast. I renewed my detailed interest in the program right after Dave Wannstedt was hired and I started going on the Pitt football message boards and reading The Pitt Blather.  It became almost more than a hobby for me and I thank Chas Rich for allowing me to write with him on his blog.

I also thank E. J. Borghetti and his Media Dept staff at Pitt.  It was a leap of faith six years ago for him to call me up at home and offer media credentials to a writer who was as critical of the football program as he was positive regarding it.  I accepted on one condition – that I never be pressured to lean one way or another or to change anything I had written and that has been the case 100% with one minor exception for a person’s privacy.

I think I speak for a majority of fans who I know when I say that Pitt football is a refuge from problems and stress we may have in other parts of our lives. Since I started this blog in late June it has been a ‘no-politics’ zone and a place where we can all take a break from the madness and strife and let that outside stuff stay outside.

You all have respected that and for that I thank you again.

Finally, I thank the University and the city of Pittsburgh itself for giving me a great starting point in my journey from a young man to a real adult… and for showing me that life is way bigger any geographical or intellectual boundaries.

I have said before on here that my family has been intertwined with the University for many generations now. That influence on me has made a huge difference in my life to date… and will, I’m sure, keep on until my end of days.  It has made me a better man but as important it has taught me that it is our duty as thinking, caring adults to reach out to others to help them better their lives.

And boy, I am so very thankful for that.

Hail to Pitt and a sincere tip of the hat to every reader on here.  You all are truly the finest kind and have made this blog a joyful thing to do.

 

 

19 thoughts on “What Pitt POV is Thankful For…”

  1. Reed…Happy Thanksgiving, and I am thankful for the education I received at PITT, for family and friends (many from a 28 year military career (USAF).

    And thank you for the superb work you do on behalf of all of us…even for us nearly 3,000 miles away (Portland, Oregon).

    Hail to PITT!
    -al-

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  3. Thank you Reed for this wonderful blog. And thank you commenters for the wonderful tone of your comments. And thank you alma mater for the education you gave me and for allowing my bride of 44 years to have had the opportunity to have met in the Tower Lobby September 3, 1967.

    And thank you Chris for making that 48 yarder less than two weeks ago.

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  4. Reed, I agree with everyone else. Thank you for a great blog. Really enjoy reading and participating in it. I knew my first day at Pitt that it would always hold a very special place in my life. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

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  5. I am thankful for Narduzzi…and yes, Stallings. Now don’t forget at dinner time…

    ‘The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day it is offered. He shall not leave any of it until morning. Lev. 7:15 No turkey soup 😉

    Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

    Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. Ps. 95:2

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  8. Thank all here for the opportunity to express thoughts and views on Pitt FB and BB.

    Mainly want to give a shout out to Quadree Henderson and the other Pitt football players at the Pitt/Yale basketball game this week who were sitting in the Zoo… they took the time – almost the entire second half – to converse with several young boys (who played in the halftime youth exhibition game).

    These kids sat and faced away from the game the entire time and seemed to hang on every word the Pitt players said; the football players paid unselfish attention to them and treated them with respect the entire time.

    I am certain they made memories for those youngsters that will last a lifetime. Wish I knew who the other players were, but Quadree was wearing his # so we knew who he was…hats off to all these special young men for their unselfishness and integrity; we give Thanks and are proud that they are part of the Pitt family.

    H2P

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  11. Reed – THANK YOU (not yelling, rather a big thank you) for all of your efforts with the blog.

    Bloggers – THANK YOU also for being respectfully real. Many are getting to know each other personally which is a little different then maintaining anonymity in the blogosphere. That can make it more special and I think we are getting there.

    Thankful to the university for finally understanding that athletics matters!

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  12. Happy Thanksgiving Pov’rs !! I am thankful to have all of you to share the ups and downs of Pitt football.
    And thank you to Reed for giving us an additional home so that can happen.

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  13. To Reed and all POVers,
    I’m thankful to have a home where I can share with so many other Pitt fans. Thank you!
    Let us all pause to remember why the pilgrims instituted this great holiday and to Whom they gave their thanks to.

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  14. A sincere and heartfelt Thanks to Reed and all of you regulars that keep me entertained and energized about all things Pitt.

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  15. I have much to be thankful for and include the POV gang among them. I am also thankful that my son, also a Pitt grad, is home for the weekend and goin to the game with me on Saturday .

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  16. Thanks for doing what you do Reed. I hope all of you POVers have had a nice holiday with family and friends.

    Can’t wait for Saturday.

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  18. Thanks to all here, great posters, a great leader in Reed making it happen and thanks to Pitt for the years of creating an outlet for many to be entertained through sport.

    I was lucky enough to be at Pitt from 80 to 84 through the post heyday of the NC football heydays where I grew up on football but really enjoyed the basketball program under Chipman at the Fieldhouse.

    Fun 4 years and many forgettable and more unforgettable good times. I drifted away from following Pitt closely after moving away and was always drawn back during successful football years(few) and basketball years(just as few until Howland).

    That brings me to the other thanks which is for Coach Howland and what he did to launch the hoops program into national prominence then continued by Jamie Dixon for the next decade. Great times again that I now feel/hope we are seeing commence here with HCPN. No one knows how long it will last and whether this “near special” year with the football team will continue to build but no one should doubt that it has become fun again.

    Big thanks to JC and also the seniors. Big thanks to the coaches guiding them. Good luck to them all and hoping they can keep the upward trajectory going.

    Lastly thanks to all the friendships I gained while at Pitt, several shaped my life and so far in many ways life has been good, better than deserved.

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  19. I grew up in the ‘burgh and went to Pitt undergrad and grad school. It can’t get any better than that.

    Thanks to all of you for giving me a “place” to visit when I am bored at work.

    H2P

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