Yesterday we discussed optimism among the Pitt football writers and our friend & fellow blogger SaturdaysAreBetter (John Baranowski) wrote a great article last month which chronicled Pitt’s football modern history compared to other D1 schools.

To put things in context his piece was a response to the Panther’s Prey (Dokish) article “Why Pitt Football Recruits at the Level they do” when Dokish wrote:

 “In the second group we have very good programs that could flirt with top 10 status with the right coach. That group includes Louisville, Virginia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Stanford, Washington, Oregon, UCLA, Arizona State, Utah and Texas A&M. None of these programs are always excellent, but they’ve proven that they are good enough programs that with an excellent coach they can be among the elite.”

John’s piece isn’t for the faint of heart but I highlight it here because it tries to answer the question of “If Pitt has played so poorly over the past 30 years why are we still such intense Pitt fans?”

The upshot of the article, supported by facts and statistics, is that there really is no valid reason other than the fact we love Pitt and its football team.  Pitt has failed compared to even the other schools people throw in as peers to our program – and by that I mean this (remember we are talking about the last 30 years):

“How close has Pitt come to flirting with top 10 status?  In that 30-year period, the highest Pitt has been ranked in the final AP Poll was 15th back in 2009. To put that in perspective, the following list of schools have finished 15th or higher in a final AP Poll within that same time frame: Air Force, Arizona (2x), Boston College (2x), California (3x), Central Florida, Colorado State, East Carolina, Houston (3x), Illinois (2x), Kansas (2x), Marshall, Maryland (2x), Miami of Ohio, Mississippi (3x), Mississippi State (3x), Nevada, North Carolina State, Oregon State, Purdue (2x), Rutgers, Southern Mississippi, Syracuse (5x), Tulane, Virginia, Washington State (5x) and Western Michigan. All those schools finished higher than Pitt ever did in the last 30 years but somehow Dokish omitted them from that second group just below the elite of college football.

What about winning percentage over the last 30 years? Care to guess which school Dokish listed has the lowest winning percentage?  If you guessed Pitt, you are correct!

That isn’t real easy to read is?  Yet it’s true and pretty scary.  But I’ll bet that if you look at attendance figures among all those schools mentioned Pitt would be up close to the top.

51 Pitt

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Average

36295

46076

48150

41315

49741

44315.40

OK – well maybe not close to the top but in the 65th percentile of the 129 D1 schools – and that is indicative of how we care about Pitt football.  After all, just since June of 2016 since the POV was created I have read and heard at least 50% of our commenters state ‘That’s it – no more Pitt football for me.  It’s dead as far as I’m concerned’!’  but here you are reading about Pitt football again!

Look – we are nutcases, and let’s face it we kind of have to be. Pitt football isn’t for the faint hearted by any means.  Pitt is 65th of all FBS teams in winning percentage of .507 over those 30 years.  .507 my friends but who cares?  We love the Blue and Old Gold.

Hell, even the savior of Pitt football, Pat Narduzzi (and you know some of you were thinking that when he was hired) has only had a .550 win percentage and who knows what that may be like after this next season.

And honestly 55% isn’t anything to sneeze at when you are a Pitt fan. Not when you look at what other Pitt HCs have done over their careers here.  It is somewhat surprising in who leads in winning percentage over the last 30 here but maybe that’s because I was living in Guam and Alaska when it happened:

Mike Gottfried:  .600

Dave Wannstedt: .575

Pat Narduzzi:  .550

Walt Harris:  .542

Paul Chryst: .500 (We’ll overlook that pesky .829 he has at Wisky)

Johnny Majors:  .500 and

Paul Hackett:  .397

So, yeah – King Pat is right in the mix to be a wins leader if he can turn the team around in 2018.  Hell even a 6-6 season will keep him in good stead, but of course we fans want to get back up to eight wins.

I think part of the love we have for Pitt football is because we keep churning awesome players through the program.  Dorsett, Marino, Green, Jackson were some oldtimers.  Siragusa, Mark May, Stepanoski, Fralic, Heyward, Bryant, Fitzgerald and others up until McCoy, Sheard, Donald, Conner and Boyd are some of the kids we watched come in as recruits and blossom into superstar players.

But even that makes us sad to see that with all that talent – and those guys had some great supporting casts around them – we still played average football for the most part. That is frustrating as Hell isn’t it?

Ya just can’t win as a Pitt fan but that doesn’t stop us from hanging on every word written about the team and program, does it? Most Pitt fans I know understand what the score is with Pitt football – get your hopes up and then wonder what happened for the most part.

But then there are the grand surprises like we saw with Narduzzi’s first year when he came in and won eight games…then did it again in his second season.

So we don’t stop loving the team because we lose games or have problems in the program.  As even-keeled as I am looking at the Pitt program I always hope that my lukewarm predictions might be wrong and boy am I happy when they are.

But we each have different personalities as Pitt fans.  MajorMajors will predict 9 or 10 wins again this coming season and Ike will feel that nothing is at all that wrong anywhere and that’s what makes them great fans.  UPitt will zing the staff every chance he gets and that’s what makes him a great fan also.

I, as your humble servant, will keep calling them as I see them…but I’ll still keep my fingers crossed we win each game.

Hail to Pitt!!

Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset #22 Miami on Thursday night at Pitt Stadium.

56 thoughts on “Another Voice…and What Makes Us Fans”

  1. We Pitt fans deserve better that’s for sure. But it’s truly amazing how many fans still support the team given the track record. Is there something mentally wrong with all of us? I blame the O fries and cheap beer at Zeldas.

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  2. Posted this at end of previous post:

    Article in the paper today on the 2019 FB top-15 recruits in the WPIAL – not very encouraging. Right now only 8 players have offers from power 5 conferences. Last year only 12 signed from the WPIAL.

    Top 2019 targets are OL Kristofic (sounds like ND), CB Devonshire, CB Porter, DB Thrift, and OL Katic. Seems like there are several 5-10 and 160 pounders who are going to MAC schools.

    Coach Duzz better be looking very far and very wide.

    Go Pitt.

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  4. BTW, Reed, I don’t think I’ve been a 9 or 10 win predictor – that number of Panther wins would produce more joy than my system may tolerate…

    I’m normally pretty realistic, but hopeful, about the likely win total. For example, if I had to say right now, I’d predict 7-5 for next season.

    Go Pitt.

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  5. Pitt football-almost a religious ritual for many of us …til death do us part… but please Lord not until we at least get into the BCS playoffs !

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  7. I know with me its the memories that keep me hanging on. I was there when Billy was a Senior on the basketball court and Tony was a Freshman on the grid-iron. You roll out of bed at McCormick Hall, walk up DeSoto for the game and then come back down the hill to celebrate the victory.

    You probably stop at the “O” for a chili cheese dog with extra mustard and a pickle. THE Sydney Simon with his coke-bottle glasses is alive and running the “O”. You flash your driver’s license and walk past Froggy and head into The Keg for a beer. You then round Forbes to South Bouquet to have another one at Zelda’s. You cross South Bouquet with 3 friends and have a shot and beer at Wolfarth’s Pub. And unless my mind is once again wrong, you could traverse through Wohlfarth’s, go through a back door, and cross Oakland and have a final round at Peter’s Pub. Where after 2 rounds, my roommate says, ” the Monessen boys are meeting at Haddon Hall and Shadyside nurses will be there; you in?” Even half inebriated my jeans stir.

    Let me tell you something POV-ites, no one at Alabama or Ohio State or USC and especially at Penn State cow patch U ever had a better college experience than what Oakland had to offer it’s collegians in the mid 70s. PLUS a couple years earlier we could catch a bus and head downtown and witness Roberto.

    So I dream on …

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    1. Did all those plus the Luna and Quinques! Hadden Hall had free popcorn and rubber machines in the men’s room with 10 bright colors offered. Tried for years to get ruby red. Best years of most of our lives. So amen and agreed Tony! And…Hail to Pitt!

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    2. lol….that’s funny about the Nurses at Haddon Hall. Thursdays was $1 Pitcher night. And they had the Free Popcorn Machine. You couldn’t beat it.

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  9. Interesting thing about Haddon Hall that my mother told me was that back in the thirties and forties that it was a whorehouse.

    The upper two floors were prostitutes’ rentals and they would come down to the bar, pick up the students and take him upstairs to have a good time and then take him back down and let him drink the rest of the night away…

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    1. Reed- I had also heard that about Haddon Hall. Eventually I would meet my wife (a Pitt coed) there. 2 of our 4 kids would be Pitt alums. I hope to meet you someday. Raypgh was to introduce us at a Fran tailgate but I had a last second Family engagement. Thank you for keeping the Pitt 70s hope alive!

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  10. I really enjoy being a Pitt fan. It’s the optimism, the potential that any given year we can start building something great. It’s seeing those games where those players play their hearts out. It’s exhilarating when Pitt does something amazing and it’s a hard feeling to get through other entertainment . I love it.

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  11. I have been a die hard since i went there from 99-03. I missed the bottom of pitt football of the 90’s and pitt has been comfortably above .500 since i have been a fan (yes i take the credit😉). My wife tells me to follow someone else like bama but i just can’t despite the suffering. I have just seen how close we have been so many times in my years as a fan. just have never been able to get over the hump. I am still holding out hope!

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  15. I think differently about the strong following of Pitt Football here and why so many are fanatical about the teams, but especially football. The main reason we follow the team and care so much in my opinion is because we went to games in our youth, at Pitt stadium. Sports programs and an on campus stadium create an experiential bond that doesn’t break.

    We are all chasing back to our childhoods…..or shortly thereafter in some fashion. Our formative years were spent on campus and in an on campus stadium.

    Sure there will be some on here that only know heinz steeler stadium as our home field after 99. I do not. Do I go to Pitt games at heinz steeler stadium, yes. Am i excited to go to heinz steeler stadium, no! Except for steeler games. But to close, we are all tied together by our memories of Pitt Stadium on Pitt Campus.

    It’s not about the players or the coaches necessarily. It is about the experience. Build a stadium.

    I think Carr will do well in another program. Would have liked him to stay. OSU has been on him hard.

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  16. I’ve come to the conclusion I was destined to be a Pitt alum and a Pitt fan. Spent a lot of time on campus as a kid, my dad’s business revolved around Pitt. Forbes Field was at Pitt and I grew up 15-20 minutes away.
    You could say I was basically born on Pitt’s campus….cause I was.

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  17. On the road all day.

    I want to share my condolences with Reed. Sounds like you had a very special Aunt and a special relationship. We are all lucky to have special people that help shape our lives.

    Also sorry to see Carr go. Think he has some talent and wish him well. Could have been a good transition player while Capel recruits his guys. Don’t think you can have too many good guards in the ACC.

    Too tired to read the reminiscing above, will do with coffee in the morning.

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  18. I kept going back to the Luna well into my forties hoping nurses would show up. Haha. Love these walks down memory lane. A while back someone posted pictures of old Luna Park that I got a kick out of. So much great history in this area as opposed to We are Farmers college…dum da dum dum dum dum dum. ” well son, that was all farmland back in the day”. Thanks JoeL for the picture of Jocks gravesite…saw Christian Sportsman on there too…maybe I need to make a second shrine at the tailgates next to Johnny’s.

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  19. Getting ready to sit down for my breakfast and coffee – catching up on things POV – fun to read about Pitt in the 70’s.

    Reed – you are a good man and your aunt is an even better lady. Would have enjoyed meeting her, talking about her life experiences and all things Pitt. The eulogy is fitting to come from you and you have shared so much about her with us that I feel Lyke I know her. I’ll be praying for you and your family as you travel and take on this noble task.

    Woke up to 27 degree temps and I have my first golf game of the year with my psux buddies at 8am. Someone at the Spring Game mentioned they have no psux friends – it is an intentional choice. Been thinking about that ever since –

    By the way, psux lost 7 of their top 8 tacklers from 2017 and their O producers except McSwirley have left (RB Barkley, TE Gesicki, WR’s Hamilton & Blacknall).

    I’m ready for the PA cat fight at Heinz in September.

    H2P!

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  20. The frustrating thing about PSU is that their recruiting is so damn good they just seem to reload each off-season where we are continually in the rebuilding mode.

    Here is an interesting point about our attendance. If you look at 2013 above you see that 2013 was the year with our highest attendance in the last 5 years averaging almost 50K per game.

    That was because we started off with FSU at home (loss) but then ripped off four straight home wins including beating ND at Heinz. We finished with a decent 7 wins.

    Fast forward to 2017 when we opened with a crappy almost-loss game against YSU and then next home game we get blown out by OK State…and averaged almost14K less per game in the stands on the year.

    That shows the fickleness of the casual Pitt fan and those 14K fencesitters are the ones Pitt has to convince to come and watch the team.

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  21. Winning 4straight games. That says it all. You’ll get those 14 additional, then after that becomes commonplace year after year the othe 14 will come. Scheduling.

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  23. I know I’m going to raise some anger here (so what else is new) but have always believed that as a non-alum, I have a more objective viewpoint of the program than most of you frequent posters. And I have long thought, and have indicated as such, that you all overrate the potential of Pitt athletics, especially the FB program.

    Consider the following:

    1) the posters on this site do not represent the average Pitt alum and not even the average Pitt fan. We are the most passionate of the fanbase, therefore, our judgment is tainted.

    2) the average Pitt alum cares very little about Pitt FB. I have too many friends, former co-workers and relatives who Pitt alms that would much rather be at Heinz Field on Sunday than Saturday … and in fact a handful of them have Steeler season tickets but rarely, if ever, attend a Pitt game. Maybe many of you surround yourself with others of your own ilk and think otherwise … but I assure you that does not represent the average.

    3) the last time Pitt FB had a less than 3-loss season was 36 years ago.

    4) the administration has an extremely spotty record when it comes to support of athletics. And while the current admin seems to be much more supportive, given the history, I expect this to last no more than a few more years.

    This is why I cringe when I see the negativism on this site towards the coaches and AD (Stallings notwithstanding — who should never have been hired). It seems like too many of you have this delusion of grandeur that Pitt FB will return to what is was in the late 70s. That will never, ever happen.

    I actually have read here where some of you actually think UPitt is a realist .. and I scoff. To think that Pitt can continually excel in sports like FB, baseball and a few others borders lunacy. So is the attitude that demanding better results by posting on a blog will somehow improve things. I can appreciate your passion and having higher expectations than everyone else …. but you also need to be brought down to earth too many times.

    I do think Pitt basketball has a chance to return to its recent status of annual Top 20 program; after all, it takes much less resources to do so … and it already has a first-rate venue and plays in the most exposed conference. But to think that many of the other sports can do the same … aside from wrestling, volleyball and swimming, etc …. you need to wake up.

    wwb

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  24. BTW, in reference to Reed’s note in the article above about Chrst’s record at Wisc ….

    while no doubt he is a good coach, it also should be noted that his predecessor at UW was hired after a meager 26-24 record at Utah St, posted a 19-7 record at UW before bolting to Ore St where he was 7-23 before being shown the door. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Andersen

    In other words, it’s much more the UW program than it is the coach

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    1. Yep that’s true, and the overall dynamics of the BigJoke as a whole. When you have a lot of high profile Bowl games, they need more 10 win teams to fill them, lest they would look more of a joke, having 7 and 8 win teams in those high profile bowls.

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      1. The Big 10 finished 7-1 in bowl games this past season. The Big 10 West, which is frequently derided here and has largely been dominated by Wisconsin for the past few years, finished 4-0.

        Northwestern beat Pitt (who had beaten national champion Clemson that season) in the Pinstripe in 2017.

        Apparently not being an alumnus of Wisconsin or Pitt doesn’t help with objectivity where Paul Chryst is concerned.

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  25. Random thoughts on a Saturday, before my sister-in-law cleans my teeth:

    I hope I haven’t pissed her off recently.
    Being a Pitt fan would be more fun if we won more, or beat UNC occasionally.
    Being a long-time Pitt fan is like addiction: no longer a choice.
    Great pride in Not cheating and avoiding cultish behavior.
    Before too long, no hoops recruits less than four stars.
    Reed, my thoughts n prayers for ur aunt.

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    1. The Tarholes in football. That is a head scratcher why we can’t beat them since their football program is similar to ours. Not very good or slightly above avg. This goes way back to one of the three straight 11-1 seasons under Jackie. One of those one’s…..was…..you guessed it……the Holes.

      Chapel Hill is indeed Chapel Hell for Pitt !

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  26. Those winning percentages are lower because the university foolishly schedules difficult non-conference schedules. Look no further than this season with PSU, ND and UCF. The Knights game turned into a tough one unexpectedly, but it is on the schedule and that is all that matters.

    Even when Pitt was an independent, playing Miami and Notre Dame in the same season in that late 80s and in 1990 was so stupid.

    Fans don’t show except for PSU or ND, so one good opponent and three cupcakes for the wins, which is all that matters.

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    1. Yes, take away that one “certain” loss (Penn State 2016) each year and add it to the “certain” win column (Youngstown State 2017) and it makes all the difference in the world with regard to season winning percentages.

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  27. Back from Myrtle Beach and the weathe is a little improved, but still so much rain in the forecast. It is hard to be a Pitt and Pittsburgh guy. I envy my friends that have moved to warmer and drier climates. Most of them are not much interested in Pitt Sports. Like all of us, wouldn’t have traded my six years at Pitt for anything. Was there for the Billy Knight years and the return of Pitt Football. Watched the workouts Majors put on those boys. Visited all those bars mentioned above. First year of grad school lived above Flo’s records with the woman I have been married to for 43 years. Could fall out of bed into Wohlfarth’s Pub. Spent hours at those pinball machines. Still surprised no one remembers Sonny Dayes on Forbes and the great jazz with Spider Rondinelli. The shock of stumbling in to the Holiday Bar was one I won’t forget.

    Oakland was the hangout for all young people, not just Pitt, CMU and Carlow, even the Duquesne students and suburbanites partied in Oakland.

    Pittsburgh has changed, actually for the better. Young people have many more options, all over the city.

    As usual, I agree with most of what wbb posted. Many Pitt Fans unrealistically expect those Halcyon Days to return and are crestfallen every year when they don’t. I know when Pitt got really good with Dorsett, how shocked I was and how great it felt that my University was the best. It would be great to feel that way again, but I certainly don’t expect it, and would be overwhelmed if we made the top ten in my lifetime.

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  28. My aunt passed on last night in her sleep so I’m awaiting word on service details, etc.

    Thanks for all your kind thoughts.

    Just spoke with my cousins and we all agree her time had come and they are fine.

    Death within a two week period is just about right in that she had a chance to reflect with her loved ones and say her goodbyes without being in pain. I’ll certainly miss her but will take all the many lessons she has taught me and keep making life better for others if I can.

    As I said earlier, I’ll probably be away from The POV for a while but will check emails for any articles sent my way…

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  29. By the way last two days played Myrtle Beach National, King’s North and the Heritage Club. Eighty degree temps and Twenty mile per hour wind with gusts up to 50. It really kicked my butt. I did birdie the Gambler, but way too many “dreaded others”

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  30. We all have great memories of the past. They were simple times and probably the best times of our lives in many ways. I am a sfifteen year season ticket holder (eight) and never graduated from Pitt. I love college football and it would be great for us to continue to improve I agree many complain about things we can’t control and we all hate PSU This is a great blog site for Pitt fans. Just for your information our local high school football team went to psu to watch practice last Monday tour the facilities and everyone met Frankenstein I mean frank the mouth. How’s that for recruiting. We at Pitt can’t get to see practice yet psu opens the door. By the way we haven’t had a division one recruit in football tn15 years so think what they do for bigger better high schools. We are behind to start. I loved Joel’s article. Reed in my prayers and thanks for all you do not only in football but life. H2P

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  32. Well again Reed, very sorry to hear about your Aunt but the memories of her will last all of you for the rest of your time here on earth and beyond.

    John, thanks for the great article. So many great writers on the POV and thank goodness PITT fans as well. Myself, I go way back with great, good and bad memories yet my thoughts and optimism are always focused the most on the now and the future. This current PITT football program has very little to do with the great late 70’s and early 80’s teams, same goes for the crappy teams that followed. Well aside from a historic past and the same diehard PITT fans. imo, The new administration along what seems to me a renewed dedication to their total sports programs and policies looks evident to me. Years of not caring will take years to change it all back around. I probably have more patience than time left to see this all through but I haven’t given up on PITT once again being a football team to be reckoned with annually. ike

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  34. Reed,
    With deep respect to you and your family over the loss of this great Pitt lady. I am praying for safe travel for all and that God would give you His words as you deliver the eulogy in memory of your Aunt.
    Sincerely,
    Jim

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  35. My condolences for your Aunt. She rests in peace

    To comment on the thoughts from wbb – the Sleeper can be awakened. Pitt has such great potential but squanders it. Pitt can realistically become a very good program…not top 10 elite but very good. Most of the pieces are in place. But outside a 7 year period in both football and basketball during different decades, Pitt has been really mediocre if not poor in both football and basketball. There is a reason for this.

    So what will it take?

    Fundamentally a cultural shift. We talk about this front porch but does the Chancellor and BoT really mean it. Look at the money trail. When there is money, facilities get built, the budget is there to hire good experienced coaches. If sports is important to a school, you’ll see leaders walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Right now we have an imbalance with academics and athletics.

    So to awaken the Sleeper:
    1. Get a commitment from the BoT and Chancellor that sports does matter. Put it in a mission statement for starters. Support feasibility studies for new facilities (eg OCS). Understand the intrinsic value of sports and how future school donations are impacted by a students experience with alma mater. How applications are impacted by a schools performance on the field or court.

    Structurally, the board must change. A 9 member academic board and a 9 member athletic board is what I recommend. Pitt has a 36 member composition today. Many are political appointees and a few members are even alumni or have strong connections to our rival in CPA. The bureaucracy and nepotism is destroying Pitt and creating a toxic culture for sports.

    Develop ways to incorporate sports into a students college life so people do care; develop traditions around sporting events, develop school spirit and pride; develop a connection to the school through sports; Also reach out to young kids in the local communities…fans are created at a young age. Take a book at what other successful schools have done to engage students, alumni and to create fans at an early age. Narduzzi – open up your practices.
    Raise money – money will pay for facilities, great coaching staffs, recruiting budgets, ways to market the school. Give fans a reason to contribute by sharing your vision, what it means to them and show incremental and consistent progress to prove their money is being put to good use. Thats our AD’s primary job. Bring back some successful and wealthy former players. Get them on a fundraising board.
    Hire the right coaches. Then hold them accountable for results. Winning is important but a coach is also a leader of men and women. Players must be held accountable for classroom and community success. These student/athletes are the face of our university. These coaches are also the face. Its not some Chem professor. Like it or not, the cult of personality of these coaches and some players does drive the perception of the brand and does determine the brand’s equity by a good degree. Very important that the AD has the budget to hire experienced coaches and gets the right fit.
    Fan opinion. Yes – sites like this do matter. Forums where Pitt fans can gather and share opinions is one way change can come about. Pitt’s administration monitors and reads boards. Its a free focus group for them. Helps them get the pulse on many things. The media also gets some of their ideas from what fans are talking about and thinking. And these sites can also help start movements. As simple as raising some funds to help with Jock Sutherland’s gravesite to getting a feasibility study for an OCS to a POV tailgate where plans for a Pitt sports revolution are discussed while drinking beers and eating good food.

    So will Pitt ever get back to becoming elite? Maybe for a brief period of time like the Majors and Sherrill years and then the early Dixon years. Unfortunately, to be elite these days, many schools are forced to cheat, sell out academics and do other unsavory things. And I dont believe Pitt should walk down this path.

    But I’m more concerned about what it will take for Pitt to become very good across all programs and then to sustain it. Again, many of the pieces are in place. It will take some continued changes with some being significant but it will also require a renewed commitment from everyone. So lets continue holding our leaders accountable and not being afraid of being part of a movement to impact change…there is power in numbers.

    Whether you think so or not, you’re already part of a movement by posting here.

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  36. Tx, I picked over your comment and I’ll get back to reading the whole comment. You call the Major and Sherrill years brief and they are by life standards. Seasons through 76 through 83 however have lasted a lifetime to many PITT fans. Being there once is proof enough for me that PITT can and will be there again. Hopefully sooner than later. ike

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  37. For you older guys, that was your imprint of Pitt. For a guy that was 6 years old then, it imprinted me as well but more so the Marino years. So what can Pitt do today to create those very strong memories. That association and connection with something fun, exciting and good. Well it’s what I suggested above and also building Pitts Field of Dreams. Having sports connected to campus is important. That’s the foundation that traditions are built upon. Where the Pitt spirit can call home.

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  38. and BTW, here’s a shout out to everyone for the psu game, we need to get a few more parking passes to Frans lot so he can entertain around 100 or more faithful POVer’s for that day’s tailgate. I’m sure Fran will pass on details.

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  39. Reed, my families thoughts and prayers are with you and your Aunt. We maintain a whiteboard that we put up at the top of our staircase so that every night on the way up to bed (at a minimum), the kids and parents take a look and share a prayer or laugh before they/we settle in. We call it our Board of Thanks (BoT). Your Aunt was on our Board as were others on here who previously lost a dear one and shared. It helps us celebrate life and give thanks for the lives of folks we will miss and folks that others will miss, as well as just being thankful for the things we have and the accomplishments that are achieved. And also when we don’t achieve. Quirky, maybe, but it is a brief pause for reflection.

    I read where dokish can’t figure out why Luther would transfer to Arizona. I think it is easy to see that Miller lost several big time recruits that were going to fill the needs of graduating and nba matriculating players. Without the influx of new talent, Luther fits the bill to bridge the talent gap until the investigations conclude. I think shaquille oneils kid decommitted along with one or two other big time recruits.

    I say this next bit half jokingly but half seriously, but are the Pitt BBall summer scrimmages/practices 1 on 1 yet? I understand that they can’t “officially” practice, but the numbers remaining are quite scary. We can’t go two deep on the three man weave!! Hopefully we can land a big time player or two in the coming week or so.

    BBall camp opens in 4 months…..

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  40. If you like to root for the underdog, it’s pretty easy to be a Pitt fan.

    Add to that the lofty percentage of football players from Pitt inducted into the Pro Football HOF, plus the once in a while big wins over foes like ND, VT, Miami, Clemson, etc. and hope Springs Eternal for a better tomorrow for Pitt football.

    So please don’t dampen my enthusiasm with recent historical facts because I perfer to busy myself with imagining how psu can screw up their game against us come September so that we can put win #2 in the books in 5 months.

    Hail to Pitt!

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  43. As a non alum (but long time Pittsburgh resident married to a Pitt alum) what turned me on and keeps me excited about the Panther football program is the unbearable sweetness of those occasional huge unexpected wins… WVU, the Penn State series bookend wins, knocking off #1 Clemson in Death Valley, and the Miami game last year…the emotional lows and frustrations caused by the unforgettable losses to the Youngstown States of the world simply serve to highlight the highs and make the fan experience that much sweeter…

    My condolences to you and your family Reed, Godspeed to your aunt.

    H2P

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