Narduzzi comment on fans

[Slick Manager of Champs]

I have often said these last 2 Bowl losses (while some fans may dismiss them as being meaningless) really carry over & begin to build national exposure.
As much as I hated everything about JoePa & St Penn I realized that when given a month to prepare for any game more times than not JoePa had them ready to play. This started very early in JoePa's tenure & really helped him to gain a national reputation. JoePa never missed an opportunity on the national stage regardless how meaningless or unimportant some may have considered the game to be.
When I hear or read people proclaiming how meaningless these past 2 Bowl games were it irritates me because it plays into a mindset that somehow we feel above the need to go out & give everything we have regardless of opponent, circumstance, time of year, etc.
We should never dismiss any opportunity to build & grow this program because there are always eyes watching us looking to find a school they can embrace.

H2 PITT !!!

agree. Especially the Pinstripe bowl. A win there would have meant a top 25 season, and 9 wins the most since 2009, the magic Wann season. A top 25 season would be very significant since most attention is driven towards the top 25 on ESPN, SI, etc. Most likely would have started the season ranked and created some buzz.

Instead you lose the bowl, finish unranked, lose Canada, suspend a bunch of guys.....really set things back.

Next year will be a big spike in season tickets. Yeah it will be nits, but not all its buying tickets are pitt haters. Some are neutral and would go to a game in November if it had meaning. The key is getting the people who bought those tickets to use them for more than just the PSU game.

 

[gary2]

agree. Especially the Pinstripe bowl. A win there would have meant a top 25 season, and 9 wins the most since 2009, the magic Wann season. A top 25 season would be very significant since most attention is driven towards the top 25 on ESPN, SI, etc. Most likely would have started the season ranked and created some buzz.

Instead you lose the bowl, finish unranked, lose Canada, suspend a bunch of guys.....really set things back.

Next year will be a big spike in season tickets. Yeah it will be nits, but not all its buying tickets are pitt haters. Some are neutral and would go to a game in November if it had meaning. The key is getting the people who bought those tickets to use them for more than just the PSU game.

In the Pinstripe bowl both JC and Peterman suffered concussions on dirty plays. The proper penalties were not assessed there. Officiating in that game was horrendous throughout. If that Pitt team were to play that NW team another 10 times, Pitt would win every game.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Tarps equal proof that you don't expect things to get better.

That's just dumb. I'm not saying that he might not think that, but if he does, he's just being dumb. For him to actually think that he'd have to think that the tarps were permanent, that if the team got better and demand increased that Pitt couldn't simply remove the tarps.

God, I hope he's not that dumb.

 

[TD_istheman]

Please provide proof that tarps would improve the atmosphere. And please don’t bring up those stupid soccer stadiums. Soccer fans are better than football fans by nature. But, I just need proof that tarps would improve a college football atmosphere.

It won't , you are correct and will HURT recruiting , ask the head coach

 

[anon_vmuicqnzlyp3u]

Coach Narduzzi wants fans to show. He does not want silly tarps put up.

I have never heard him say it's "sell out or nothing". He just wants more fans in the stadium.

I agree. No tarps.

Unfortunately people need to begin and realize we will not have consistent 70K crowds. I do not know why that is so hard to accept and understand

 

[Swervin27]

I agree 100% with this but it appears that that isn't enough for Narduzzi. I don't think he's satisfied with that. I mean he's even commented on making the Spring Game have a huge crowd. That isn't going to happen. It just can't. Spending a lot of time in Cincinnati, you would think he would understand attendance problems in pro cities but to me, it seems like he is blaming the fans for poor recruiting.

well it should be his goal to excite the fanbase, to get more people to the games. No coach is going to be satisfied with anything less than a sellout. PItt has it's strengths and weaknesses. Plenty of things to sell to recruits, we are a P5 school in a major market. You emphasize your plusses and minimize your negatives, it's selling 101.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

In the Pinstripe bowl both JC and Peterman suffered concussions on dirty plays. The proper penalties were not assessed there. Officiating in that game was horrendous throughout. If that Pitt team were to play that NW team another 10 times, Pitt would win every game.

I agree, really got bad breaks. Two obvious penalties that weren't called and should have resulted in ejections. No way the head coach wasn't aware of the head hunting.....I was hoping for a bad season for Northwestern and will continue to do so with Fitzgerald at the helm

 

[Panthergrowl13]

Unfortunately people need to begin and realize we will not have consistent 70K crowds. I do not know why that is so hard to accept and understand

Reality is reality.

You can accept reality or pretend it doesn't exist but it is reality.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

 

[paulbl99]

I have often said these last 2 Bowl losses (while some fans may dismiss them as being meaningless) really carry over & begin to build national exposure.
As much as I hated everything about JoePa & St Penn I realized that when given a month to prepare for any game more times than not JoePa had them ready to play. This started very early in JoePa's tenure & really helped him to gain a national reputation. JoePa never missed an opportunity on the national stage regardless how meaningless or unimportant some may have considered the game to be.
When I hear or read people proclaiming how meaningless these past 2 Bowl games were it irritates me because it plays into a mindset that somehow we feel above the need to go out & give everything we have regardless of opponent, circumstance, time of year, etc.
We should never dismiss any opportunity to build & grow this program because there are always eyes watching us looking to find a school they can embrace.

H2 PITT !!!

Grandpa Munster hopped in his own car when he took the HC and traveled all over PA to every little small town and elsewhere to get people to buy in to it.
Sometimes you have to get up off your arse and go get it.

 

[Jakey_John]

Pitt fans need to step up. You can make all of the excuses you want but the bottom line is we will never be an elite program with 30k fans showing up on a regular basis. Don't give me the "win first then we will come" BS because it is just another excuse. Great players want to play in big games in big time atmospheres and the fans are responsible for that. Do your part, buy tickets and go to the games and make some noise.

I think at the end of this year we saw glimpses of what this defense can look like and we saw what a difference a good QB can make. We have a lot of players back so next year should be a better year. If you are really a Pitt fan, put away your excuses, buy season tickets and get behind the program.

Fans that are not on these boards are not going to “step up” until the program does and the reality is Pitt hasn’t done so for the last 35 years.

 

[ThePanthers]

Fans that are not on these boards are not going to “step up” until the program does and the reality is Pitt hasn’t done so for the last 35 years.

Then we will continue forever in this vicious cycle

 

[Jakey_John]

What’s another 35 years?

 

[jtownknowitall]

Proof. LOL!!!!

The proof is the 20,000 EMPTY screaming yellow seats which look pathetic and embarrassing.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

How did Pitt beat the number two team in the country Friday with 20,000+ EMPTY seats? Tarps or no tarps has no effect on the team’s ability to win football games.

 

[Pittfan85]

On attendance, I will continue to go back to the Thursday night UNC game narduzzi’s first year. Pitt was 6-1, had one loss on a 57 yes field goal to undefeated Iowa, and had a chance to take control of the coastal. It was the biggest game at Heinz since cincy (which didn’t sell out btw) and I think less than 50 k showed.

I also don’t want to hear it is only “casual”fans that don’t come. The fans on this board moan as much as anyone about game times and dates, and are always finding excuses as to why they can’t go.

I also don’t want to hear about winning gets people there. We saw with basketball that apparently the only acceptable performance is a top 10-15 program. The minute that pitt fell off some attendance dropped even against marquee opponents. Say what you want about Dixon, but his last year the team was borderline top 25 most of the year...yet top 15 Purdue, UVA, and Louisville al failed to sale out. That is on the fanbase...even if the program is really good, there will always be an excuse.

I have been tough on narduzzi, but he was dead on there. Pitt fans suck.

 

[Twisted Pittster]

Then we will continue forever in this vicious cycle

So playing devil’s advocate here - what would Pitt do differently if the stadium had 70k in it for every home game? Anything?

There is a “Bob Nutting” feel to how football and basketball are run at Pitt. If the fans stepped up would the University do so as well?

Look what happened to Men’s Soccer when a serious big time coaching hire was made. I don’t even know who the football and basketball equivalents of Vidovich would be, but it sure as hell isn’t Kevin Stallings. I like Narduzzi but he’s not a marquis coach who will draw top shelf talent here just because of who he is. That’s what Vidivich did for soccer and the results have been amazing. Why can’t Pitt do the same for football and basketball?

Pitt is asking the fans for commitment when the Athletic Department has not shown commitment themselves for decades.

 

[Pittfan85]

So playing devil’s advocate here - what would Pitt do differently if the stadium had 70k in it for every home game? Anything?

There is a “Bob Nutting” feel to how football and basketball are run at Pitt. If the fans stepped up would the University do so as well?

Look what happened to Men’s Soccer when a serious big time coaching hire was made. I don’t even know who the football and basketball equivalents of Vidovich would be, but it sure as hell isn’t Kevin Stallings. I like Narduzzi but he’s not a marquis coach who will draw top shelf talent here just because of who he is. That’s what Vidivich did for soccer and the results have been amazing. Why can’t Pitt do the same for football and basketball?

Pitt is asking the fans for commitment when the Athletic Department has not shown commitment themselves for decades.

Using the stallings hire as “lack of commitment” is really silly. The hire was exceedingly dumb, but there were 200 other coaches pitt could have had that would have been far cheaper.

If pitt wanted to be cheap there, they would have hired Brandin Knight.

I also think that it has been said multiple times that pitt subsidizes athletics more than any other P5 school. Much like the pirates where people constantly complain about nutting being cheap, people fail to ever account for where the extra money comes from?

 

[ThePanthers]

So playing devil’s advocate here - what would Pitt do differently if the stadium had 70k in it for every home game? Anything?

There is a “Bob Nutting” feel to how football and basketball are run at Pitt. If the fans stepped up would the University do so as well?

Look what happened to Men’s Soccer when a serious big time coaching hire was made. I don’t even know who the football and basketball equivalents of Vidovich would be, but it sure as hell isn’t Kevin Stallings. I like Narduzzi but he’s not a marquis coach who will draw top shelf talent here just because of who he is. That’s what Vidivich did for soccer and the results have been amazing. Why can’t Pitt do the same for football and basketball?

Pitt is asking the fans for commitment when the Athletic Department has not shown commitment themselves for decades.

70k fans every game would help recruiting a ton. It would help pay for stronger coaching staff etc. Paying 50k more for a tip soccer coach in a no revenue sport is much different than trying to pay an additional 5m for a top football coach.

As for basketball we built a brand new arena, had a top coach that they continued to give extensions and raises and the moment things started to slide everyone jumped ship.

 

[jtownknowitall]

Look what happened to Men’s Soccer when a serious big time coaching hire was made. I don’t even know who the football and basketball equivalents of Vidovich would be, but it sure as hell isn’t Kevin Stallings. I like Narduzzi but he’s not a marquis coach who will draw top shelf talent here just because of who he is. That’s what Vidivich did for soccer and the results have been amazing. Why can’t Pitt do the same for football and basketball?

Pitt is asking the fans for commitment when the Athletic Department has not shown commitment themselves for decades.

There is no such thing as a “marquis” coach. What you are looking for is a magician. It looks like half of major college football is looking for that same magician.

 

[Twisted Pittster]

Using the stallings hire as “lack of commitment” is really silly. The hire was exceedingly dumb, but there were 200 other coaches pitt could have had that would have been far cheaper.

If pitt wanted to be cheap there, they would have hired Brandin Knight.

I also think that it has been said multiple times that pitt subsidizes athletics more than any other P5 school. Much like the pirates where people constantly complain about nutting being cheap, people fail to ever account for where the extra money comes from?

The hire was made for reasons other than winning or what was best for the Program. It was at best stupid, at worst flat out corrupt.

Who got rid of the Golden Panthers? The fans? I realize that we don’t have SEC Bag Men, but I also have trouble buying that Pitt is poor and destitute. The administration emphasizes athletics to the extent they are interested in doing so, which means they are a lower priority than many if not most P5 schools.

 

[ThePanthers]

There is no such thing as a “marquis” coach. What you are looking for is a magician. It looks like half of major college football is looking for that same magician.

Amen. Look how hard it is for a school like Tennessee or Nebraska to find that magician.

Oh well. This thinking is not going to change ever and people will not realize college athletics is not professional sports and this cycle will continue.

I mean we just had a coach for football that now has his team 1 game away from the playoffs. But he wasn't good enough. We had a top tier bb coach for 15 years every program wanted and we were able to keep that long and yet it wasn't good enough.

 

[Cap pitt]

It starts with current students and alumni. Until they fix that, attendance will be what it is. Student section is terrible very bad!!

If Pittsburgh gets rid of the steelers, the fans will show up to Pitt games. Lol

 

[FourPanthers]

I wish he would have beaten UNC. Narduzzi needs to understand that he has to win consistently in order for people to show up. The Pinstripe Bowl loss didn’t happen in a vaccum. He also need not forget that there were people SLEEPING against OSU. That’s on him and the product he fielded.

Total BS. Why? Because he can go to other schools where fans show up, period. Pitt fans justify why they don't go by saying we don't have a good product. 10 straight years with bowls, James Connor, Larry Fitzgerald, revis, McCoy, on and on. Other schools support their team and make recruiting easier (see Paul Chryst at Wisconsin). Remember he couldn't coach here. Coach knows it's easier to recruit with better fans, period. He'll move on and Pitt fans will be making the same excuses with the next coach, and then the one after that.

 

[pittman71]

Amen. Look how hard it is for a school like Tennessee or Nebraska to find that magician.

Oh well. This thinking is not going to change ever and people will not realize college athletics is not professional sports and this cycle will continue.

I mean we just had a coach for football that now has his team 1 game away from the playoffs. But he wasn't good enough. We had a top tier bb coach for 15 years every program wanted and we were able to keep that long and yet it wasn't good enough.

Pitt basketball was trending downward, it isn't like Pitt was at the top of the ACC and everyone wanted to make a change because they were deranged. 2 wins in the NCAA tournament over a 6 year period gets most coaches released/fired.

Chryst was here and Pitt was nowhere close to reaching the football playoff and HE left on his own he was not fired.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

On attendance, I will continue to go back to the Thursday night UNC game narduzzi’s first year. Pitt was 6-1, had one loss on a 57 yes field goal to undefeated Iowa, and had a chance to take control of the coastal. It was the biggest game at Heinz since cincy (which didn’t sell out btw) and I think less than 50 k showed.

I also don’t want to hear it is only “casual”fans that don’t come. The fans on this board moan as much as anyone about game times and dates, and are always finding excuses as to why they can’t go.

I also don’t want to hear about winning gets people there. We saw with basketball that apparently the only acceptable performance is a top 10-15 program. The minute that pitt fell off some attendance dropped even against marquee opponents. Say what you want about Dixon, but his last year the team was borderline top 25 most of the year...yet top 15 Purdue, UVA, and Louisville al failed to sale out. That is on the fanbase...even if the program is really good, there will always be an excuse.

I have been tough on narduzzi, but he was dead on there. Pitt fans suck.

Basketball is actually a very good example of the difficulty of drawing fans in a pro market. When Pitt was Top 5, Top 10, we sold out, when we slide to Top 25-40/bubblish which is the equivalent of say 8-4, 7-5 in football, fans stopped coming. This is why I say Pitt football needs to be 10-2 or 11-1 more often that not to consistently draw 50K-60K. Pro sports fans aren't going to give a $hit about a mediocre college team. Its just common sense.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Then we will continue forever in this vicious cycle

So playing devil’s advocate here - what would Pitt do differently if the stadium had 70k in it for every home game? Anything?

There is a “Bob Nutting” feel to how football and basketball are run at Pitt. If the fans stepped up would the University do so as well?

Look what happened to Men’s Soccer when a serious big time coaching hire was made. I don’t even know who the football and basketball equivalents of Vidovich would be, but it sure as hell isn’t Kevin Stallings. I like Narduzzi but he’s not a marquis coach who will draw top shelf talent here just because of who he is. That’s what Vidivich did for soccer and the results have been amazing. Why can’t Pitt do the same for football and basketball?

Pitt is asking the fans for commitment when the Athletic Department has not shown commitment themselves for decades.

Vidovich is showing how hard it is to build a program from nothing. In 2 years he took a team that had NEC/PSAC talent to 2 wins away from the NCAAT.....but he still hasn't made it. Vidovich's Year 1 = Stallings Year 2 as Stallings only returned 2 playera

 

[Panthergrowl13]

How did Pitt beat the number two team in the country Friday with 20,000+ EMPTY seats? Tarps or no tarps has no effect on the team’s ability to win football games.

However, fans from other teams watching on TV are mocking and laughing at Pitt's empty stadium (20,000 plus EMPTY YELLOW SEATS).

Ridicule is ridicule.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

 

[ThePanthers]

Pitt basketball was trending downward, it isn't like Pitt was at the top of the ACC and everyone wanted to make a change because they were deranged. 2 wins in the NCAA tournament over a 6 year period gets most coaches released/fired.

Chryst was here and Pitt was nowhere close to reaching the football playoff and HE left on his own he was not fired.

Ha.

 

[DiehardPanther]

If Pitt basketball played in a 20k seat arena when they were good they still would have had a bunch of empty seats for most games. The Pete was the perfect size when they were good. A 70k seat football stadium will always be too big for Pitt. A 50k seat or so stadium would be just the right size. It would be filled and jumping just like The Pete was when we had a good team. DOWNSIZE HEINZ! Easy solution.

 

[pittman71]

I am not an expert on "downsizing" stadiums; how much more money would it cost for Pitt to downsize Heinz Field, then "rightsize" it for Steeler games, especially when they occur on the same weekend?

 

[DiehardPanther]

I am not an expert on "downsizing" stadiums; how much more money would it cost for Pitt to downsize Heinz Field, then "rightsize" it for Steeler games, especially when they occur on the same weekend?

Buy a Tarp. Put it on and then take it off. It takes time to clean up all the crap left on the ground after a game. Instead of cleaning up garbage, they would be taking the tarp off.

 

[DruidTM]

Yeah I’m tired of excuses... waiting for the precise “correct” sized stadium in the “right” location with just the proper amount of atmosphere.... it’s bullshit. It’s always “ if only this if only that and the attendance would be better”.... come on already the stadium is a whopping mile and a half from campus... what does Miami play in ? Like 15 miles off campus?? People make excuses ... support the team and who gives a shit where they play... Heinz is a better venue than a ton of college venues.. atmosphere is the fans... it’s not a location or precise shape of a structure or anything else...

 

[PittPanther44]

Win

 

[Pitt-Chains]

Yeah I’m tired of excuses... waiting for the precise “correct” sized stadium in the “right” location with just the proper amount of atmosphere.... it’s bullshit. It’s always “ if only this if only that and the attendance would be better”.... come on already the stadium is a whopping mile and a half from campus... what does Miami play in ? Like 15 miles off campus?? People make excuses ... support the team and who gives a shit where they play... Heinz is a better venue than a ton of college venues.. atmosphere is the fans... it’s not a location or precise shape of a structure or anything else...

Excuses are for so called fans.. if PITT is your team you show up..period.
My Wife and Son are there.. no excuses.

 

[Badger988]

In the Pinstripe bowl both JC and Peterman suffered concussions on dirty plays. The proper penalties were not assessed there. Officiating in that game was horrendous throughout. If that Pitt team were to play that NW team another 10 times, Pitt would win every game.

If that Clemson team plays that Pitt team another 10 times, Clemson would win every game. Excuses ridiculous.

 

[Pitt-Chains]

If that Clemson team plays that Pitt team another 10 times, Clemson would win every game. Excuses ridiculous.

Disagree on your Clemson comment, you seemed to have forgotten our running back that made Clemson's defense his b'yatch.

 

[Badger988]

Disagree on your Clemson comment, you seemed to have forgotten our running back that made Clemson's defense his b'yatch.

I remember. But stop with the” if this happens then we win”. You could use the “if excuse” for any close game. It diminishes Pitt’s win verse Clemson because realistically if they played 10 times Clemson wins 9. A Clemson fan could say “if Watson doesn’t throw that interception we win”. But it did happen and Pitt won. NW won leave it at that.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

I have been tough on narduzzi, but he was dead on there. Pitt fans suck.

You are example #1.

 

[gary2]

If that Clemson team plays that Pitt team another 10 times, Clemson would win every game. Excuses ridiculous.

That would be true - Clemson only lost because they threw an unnecessary pass that led to an interception. Play it safe. Run the ball. Kick the field goal.

But.......arrogance prevailed and a loss ensued

 

[BFo8]

That would be true - Clemson only lost because they threw an unnecessary pass that led to an interception. Play it safe. Run the ball. Kick the field goal.

But.......arrogance prevailed and a loss ensued

Yeah it took a perfect storm for Pitt to win that game, they probably do lose 9 of 10 there.

Doesn’t matter though, Pitt closed it out and got it done. That’s how upsets happen.

 

[pitt-girl]

It starts with current students and alumni. Until they fix that, attendance will be what it is. Student section is terrible very bad!!

Students were on break.