I haven't read every post and subsequent thread over the past 48 hours, but have read enough to finally jump in with a few "Moe"ns:
1. Regarding "are you or aren't you a fan": well, as Harve so correctly pointed out, "fan" is a contraction of fanatic. Being a fan often means losing your sense of reality, especially when it comes to college sports. We may choose to put on rose-colored glasses (when we offer excuses for a team's year-end failure), OR, we choose to rant and rave about how awful our coaches are, their assistants, the recruits, the media, and yes, other fans. Probably why this and other sports' chat boards are lit up like a Roman Candle most of the time
2. I've never really asked anyone, nor posed this as a question on the board, but how is it that you come to root for certain teams and/or programs versus other teams in that category? Well, for those of us who matriculated/graduated at/from Pitt, that's a pretty easy call. I'm sure that like I, you have other college teams you root for in addition to your alma mater. But I've always been interested to know what separates those who root generally for the "top" teams (in any sport; e.g., the Yankees, UK Basketball, Alabama or Ohio State football, Green Bay Packers - back in the '60's) versus those who root for the underdog. Given the parity, it's not like the Yankees, et al, are playing for a championship EVERY year. I suppose for most of "we guys", you followed the same teams as your father, grandfather, etc. Or maybe grew up with a particular sports hero that you followed, as well as their team
3. I watched ESPN 30-30's "Sole Man" earlier today; it's the story of Sonny Vaccaro. After watching it, I think the correlation to the have and have nots in college basketball is pretty clear, and not unlike what other posters (SouthSidePanther et al) have suggested
4. Not wanting to just jump in and throw more gas on the fire, but when you look at the recent decline of the Pitt BB program (and yes, I will call it a "decline" for now) my observation has been the lack of leadership ON THE COURT. And looking back over our success since Howland and Dixon became coach, it happened because we had a true "coach" on the floor, usually in the position of point guard. Over the past several recruiting classes, the players who've come to Pitt for that position have, IMO, not been "leaders". And while it might not be as simple as having a court leader to right the ship, it would sure help if we had a PG more similar to BK, CK, LF than our current duo
5. I haven't talked offline with Harve in quite awhile. But as one who does know him away from the chat boards, if he's openly nervous about Dixon, the team, recruiting, etc, I'm nervous, too. As a fan. I wish all the best for the kids who have come AND gone from Pitt, as well as the staff, but I know for CERTAIN that they don't give one fat rat's a$$ about how Chairman Moe is doing right now!
6. Watch 30-30 "Sole Man" on ESPN; we probably all know a little about the SV story, but it's pretty darn interesting
7. Looking forward to more OT: Craft Beer threads
8. Looking forward to Greens Fees dropping next month, here in FL, as the snowbirds return north
Any kidding aside, and as a fan AND an alumni, I sure hope the current/new administration will make positive choices for the AD, and that they, in turn, will want to keep Pitt relevant in sports.
You may agree, disagree, opine or ignore!
Hail to Pitt!
1. Regarding "are you or aren't you a fan": well, as Harve so correctly pointed out, "fan" is a contraction of fanatic. Being a fan often means losing your sense of reality, especially when it comes to college sports. We may choose to put on rose-colored glasses (when we offer excuses for a team's year-end failure), OR, we choose to rant and rave about how awful our coaches are, their assistants, the recruits, the media, and yes, other fans. Probably why this and other sports' chat boards are lit up like a Roman Candle most of the time
2. I've never really asked anyone, nor posed this as a question on the board, but how is it that you come to root for certain teams and/or programs versus other teams in that category? Well, for those of us who matriculated/graduated at/from Pitt, that's a pretty easy call. I'm sure that like I, you have other college teams you root for in addition to your alma mater. But I've always been interested to know what separates those who root generally for the "top" teams (in any sport; e.g., the Yankees, UK Basketball, Alabama or Ohio State football, Green Bay Packers - back in the '60's) versus those who root for the underdog. Given the parity, it's not like the Yankees, et al, are playing for a championship EVERY year. I suppose for most of "we guys", you followed the same teams as your father, grandfather, etc. Or maybe grew up with a particular sports hero that you followed, as well as their team
3. I watched ESPN 30-30's "Sole Man" earlier today; it's the story of Sonny Vaccaro. After watching it, I think the correlation to the have and have nots in college basketball is pretty clear, and not unlike what other posters (SouthSidePanther et al) have suggested
4. Not wanting to just jump in and throw more gas on the fire, but when you look at the recent decline of the Pitt BB program (and yes, I will call it a "decline" for now) my observation has been the lack of leadership ON THE COURT. And looking back over our success since Howland and Dixon became coach, it happened because we had a true "coach" on the floor, usually in the position of point guard. Over the past several recruiting classes, the players who've come to Pitt for that position have, IMO, not been "leaders". And while it might not be as simple as having a court leader to right the ship, it would sure help if we had a PG more similar to BK, CK, LF than our current duo
5. I haven't talked offline with Harve in quite awhile. But as one who does know him away from the chat boards, if he's openly nervous about Dixon, the team, recruiting, etc, I'm nervous, too. As a fan. I wish all the best for the kids who have come AND gone from Pitt, as well as the staff, but I know for CERTAIN that they don't give one fat rat's a$$ about how Chairman Moe is doing right now!
6. Watch 30-30 "Sole Man" on ESPN; we probably all know a little about the SV story, but it's pretty darn interesting
7. Looking forward to more OT: Craft Beer threads
8. Looking forward to Greens Fees dropping next month, here in FL, as the snowbirds return north
Any kidding aside, and as a fan AND an alumni, I sure hope the current/new administration will make positive choices for the AD, and that they, in turn, will want to keep Pitt relevant in sports.
You may agree, disagree, opine or ignore!
Hail to Pitt!
