I think about the 7-7 tie in Wanny's first season against Ohio U., the loss at Toledo, at UConn, Youngstown, Bowling Green.......prime time losses against FSU, Miami, Houston, etc. The tie followed the Notre Dame blowout labor day weekend where Keith Jackson came out of part-time retirement to do a game on the east coast after negotiating to do just west coast games. I remember the older McKillop brother being toyed with at left defensive end while going against a mammoth tackle.
I think about Wanny standing at the podium with a sad face and Jason Pinkston standing to his left and seemingly holding him up as he stands in shock and despair in front of reporters after being fired.
I think about Michael Haywood meeting the media after being hired and not delivering one smile from, as he stood alongside his sister since he wasn't married and without a family to share this special moment with. Speaking of smiles, his new boss smilie stood by him with his patented smile.... ear to ear, yet still in the process of a slow deliberate process of leading a once proud program to depths that has taken more than a decade to dig out from.
I think about Haywood addressing the team for the first time and yelling at them to sit up straight, as if to tell the administration they had hired the right man to fix Pitt's discipline problem, caused by Wanny's lack thereof.
I think about Pantherlair posters reading in comedic disbelief as Haywood pulled together a ragtag group of assistants, where not one person impressed. In that group was a late 60 year old who hadn't coached in 3 years and last worked as an executive at IBM or something smilar.
I think about waking up a few days later and reading the headlines of Haywood's assault charge and it taking less than 24 hours before he was dismissed.
I think about the mad scramble that ensued looking to fix an even bigger problem and the administration overcompensating by caving to Fraud's salary and program demands, after he'd turned them down previously. Fraud had Pitt by the balls and squeezed them for every penny (pun intended) possible.
I remember reading about Tony Dorsett wondering out loud "what happened to my University" after Haywood is fired following his incident.
I can remember Fraud and the former WVU assistant he hired as a Pitt assistant sitting in the stands at "The Pete" in black leather jackets he insisted he and his assistants wear. I remember thinking, this can't be Pitt but it is. These are Pitt coaches and employees who look like imposters, but unfortunately they are not. I felt like a visitor in my own home.
I can recall Fraud seemingly taking flyers on recruits just to see what would happen. Granted it was late in the recruiting process, but it was just another layer of incompetence that overlapped many other layers.
I recall the infamous period where Fraud was talking to Arizona, but hadn't yet told smilie who couldn't identify his location. I remember thinking to myself, these two guys are lead sponsors of the "snake convention". Of course, the pics of Fraud and Penny on the jet are circulated and Fraud's fraudalent legacy is cemented in history.
I recall the administration still reeling and coming up with Paul Chryst.
I remember a media member asking Chryst why he choose Pitt and Chryst responded by saying, I didn't choose Pitt. Pitt picked me. Refreshingly honest, but I don't think the reporter had that answer in mind when he asked it. He served a softball toss to Chryst to sell himself and laud Pitt as an opportunity, but Chryst didn't even swing, let alone swing and miss.
Nonetheless, he righted a ship that was sinking and not far removed from reconsidering its future as a division 1 program, at least that's what I heard. True or not, the hire was solid.
Fast forward to Duz and Saturday's win.
The above points all add up to the sweetness of Saturday night's win.
I'm lucky though. I'm at least old enough to have seen the 76 and 80's teams when Pitt was perennial top 10. I have that to hold onto, but by the same token that's part of the problem for me in that because I experienced those golden years, I want to experience them again.
Saturday night I was able to do so. Even if it was for just one night, I can say Pitt had entered the relevant level in the highly coveted area I call "big time football", which by the way isn't 100k stadiums and fans.
It's winning consistently and especially winning big games on big stages.
I'm happy as hell to be a Pitt fan right now.
I think about Wanny standing at the podium with a sad face and Jason Pinkston standing to his left and seemingly holding him up as he stands in shock and despair in front of reporters after being fired.
I think about Michael Haywood meeting the media after being hired and not delivering one smile from, as he stood alongside his sister since he wasn't married and without a family to share this special moment with. Speaking of smiles, his new boss smilie stood by him with his patented smile.... ear to ear, yet still in the process of a slow deliberate process of leading a once proud program to depths that has taken more than a decade to dig out from.
I think about Haywood addressing the team for the first time and yelling at them to sit up straight, as if to tell the administration they had hired the right man to fix Pitt's discipline problem, caused by Wanny's lack thereof.
I think about Pantherlair posters reading in comedic disbelief as Haywood pulled together a ragtag group of assistants, where not one person impressed. In that group was a late 60 year old who hadn't coached in 3 years and last worked as an executive at IBM or something smilar.
I think about waking up a few days later and reading the headlines of Haywood's assault charge and it taking less than 24 hours before he was dismissed.
I think about the mad scramble that ensued looking to fix an even bigger problem and the administration overcompensating by caving to Fraud's salary and program demands, after he'd turned them down previously. Fraud had Pitt by the balls and squeezed them for every penny (pun intended) possible.
I remember reading about Tony Dorsett wondering out loud "what happened to my University" after Haywood is fired following his incident.
I can remember Fraud and the former WVU assistant he hired as a Pitt assistant sitting in the stands at "The Pete" in black leather jackets he insisted he and his assistants wear. I remember thinking, this can't be Pitt but it is. These are Pitt coaches and employees who look like imposters, but unfortunately they are not. I felt like a visitor in my own home.
I can recall Fraud seemingly taking flyers on recruits just to see what would happen. Granted it was late in the recruiting process, but it was just another layer of incompetence that overlapped many other layers.
I recall the infamous period where Fraud was talking to Arizona, but hadn't yet told smilie who couldn't identify his location. I remember thinking to myself, these two guys are lead sponsors of the "snake convention". Of course, the pics of Fraud and Penny on the jet are circulated and Fraud's fraudalent legacy is cemented in history.
I recall the administration still reeling and coming up with Paul Chryst.
I remember a media member asking Chryst why he choose Pitt and Chryst responded by saying, I didn't choose Pitt. Pitt picked me. Refreshingly honest, but I don't think the reporter had that answer in mind when he asked it. He served a softball toss to Chryst to sell himself and laud Pitt as an opportunity, but Chryst didn't even swing, let alone swing and miss.
Nonetheless, he righted a ship that was sinking and not far removed from reconsidering its future as a division 1 program, at least that's what I heard. True or not, the hire was solid.
Fast forward to Duz and Saturday's win.
The above points all add up to the sweetness of Saturday night's win.
I'm lucky though. I'm at least old enough to have seen the 76 and 80's teams when Pitt was perennial top 10. I have that to hold onto, but by the same token that's part of the problem for me in that because I experienced those golden years, I want to experience them again.
Saturday night I was able to do so. Even if it was for just one night, I can say Pitt had entered the relevant level in the highly coveted area I call "big time football", which by the way isn't 100k stadiums and fans.
It's winning consistently and especially winning big games on big stages.
I'm happy as hell to be a Pitt fan right now.
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