So, yes. Joe Starkey noticed the poll I ran just after the Freeh Report and a week before the Paterno statue was removed. Just part of his overall piece he wrote why Pitt should play PSU.
The topic lit up the airwaves, where the overwhelming sentiment was to renew at least for the two games. The blog PittBlather.com received more than 600 replies to a poll asking whether fans still want to see Pitt-Penn State.
The No. 1 answer (29 percent) was yes, depending on “what steps Penn State takes in light of the Freeh Report.” That was followed by 25 percent saying yes unconditionally and 21 percent saying absolutely not.
Now, Joe Starkey did me the unnecessary courtesy of e-mailing me several days before his column with some questions about the poll, and letting me know he was planning to mention it. (Not the content of his column, just that he was going to mention it.) So I knew something was coming.
Do I agree with what he said? That Pitt should play PSU “first in the name of collegiality”? No. To put it bluntly, screw that.
Playing the game to guarantee a sell out? Um, isn’t that just about the money? That’s not far removed from the reasons Penn State’s powers did what they did with pretending Sandusky wasn’t doing obscene acts with minors in their own football building. That’s the worst reason to play.
Overall, I am still undecided about my feelings on those games in four years. My impulse is still to play. The history. The connections within my family. That all means a lot, and comes into play. It colors my perspective rather strongly in favor of playing PSU.
But when I think about the actions by the powers at Penn State. All to protect the legacy of Paterno. To protect their reputation. To protect their cash cow. It becomes a bit harder to justify resuming playing PSU. Even for only a couple years.
Everyone chill out; it’s 4 years away.
You are correct sir, I live in MD and travel to central PA often. The people call in to talk shows and cry poor me poor me, nothing has changed with the culture or attitude except it is now psu against the world, this will be true in 2016,2026,2056,3016. That is why we shouldn’t play them even if it is to pound them back to creepy valley despite all the great games and memories that we all have
Don’t ever think Pitt is squeaky clean and we will never get busted for violations. That is very naive. Especially if you follow college sports today.
So Pitt is the judge and jury on PSU? That is the NCAAs job, they did it, it is over. Pitt would look like fools to the nation if they cancelled the scheduled games.
Get over the Paterno never wanted to play us BS and lets move on. We all know it is a great game. One of the best rivalries in college football. If you are a true Pitt and college sports fan you know Pitt should always play PSU and WVU. It is what college sports are all about. The week leading up to the game, screwing with your PSU friends and family. The incredilbe satisfaction after a win. The anticipation for next years game if we lose.
As you can tell I love college sports. Not a big pro fan.
It just doesn’t get any better!
But when the statue comes out of the closet -and it will- then I’d so no thank you.
why are my typos so obvious after I submit but so elusive as I type?
Until the cult has been fundamentally transformed, Pitt has no business playing a school that places football first. Pedo State has become a football factory built on lies while graduating thousands of brain dead zombies each year from their many branch campus diploma mills.
Am I arrogant for not wanting to play a school whose fans and alumni still don’t get it? Will they finally get it in 4 years? And if you don’t know what ‘it’ is, you’d make a good State fan.
The football program has been sanctioned by both the NCAA and the Big 10. These judgements have established circumstances for the penn state football program that they will have to deal with for many years to come.
IMO, it is our job as a competing football program that has already obliged ourselves in scheduling them, to establish ourselves as their punisher and to ensure that we make those sanctions sting as much as possible!
That is why we honor our scheduling commitment, and we play them in 2016 & 17. It is also why we spank their butts like they have never been spanked before. Pitt should really look forward to this game, rip their heads off and spit down their neck holes. Kick them while their down????? Yes indeed, stomp on their necks till they stop breathing IMO. Many wanted the death penalty to be impossed on the nitters, I say kill the beast on the field of play.
HAIL TO PITT, penn state SUCKS!!!
link to articles.chicagotribune.com
Wonder why the NCAA wasn’t involved???????
1. Live up to your contractual obligations;
2. Offer to renew it home/away much like Pitt has with ND…not every year, but many years;
3. If PSU says “yes”, do it;
4. IF PSU says “no”, shake their hands, wish them well and the drop them in everything and I MEAN EVERYTHING!!
5. Last, but it should be first, let Pitt start worrying about Pitt. Pitt needs to establish a vision. Not just for football, basketball, etc.. but for everyone involved all the way down to the secretaries.
Pitt..WE ARE NOW, PSU, YOU USED TO BE
What i want to know abought is Pitt recruting in football and basketball and how the out look is for are last year in the big east,
I also wonder if the ACC will take ND in all sports except football .
But i am sick of hearing abought penn state unless someting new comes up screw them tell me abought pitt that is were i am at right now.
I think it’s a travesty that they don’t play annually, in it’s day it was a rivalty equal to almost any other. Especially since it stopped mostly due to the misplaced grudge or a now-dead octo-curmudgeon.
Now that PSU’s been knocked down a peg or two, maybe a little humility will come to play, ending their insisting on a 2-fer-1 home & home nonsense.
1) The best line is this simple statement, “The arrogance was astounding.” NO KIDDING! We Pitt fans have been commenting on this type of thing for years. Why did it take NCAA sanctions for a local sportswriter to actually print this? BTW, does anyone think Cook or Smizik will write a line like this, even today? Me neither…
2) You do NOT play the game “…first in the name of collegiality.” You play the game because you agreed to it via contract. Pitt should play the game just to show the honor of the university to its commitments. Dropping the game would make up look petty and childish. But SP should come out and specifically state that Pitt it playing to honor the commitment. It is NOT about nice to your neighbor, nor is it about helping them with their “healing” (what ever that is).
3) Can any local writer resist taking a shot at Pitt with a line like this, “which can always use a sellout”? Seriously, why does EVERY Pitt/PSU discussion end with sellouts/crowd size/108K…???? We don’t sell out… we get it, okay?? We’ve done nothing significant in 25 years and fight against the Steelers for the football fans. Wonder how PSU would attract “fans” under the same circumstances?
4) Again with the “hypocrite” angle, on this?? No, the NCAA is not squeaky clean, but enough already… PSU’s “sins” are MUCH worse than anything the NCAA has ever done. That would be like calling out a judge who cheated on his taxes after he’s locked up a serial killer. Cry me a river on the NCAA’s rulings and the local media’s “horror” on how bad PSU was punished. If they are on TV, then they weren’t punished enough — all the other stuff pales in comparison.
5) Yes, Pitt should “take the high road.” But not to “Give Penn State’s new football stewards a clean slate and a fair chance.”, do it because you already agreed to it. After the games have been played agree to more games ONLY if it in in the best interest of Pitt FB. If not, end the series…
ME 2011
They consider the games with USC, Mich, Mich St and Purdue as well as with Navy all more important than playing Pitt
Having said that, as long as they continue to play they will be our rivals whether we play them or not. We recruit the same players, they are part of our state, they are similarly ranked academically, many families have both Pitt and psu graduates.
I want to get them on the field so that we can beat their butts every year. Playing them will help our recruiting as well. I think that part of paterno’s ploy in not playing us was to try to render us irrelevant.
College football is about rivalries. The Pitt-Penn game was a major event for decades. Notre Dame has been a rival since the days of Jock Sutherland and Knute Rockne.
wvu we should not play. They are not in our universe academically. Their fans are a bunch of dangerous inbreds. They were never a rival until the Pitt-Penn State game went away. The “Backyard Brawl” was a manufactured rivalry like the “River City Rivalry” or the “Land Grant Cup”. We should not help them to recruit in Pennsylvania by playing them. Let them play Iowa State and Kansas State.
since when does academics play a part in who we schedule in non con games, did Buffalo join the ivy league recently? We have played WVU 104 times vs. PSU 96 how is that a manufactured rivalry, yea PSU was the biggest game when we played every year, but they really don’t want to play us anymore. Curly said that this wouldn’t become a regular series. WVU fans want to see the game continue. You said we should play PSU for recruiting, WVU is closer and has been recruting the burgh for years(see Major Harris 88 national champ game), if they play well in big 12 they will pull kids from the burgh all the more reason to play them. Just saying
Justinian-I am also looking forward to restarting rivalries with Virginia Tech, Miami, BC and Florida State. Won’t miss the “River City Rivalry” or the “Backyard Brawl”.
That schedule alone would be a boost to recruiting. Not many teams have two fierce rivalries. Being out of conference would even add to the fun because it wouldn’t affect conference standings and the teams could play looser.
However in light of ALL the lurid, perverted revelations in the last 9 months that slowly creeped out of Creepy Valley, I really don’t want PITT’s name associated with Ped State’s in any manner, shape or form !!
Tell them to screw off in a similar manner as the previously enshrined (and now infamous) great man and pedophile enabler, told us back in the late 90’s.
To do anything else is akin to saying football is more important than doing the right thing. Let’s hope we do the right thing ! Like our motto says,
Truth & Virtue (meaning moral excellence)
Veritas et Virtus !!
Hail to Pitt !!
Having said that, perhaps the best thing is to honor the contracts to play the nitters and pound them into the turf. then, move on. I would rather see Pitt play Temple.. Why Temple? Temple is no joke anymore and a game in Philadelphia cannot hurt recruiting in the Philadelphia area.
Saturday, I bought my 7 month old son a Pitt onesie and bib at the Pitt shop on Forbes Avenue. They fit him great! That is my best expression of what I think of WVU, psu and their greedy conferences.
