BleacherCoaches.com

If people were as excited about Pitt football as you seem to be leading on, Moldo, they would have made the game yesterday. You're telling us that going to a FREE game in the spring doesn't show support for the teams for the upcoming season? What will be your excuse when 20,000 show up the first home game? Was there a Pirate game on t.v. that people just couldn't miss? I'm anxiously awaiting this day.

WVU probably had 30,000+ also, but that is easy to see since they are the class of the Big East now and will be for the next 1,000 years.

But to be fair to Pitt, to that colossal number of fans that showed up at the Steelers home stadium we should probably add the 500 or so fans that showed up when Pitt played at Thomas Jefferson High, when Wanny was sucking up for recruits.

The next time you hire some bozo that played for your school and was a head coach of the Bears, don't screw it up.

Estimated that there were about 8K at WVU on Saturday.

Everyone. Go back and look at the list coach gave us of all the teams that had good attendance at their spring games on Saturday. Nebraska, Clemson, Oklahoma, Va Tech, Georgia, Alabama, and College Station. Now tell me, what do these teams have in common? The answer: What else is there to do in Lincoln, Clemson, Norman, Blacksburg, Athens, Tuscaloosa or College Station????? Hey Marge, LOOK!!!!! A leaf just fell off that tree!!!

Pittsburgh, Pa:

- Rated the worst city for singles in America 3 years in a row.
- Rated the fastest shrinking city in America.
- Steelers are in the off-season.
- Pirates are already out of the race.
- Penguins are worse than ever.

Yes, there were thousands of things to do on Saturday.

What happened to all the progress Pitt made with Wanny? Or did those people actually start to realize that Dave Wannstedt took that job because no one else was interested in him, and he even screwed a COLLEGE program up?

Who are THOSE people???. Please clarify...... And are you saying that there is more to do in Lincoln, Nebraska than in Pittsburgh???? Small town campuses always do better when things like spring games happen. There were 35,000 at the Pirates-Cubs game on Saturday. How many were at the hoe-down in College Station Saturday night? Can singles meet each other there??? As far as the progress of Wannstedt is concerned, you are the one who preaches "babysteps", right? Great recruiting class coming in. Progress in spring camp. Season tickets up over last year at this time. I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for. You can't gauge an upcoming season from the spring game. You guys ought to start worrying about PSU at this point.

It is just an embarassment I think...or it is kinda like a snapshot of what Pitt football is. I mean if there were 10,000 or even only 15,000 at PSU we'd hear how the wheels are falling off and nobody cares about PSU anymore.

Those people are the people who were all over Wanny's lap when the news came that he was going to be the new coach. Chico Harlan convieniently forgot to write the article where Wanny turned the job down initially because he was certain he could do better. You know, like when a girl asks you out but she's only a 5 on a scale of 10. You have your eye on an 8 or 9. But then that broad wants nothing to do with you. The 5 starts to magically, in your head, turn into a 6, a 7, an 8....

I would guess there probably IS more to do in Lincoln than in Pittsburgh. I know a lot of people who go to Duquesne and Pitt and they all hate it because Pittsburgh is just a bigger Johnstown. There is nothing going on! And as bad as the Pens are, I'd probably rather see the Chiefs. At least I KNOW they are terrible and not a huge disappointment... you know, just like the Pitt athletic programs.

I do preach babysteps, you are correct. Another one of the brilliant things I have said on here, and I am glad you are taking notice. Let's analyze Pitt right now, shall we?

You have a program that by all measures stinks worse than the Duncansville landfill. Then Walt Harris comes in, and through his silky, speech-impeded voice, coaxes a couple of morons to go play at Pitt. They actually do start moving in the right direction, the attendance goes up a little (but I guess if you are getting 5K at home games, anything is an improvement), and Pitt starts to get a little bit of press. The casualty of Pitt's success was not Penn State as they would have liked to believe, but was actually nothing more than a jersey change for the worse. Then Walt starts to level off and no more progress is made. Supposed Heisman winner and Doctor of Basketweaving Science Tony Dorsett leads a campaign to fire the coach. Walt retaliates by gallavanting around campus with some female that is not his wife. He eventually gets fired. They turn to Wanny who wants nothing to do with pitt. Then after realizing he's football retarded, he accepts the job at his old alma-mater. All the Pitt fans magically have their memories erased of the past 10 NFL seasons. Now Wannstedt is remembered as the guy who turned around the Cowboys defense, NOT the guy who sunk the Bears and the Dolphins and was run out of both towns for it. So everyone is happy in Oakland that WannSPLAT is the new coach and will turn it all around. As is evidenced by all scenarios where a former NFL coach takes over a college program, RECRUITING GOES UP, because common-folk are impressed when a celebrity walks into their house, even if he can't speak and looks like Tom Sellack. So peeps jump on the Pitt bandwagon. Then Wanny makes his big debut and lays a bunch of eggs, and the national media starts laughing at him (ESPN numerous times, sports talk radio stations like The Ticket, the home of Dallas Cowboys radio, who actually called him "clueless") but none bigger than the debacle in Athens. On a side note: it is historically proven that you can gauge the measure of a college football team's program on where they play their out of conference games. Back on track... Tyler Palko keeps Pitt afloat through the downward spiral, and gets zero help from the other players and especially the coaching staff, who doe snot want him to throw the ball that much, and wants to run the ball all the time. Nevermind the concept of measuring team-strengths and utilizing them. The defense was with Harris, and is with Wanny, the detriment to the program's success. Now, if that defense was so terrible through TWO head coaches, it is not Walt's fault, or Wanny's fault. So who's fault is it? The defensive coordinator, who has been hampering that program since the day he was hired. Anyone who watched any Pitt games last season knows that that team looked like Penn State did a few years ago: they looked like they were physically and mentally unprepared for every single game they played. The talent on rosters, 9 times out of 10, is not good enough to overcome that kind of deficit. In short: Pitt's offense, and the defense, were clueless. And is it not a direct reflection on the field as to what is going on in the head coach's mind? Teams are direct reflections of their head coach.

So Wanny is able to have another good recruiting class. But like I told yall before... when you are a small program and you have a little bit of success, then you start to lose games, it disappears very, very quickly. You have got to win games you are not supposed to win if you want a program to accelerate. Pitt has not done that in a long time. Losing to WVU, your main and conference rival, on national TV in that fashion, is killing any progress you are making. And like I said, 200 times... Pitt has had a dozen opportunities to play on national television and they have dropped the ball every time. If you want national attention, you have to take advantage of opportunities. Walt couldn't do it, and history says Wannstedt can't do it. And say what you want about how it was only his first year, but also realize that he has one notch on his belt that says "failure" also.

You can't just judge by record. You have to also take into consideration performance and opponents. Pitt looked horrible in a horrible conference.

Whoever says there is nothing to do in Pittsburgh must be a complete hermit. You have countless recreation possibilities. There is countless arts opportunities. Three professional sports franchises. One of the top Division 1 basketball programs in the country over the past 5-6 seasons. There is an incredible night life in the Strip District and South Side.

Those people need to get out more.