Lee said just about everything that needed saying about the logo, the colors and the football unis.

I’m not unhappy. I think the script coming back was a pipe dream. This is not terribly dissimilar to what used to be on the basketball uniforms. (I really have to make time to put that little project together)

Paul Zeise at the P-G had a quick story (hat tip to Chris for the e-mail).

Pitt athletic director Jeff Long, who was hired in May 2003, said he began thinking about changing the logo back shortly after he arrived.

“Even when de-emphasized, the Pitt moniker never left the consciousness of our fans,” Long said. “The stimulus for this change actually came from the very first press conference when I was introduced as the director of athletics. The first question was “are we Pitt, or are we Pittsburgh” and my reaction was “we’re both.” I didn’t realize at that time that the athletic department had pretty much banished the Pitt logo from our athletic gear.

“But as I looked around the university, the university had not abandoned the Pitt logo and it was synonymous with the University of Pittsburgh. The other thing that I found was that our Pitt alumni and fans had never put aside the Pitt logo. They proudly refer to themselves as Pitt alumni and Pitt fans.”

And that’s just it. We are Pitt. That rationale from Pedersen about it being used derogatorily at the time was never bought. So what. We never cared. It wasn’t deroatory to us. Those who would try to use it that way, were about as original as the jokes about sheep and Hoopies (but not as funny).

Final thing. If any of our readers are going to the Pete tonight for the fan thing. Shoot me an e-mail report, and I’ll put it up as a post. I’m curious about the student reaction to the new logo, how Wanny does and just the general atmosphere.

Well, first off — if you haven’t already — take a moment and look at the pictures of our team’s new football uniforms. Study them, and then come on back to PSB.

Let’s start with the colors. As you all know by now, I prefer the old royal blue and mustard yellow to this new navy blue and “Vegas Gold” crap. But I’ve resigned myself to the fact that maybe I’m just getting old, and either way, the new colors are here to stay. Fine enough. Our colors are navy blue and Vegas Gold.
SO @#%*@#! STICK WITH THEM, ALREADY! As was first pointed out by Jaime, the blue in the word “PITT” on the helmet blatantly doesn’t match either the blue of the face mask or the blue of the jersey/pants. It makes things look sloppy before we can even talk about anything else. I always thought that the biggest reason why UCLA looks so terrible is because the blue of their helmet script doesn’t even come CLOSE to the blue of their jerseys.

Speaking of script, yeah, I would have preferred the classic script “Pitt” on the helmets instead of this new block “PITT” (and I don’t give a @#*% what Jock Sutherland used to wear, THIS IS NEW). But that being said, I’m so happy to be Pitt once again that I’ll take it. At least when I wear a “PITT” hat around State College, the stupid hicks will be able to figure out that I’m a fan of the school and not just the “Pittsburgh” community in general.

Now on to the jerseys. Unlike Jaime, I don’t have a problem with them removing the word “Pittsburgh” from the jerseys and replacing it with “Panthers.” Given that the helmet says “PITT,” anything else might seem a little redundant (and once again, we’re Pitt dammit — not Pittsburgh). And the new numbers don’t bother me too much either. The old, rough-edged, allegedly “steel-hewn” numbers were just plain hard-to-read for those of us who have never seen a working steel mill to begin with.

As you can see on the post below, my first comment on the new unis was thus a sigh of relief. Yeah, the blue doesn’t match, but at least we’re Pitt again. And then Jaime pointed out something I had missed… something so painful that perhaps my subconscious was trying to hide it from me when I first glanced at the pictures…

…yeah, the limp-wristed Denver Broncos body stripes on the jersey and pants. Over the past few years, I’ve had a field day making fun of teams that gave up their classic looks for that arena league crap. What, didn’t Miami have enough success in their old solid orange jerseys? Temple, Indiana, and (for the most part) Maryland and Utah always sucked anyways. Oregon’s uniforms were a national joke before the body stripes were added. But West Virginia!? Surely, somebody down in the coal patches had more pride in the classic post-1980 Mountaineers look than that!

But now, we’re no better than the jumping-on-the-latest-fad Hurricanes and Mountaineers — like an awkward teenager trying to act cool at his first South Oakland keg party. At least our body stripes continue out underneath the sleeves, instead of curving in towards the center of the chest. That, in particular, looks like it belongs on a figure skater’s uniform. At least we’ll always have that over the Canes and the Hoopies.

So mostly because of the body stripes, I do not like the new unis. Thanks to Pitt, I’m starting to distrust all uniform changes. Why can’t somebody just pick a look and stick with it? Ohio State hasn’t changed its look since 1968, Michigan hasn’t changed its since 1969, and both are among the top five merchandise sellers. Come to think of it, I haven’t changed my overweight slob look since about 1996.

Hail to more conservative uniform changes next year. And make no mistake, Lion fan, your unis still suck worse.

First off, as soon as ANYBODY gets ANY official word on what, exactly, the new football uniforms look like, please post it here immediately. Chas, you have my cell phone number. As the self-appointed fashion critic of PSB, I’m deeply concerned. As fans of a team that USED to have the coolest uniforms in college football, but somehow game them up for a corporatized copy of Notre Dame with a rabid doberman pinscher on the helmet, we ALL should be concerned (not to digress, but anybody who hasn’t surfed through the Helmet Project yet really should).

Of course, as an old-school Pitt fan, I’m rooting for a return to the classic Pitt uniforms, but we all know that this won’t happen. Anybody who’s walked around campus lately knows that the University has already invested too much in that navy blue and “Vegas Gold” crap (and once again, if you actually have to dream up a name for one of your colors, you’re already in trouble… see Oregon’s “Thunder Green” and “Lightening”). So I suspect that Jaime’s proposed helmet will be pretty close to what we’ll actually see today. And it will be an improvement for sure.

But I’ll still be dreaming of the old unis. And I’m not alone. When my wife and I stopped by the Pitt Shop on the way to the Cathedral of Learning two weeks ago (my little Nittany Lion thinks it’s the coolest building ever, and hey, she’s right), they seemed to have as many of the classic pre-1996 Pitt helmets for sale as they had the new ones.

But in any case, hail to the new unis not sucking… please…

That’s the big thing of the day, isn’t it? The new logo and football unis at 11 am (anyone know if Fox Sports is doing it live?), and of course Wannstedt meets the students tonight.

That’s the theme to tomorrow night’s meet and greet with new head football coach Dave Wannstedt at the Petersen Events Center, which will also feature the unveiling of the new Panther logo to students — an updated version of the old Pitt script.

The official announcement and unveiling is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at the UPMC Sports Complex in South Side.

The Panther Pitt, football’s version of the Oakland Zoo, has, with cooperation with Pitt athletics, set up an evening with Wannstedt for students.

Wannstedt is scheduled to speak to the students and then walk around to greet the students personally, much like Jamie Dixon did in his meet and greet.
…
There will be free T-shirts featuring the newly released Panther logo for the first 500 students. Free Panther rally towels will be handed out as well.

A raffle will determine who wins a new Pitt helmet, with the new logo, autographed by Wannstedt. The raffle prizes also include season tickets and other Pitt apparel.

Season tickets will be on sale at the event to keep students from having to pay the $5 online handling fee that is applied to students. Plus, it’s a chance to jump ahead of the game.

[Emphasis added.] Hmm. Looks like they are really ready to roll on the new logo. Think the Pitt website will get an immediate relaunch today? Reader, and occasional correspondent, Jamie has his guess for the appearance.

Otherwise a mostly quiet story day. The Pittsburgh papers combine for only one story. Offensive Line Coach Paul Dunn gets his puff piece today. The angle is restoring the line to its glory days when Dunn was a player at Pitt.

Dunn, 44, arrived with the ‘P’ for Pitt practically plastered on his forehead. One of his greatest inspirations — aside from his father, Ronald — was the late and legendary Pitt line coach, Joe Moore.

“I’m a firm believer in tradition,” Dunn said. “You have to remind young people of the great tradition at this institution. If I can relay a story or two that can help these kids understand that this is a special place, it’s all worthwhile.”

By all accounts, Dunn isn’t shy about relaying such stories.

“He tries to sneak one in every day,” said tackle Charles Spencer.

Unfortunately, Dunn would not relent when pressed for some off-the-field stories from his senior year in 1982, when he lived with quarterback Dan Marino and tackle Jimbo Covert in a Shadyside apartment, at the corner of Fifth and Shady Avenues.

“Those are probably buried forever,” Dunn said, laughing. “Danny and Jimbo kind of graduated a little bit after that (to NFL stardom). I look back and say, ‘Wow, that might have been the nicest place I ever lived.’ “

Given the rumors that helped drop Marino’s draft stock, I’m guessing there were some good times.

Coach Dave Wannstedt gets another profile piece. This time in the Philadelphia Inquirer. This piece does a lot of comparisons to former Head Coach Walt Harris.

Harris, frequently described as aloof toward alumni, administration and the team’s defensive players, never was a popular figure in this football-mad part of the state. Wannstedt, on the other hand, has been a public-relations coup for a university – and city – that cherishes its own.

“We lived what the students are going through,” said new offensive line coach Paul Dunn, a roommate of quarterback Dan Marino’s when they attended Pitt. “From an alumni standpoint, people understand that we walked the same footsteps that the youngsters are going to walk.”

Harris seemed to have little time for socializing. Wannstedt, on the other hand, was seen last week in the middle of spring workouts, shaking hands with high school coaches and school administrators who were at the practice facility.

“Dave has a way about him,” said former Pitt all-American offensive tackle Bill Fralic, the team’s radio color analyst last season. “He is reaching out and touching the community, particularly high school coaches.”

Although he has the reputation of a defensive specialist, Wannstedt is involved in every aspect of the program.

“It’s different having a true head coach,” said linebacker Brian Bennett, a graduate of Holy Cross High in Delran who is competing for a starting spot. “He goes to every meeting for every position and oversees everything. The other coach was pretty much an offensive guy.”

I’m not big on bashing Harris after he’s gone. It just seems unfair and unnecessary, especially with what Coach Wannstedt brings. It’s going to happen, though, and if Pitt does well this year it will likely increase. It will also mean the inevitable “Harris happy for team’s success” story during the season.

Final story is a puff piece on the punter and kicker — Adam Graessle and Josh Cummings.

They’re more like Laurel and Hardy than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but Josh Cummings and Adam Graessle definitely are two of a kind for the University of Pittsburgh football team.

And if last year’s performances are an indication, Cummings and Graessle will be a pair of aces this season.

Cummings, a place-kicker from California, and Graessle, a punter and kickoff specialist from Ohio, are reigning first-team All-Big East Conference performers with even higher expectations this fall.

The article mentions the number of blocked punts but indicates the fault was more with the blocking then the amount of time taken by Graessle. I know Pat disagreed with that during the season.