Pardon me, I’m climbing up on a high horse for a minute. Hmm. Uncomfortable.
I try not to kid myself. Pitt, like any school involved in 1-A athletics will have players commit crimes, make mistakes, get in academic trouble and just generally screw-up. It has happened. It will happen. Every school and program has to address this at some point or another. Whether it comes once or in waves.
The issue isn’t having it happen. It’s how the school, the program and the coaches address it. That’s where the character of the school and program really come to the forefront.
More than that, though, it also becomes an issue of how the fans face such things. Do they look at it solely in what it means in wins and losses? Do they circle the wagons and descend into lunatic-fringe paranoia –Â seeing conspiracies and attempts to bring down their beloved program at every turn? Do they demand accountability from the program and their school?
My college football FanHouse colleague Adam Jacobi goes down the final path in a post that is absolutely devastating in the issues and questions raised about the University of Iowa. He’s an Iowa alum, and he loves his school. There is no hyperbole. No calls for cleaning house. That’s what makes it such a brutal post for Iowa.
It lays out the issue. It asks questions that have been avoided. The facts simply put Iowa in a bad light and there is no pretending otherwise. This is a “read it all” post.
I hope Pitt never faces this level of crisis. I also hope that if it does happen Pitt fans and I can be that honest about it.
Dismounting.
