I am stunned that this is taking any semblance of an issue. I really am. Yes Bill Stull was booed. He was booed early. He was booed late. He was not, however, booed incessantly or mercilessly.
Do I agree with the booing? Eh. In general I don’t have a problem with it, but it seemed a little premature.
I didn’t boo during the game. I was not surprised, though, even on the opening drive that quickly died. The early poor throw was not going to help him with the fans. When I pulled into the lot that morning, the attendant said he was taking a poll: How soon until Stull gets yanked?
In the parking lot, waking into the stadium and in the stands, I kept hearing similar questions. People talking about “Tino time.”
The whole time, though, I never thought of it as hating Stull. Just simply that he had proven to most that he was not the guy to be the starting QB.
Yet the whole thing has taken on a ridiculous life. It now seems that Stull was being booed non-stop in the game from the moment he ran on the field to garbage being thrown on him as he was leaving the field.
Both the Trib and P-G columnists focused on it for their Sunday columns. Ron Cook:
I had to check three times yesterday to make sure Kordell Stewart wasn’t playing quarterback for Pitt.
That’s how rough many in the home crowd at Heinz Field treated Bill Stull in Pitt’s easy, 38-3 win against ridiculously overmatched Youngstown State.
It was pretty pathetic, actually.
At least Stewart was a highly paid professional when he was booed and jeered by Steelers fans. Stull is a college kid. He deserved better from those in the stands who jumped his stuff as soon as his second incompletion ended Pitt’s first possession.
“That’s not giving a person much time,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said, clearly saddened by the Stull treatment on an opening day when just about everything else went right for the Panthers, the lame competition considered.
Stull’s teammates weren’t thrilled, either.
“I was really disappointed that our fans would boo our starting quarterback,” offensive tackle Jason Pinkston said. “They are supposed to be our fans and be up screaming for us. But, instead, they boo him.”
Pathetic, I tell you.
That’s pathetic? Cook had to check 3 times because there were 3 instances during the game where there were boos. The opening series when Stull looked like he hadn’t changed a whit from the Sun Bowl. The interception where Stull threw it right to the DB. Regardless of whether there was confusion on the route, the DB read Stull’s eyes and stood there waiting for the throw. Then a half-hearted booing when Stull inexplicably came back in after Tino Sunseri was in for one possession.
I get Pinkston and Wannstedt defending their guy. He’s part of the team and to them it is unfair.
Joe Starkey treated it as a meditation on when booing is appropriate.
But the most pertinent question to arise yesterday was this: What is acceptable and what is not when it comes to criticizing a college athlete?
Like Wannstedt, I thought the booing was a bit premature. But I’ll say this: Like it or not, dealing with boos and calls for the backup are part of the deal in big-time college athletics.
I don’t think it’s wrong or bad for fans to do that.
It’s the other stuff — the name-calling, the vicious message-board attacks, the insults that Stull’s family surely must hear in the stands — that is beyond uncalled-for.
It is pathetic and needs to stop.
“Yeah, it’s rough,” said tight end Dorin Dickerson. “(Stull’s) my roommate. I live with him, see him every day. I feel bad for him. He deals with it really well, you know? He’s trying so hard.”
Pathetic seems to be a favorite word from that day.
On the subject of Stull getting booed for coming back in the game in the 3d quarter. Both Cook and Starkey seem to acknowledge that it was on Wannstedt to some degree.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Tino Sunseri played three of Pitt’s final four possessions, but he should have played all of them. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said Sunseri was supposed to play the rest of the game after he replaced Bill Stull up, 21-3, with 6:44 to play in the third quarter. But Stull returned after Sunseri’s first drive culminated with a 26-yard field goal. Stull led Pitt to a touchdown on his final series. “I was tied up doing something else,” Wannstedt said. “Tino was supposed to play the rest of the second half. That was a miscommunication on my part.”
Exactly how hard is it to communicate: Sunseri’s in there for the rest of the game? Stull was on the sidelines with a baseball cap on, and everyone knew he was done for the day. Yet his inexplicable return provoked a confused and WTF response. Yet, in terms of volume of booing, it was definitely half-hearted.
The booing, was clearly not directed at Stull that time. That time it was at Wannstedt and the coaches for putting Stull back in. Mainly because it made no sense and seemed to be about holding Sunseri to a standard Stull wasn’t held to.
Sunseri went 2-4 and had to settle for a FG. Not horrible, but since they blew a TD opportunity from 1st and goal he got yanked.
Then Bob Smizik felt it wast time for him to go off.
There might be some discussion about the runnerup, but from what I’ve seen and read it happened at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
That’s where the so-called fans of the Pitt football team booed the team’s starting quarterback following his second pass of what was a scoreless game. That’s the quarterback who helped lead Pitt to a nine-win season last year.
Slight factual correction, it was his second incomplete pass. What offends me is that he flat out lies in his description of events.
It was worse: With Pitt leading, when Stull came back into the game in the third quarter, he was booed again and this time more loudly.
I know you are still learning how to blog Smizik, and I’m guessing you don’t hold the format in the highest regard. That said, like anything, factual accuracy only helps a position. In what report do you base that the booing was loudest when he came back in late in the 3d quarter?
The loudest boos for Stull was on the opening drive of the 3d quarter when he threw that hideous interception. If you think boos then were without logic or reason, then I don’t think we can effectively discuss the issue.
I really feel that the only reason that this is an issue, is not that it is necessarily media driven. It’s that the trade-off for having an easy warm-up game against a 1-AA patsy is that it results in the on-the-field stuff is discounted because of the competition.
That leaves the other stuff. The most significant — Stull not a beloved icon by Pitt fans.
Luckly we play them at home.
Chas, you hit it on the head with “The whole time, though, I never thought of it as hating Stull. Just simply that he had proven to most that he was not the guy to be the starting QB.”
On back to back posts above there are these two items:
1) Chas, you hit it on the head with “The whole time, though, I never thought of it as hating Stull. Just simply that he had proven to most that he was not the guy to be the starting QB.”
2) Plenty of folks will want to boo as they watch Stull stink it up against Buffalo.
My response to whether their booing Stull or Wannstedt’s decision is “What’s the difference?”
Back in the ’79 No Nukes concert at MSG headlined by Springsteen, Tom Petty was told before taking the atage that the NYC crowd are not booing, they are just yelling Bruuuuuuuce! To which Petty replied “What’s the difference?”
:
I think the booing is and should be directed more at Wanny and less at Stull. DW should have addressed this issue, which has been the 5,000,000 pound gorilla in the room ever since the last pass of the 1st half of the WVU game last year, if not earlier. He has let it get out of control.
All the papers (who now criticize the fans) were reporting that during camp these guys were at worst evenly matched. Does anyone else think the head coach then should explain why he goes with the 5th year senior who has reached the limit of his potential rather than the redshirt freshman who has unknown room to grow??
I feel bad for Stull and think everyone should stop the booing. We’re engaged in the season now and we have to just support whoever is our QB, even if we disagree with the choice. Wannstedt should step up and address this issue and stop simply stating “Billy is our starter” because every time he does that he is going to amplify the boos by 100.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And, Chas, I find it hard that you can be surprised that this is an issue. I would argue there is more substance to this argument than the freakin’ one about script vs. block letters. If I never hear/read a word about that again, I’d be thrilled.
This much I can answer myself, both type of scholarship student is contributing to the University, probably, to a greater extent than I did. Remember, whatever they get to attend the University, they are kids and are going through a growing up period just as we did.
We need them to do the best they can. Why? To make us look good!
Because of Pitt, I’ve been able to have a successful business career and my memories of my time in Pittsburgh make me feel good.
I would like Bill Stull to have the same good memories when he thinks back to his college days.
Rutgers losing big as they did is not good for the Big East. This will hurt the TV ratings for the other games the conference will have coming up. The metro NYC market will lose some interst in watching.
BIIIIIG difference between academic vs athletic scholarships. No one is booing students who dont get straight A’s b/c no one is paying to watch them take tests or emotionally invested in it. Plus, we Pitt fans arent expecting Stull to be an A+ qb, most of us would settle for a C.
I am not saying that I would boo or not boo. It’s just very difficult to boo a name on a roster after only one game. Yes, Mr. Stull is not a very good QB, that much is obvious. He might even have a hard time making the London Silly Nannies. But, I am going to wait until he fraks up a game to start carving up a voodoo doll. You know why? Because we don’t have the luxury of experienced or world class options. This is my opinion and may not reflect the opinions of my sponsors.
Watch out for Buffalo, that’s a hungry team with a half starved coach. That could be the game that wakes the evil monster in me, who knows.
Hey, anyone watch the Miami-FSU game? Classic.
So, have FSU and Miami finally passed the rest of the mediocre ACC pack as everyone thought they eventually would?
No, but seriously, the whole booing thing is pretty retarded. I understand the fans discontent with Stull being the starter again, but the bottom line is that Bostick and Sunseri failed to prove they were better than Stull. Sadly, that leaves Stull as the starting QB at this point.
I do agree with BigGuy though, as a Pitt fan, I do believe that for those 60 minutes that the team is on the field, we as fans should be united in support of the team. Before the game, we can debate…after the game, we can critique…but during the game, we should all be united in support of the Pitt Panthers. That’s just my view on things.
The ultimate irony of the whole “booing” controversy is that while the sports reporters are writing their material lambasting the fans for booing Stull…they are just making it an even bigger issue than it was. I’m sure Stull has a thick head and can get over being booed…but the fact that they have now made it the #1 Pitt football related topic, it’s a bigger deal than it needed to be. What better way to put the boo’s behind you than to have to answer questions about it for the next month.
The hometown media loves to pile on. Obviously, the qb situation has been brewing and the press knows where their bread is buttered.
Pitt brings this on themselves. I feel as if there has been an increasing attitude of ‘because we said so,’ when it comes to answers from Pitt’s athletic department…
-Why no script Pitt? ‘because we said so’
-Why the conservative play calling? ‘because we said so’
-Why no aggressive approach to picking the series back up with State Penn? ‘because we said so’
-Why Stull when he’s obviously not our guy? ‘because we said so’
Every legitimate gripe seems to be met with piss poor explanations and from that, leads dissension. Now, THAT leads to the booing.
We’re all here for the same reason; we love Pitt! But we also know there is a long way to go for Pitt to be where we want it to be. There are going to be plenty of bumps in the road. Booing may not solve anything, but it certainly ain’t gonna hurt. Chaos before resolution.
HTscriptP
P.S. Have we really talked this much about boo’ing hahaha
And lets stop acting as if Pitt fans are classier than all others, maybe compared to some schools but we are just like most other programs. I remember the endless and tasteless taunting that Marcus Vick took when he played here a few years ago…is that fair? He’s just a college kid?
Also, as that play goes further back in Pitt lore, please note (just like the boos) that the play was too magnified … and it certainly wasn’t the turning point …. that play happened in before halftime yet Pitt had its biggest lead in that game towards the end of the 3rd quarter.
The question is about the wisdom of doing so, and will it do any good or is it possibly doing the team, player and program some harm.
As for me, I would never boo a player … high school, college or pro … if I thought he was trying his best. And I also don’t see a difference whether the booing is intended for the player or the coaches’ decision to play that player. In the end, it still points to the player
– does not help the confidence of the kids. In fact, it could well undermine that of the team.
– does nothing to change the coach’s mind
– does nothing to make a recruit want to come here
– may make an impression on Pederson but the negatives outweigh the slim chance of a positive when mass emails will be just as if not more noticed
To answer an above comment, I heard that Greg Cross is deep on the WR depth chart and will not see the field this year and so is looking at a redshirt.
Is it really a surprise that DW has no clue about how to handle the QB situation? He has not his whole career! He needs to learn what not to say about it however, so he does not sound like the intelligence-challenged.
and finally … booing a team that has 17 seasons of being under 500….is just wasting your breath. Its like making fun of an already disabled person, you just don’t do it.
The person who is to blame for his development as a QB is Cavanaugh, or DW. He had 4 years to develop him and look. But also people remember that there are still 11 games to go, and also statistically Stull is not that much off from Rutherford, and Palko after their first year they started.
So all I ask to you other fellow fans is be more positive about your team from now on. Or otherwise the media, Penn Shit, WVU, and the rest will continue to take the blows, and jabs at PITT. Come on People where better than this!
Further, as much as I would love to see Pitt get a BCS berth, my life will continue and it really doesn’t change all that much win or lose.
I assume you booers get a large amount of satisfaction or get some relief of frustration, but I find it to be embarrassing, whether it others or especially me doing the booing. (haven’t booed any athlete, amateur or pro for a very long time.)
@Jimbo Covert’s my Dad, I’d agree, but VA Tech could still win a lot of games, obviously, but I think they’re seriously over hyped this season.
Buffalo won at UTEP which is impressive in that they traveled half way across the US, but UTEP is not a Conf USA power. Believe we are a way better team but still it is an away game, against a MAC opponent with a fired-up crowd. Note that the last 2 time we played at a MAC school (Toledo & Ohio) we lost and their fans tore down the goal posts (just read that in one of the local papers.)
The one plus is that we have a much better defense than we did in those 2 games … and our offense was bad in that Ohio game (believe the only TD was the opening kickoff when LSH went the distance.)
I also like the rationale of don’t buy season tickets if you dont like the QB…so dont support the school and the rest of the team because you dont like the QB? nice reasoning.
Also, some things never change — found this on CBS sports.com: Bucs WR Antonio Bryant (left meniscus surgery) appears ready to go against the Cowboys on Sunday and isn’t worried about developing timing with starting QB Byron Leftwich: “Most of the spectacular catches I made last year were bad timing.”
They just don’t write articles on it there.
Remember those classy tOSU fans cheered Navy because they thought Navy would be a push-over.
Do you remeber those classy tOSU fans that chased Texas fans around Columbus when tOSU lost in Columbus to Texas?
You should, it was in the Columbus papers and there was a ton articles nationally.
My point is, fans will be fans, good and bad, most cheer, some boo and some turn over cars with Michigan license plates and light them on fire if they are parked in Columbus after a loss to Michigan.
Question is, is he capable?
We shall see this week because Buffalo will be a stern test similar to the Toledo and Ohio U games.
Win and silence the critics.
