good. i would rather be in the same company as 99,000 households who actually graduated from high-school and college.

being a pitt fan is like being a member of an exclusive club. the dues, in the form of heartbreaking losses, are high. however, the company is great and there are just enough good moments to keep on paying the membership fee every year.

it wouldn’t be as fun if every yinzer hopped on board. we would be just like PSU and every other land grant school. i like it better this way.

finally, you can bet that the majority of pitt fans actually attend the university in some capacity. there is a deeper affinity when you attended the school. i never went to steeler university.

Agreed Chas, the ratings numbers couldn’t possibly be more meaningless.

Saturday can’t come fast enough.

We tried to find a bar on Carson to watch the Pitt game, and got there an hour before Pitt’s game time (the Steeler exhibition game started before Pitt’s game). Every bar we went to was packed with Steeler fans in their Steeler jerseys***, no tables available.

We ended up at “The Bar” where the Young Pitt Alumni had their party (sadly, I’m no longer in their target demographic) – other than “The Bar” and Mullen’s, which was half-full of Ohio State fans, it was all Steelers.

That ought to tell you why Pitt has trouble drawing fans as compared to Big10, SEC, et al…being located in an NFL city/region sucks up a lot of the available oxygen. The rest of the Big East has the same problem.

*** – Thursday’s display once again confirmed my theory: white people in Pittsburgh LOVE Heath Miller…

The NFL rules the TV sporting world in this country, and the Steelers are an iconic team that pretty much rules Pittsburgh during football season.

Plus, the college football watching populace in Western PA is pretty divided. You have a lot (too many) PSUcks fans, as well as quite a few WVU fans, and throw in some Ohio State and Notre Dame fans too. All added up, Pitt doesn’t have a monopoly on college football in Pittsburgh like the Steelers do on pro football

And finally, why should I even care about ratings? I watched it, Pitt fans across the country watched it, and 100,000 of us watched it in Pittsburgh. That’s all that matters.

If Pitt has some amazing season, the casual college football fans in the area (ie, those that aren’t already attached to State Penn or another college) will come along for the ride. That’s just how these things work.

For the record, I’m a HUGE Steeler fan. But a game that counts trumps a preseason game any day.

In some ways it is good that your typical 8am tailgating, beer guzzling yinzer doesn’t have much interest in Pitt football. Probably because you can’t buy beer anywhere but the luxury boxes/club levels. I far prefer going to Pitt games over Steeler games. They are MUCH more family and check book friendly. Way better value for your football $$$.

Hilgrove did the Steeler game. No surprise there judging by the ratings

Pitt dropped out of AP poll

link to sports.espn.go.com

[…] Pitt Blather gets the H/T but also a chance to redeem with some numbers, all courtesy of the blog’s research: […]

Was a fan of the Wanny hire, have been a Wanny fan with recruiting, some game day coaching disasters aside, thought the ship was going in the right direction. Maybe he has said a lot more, admittedly, I did not here too many of his remarks, but, the two I heard were, “well, it was a hostile environment, a real hornets nest”, and just now, “well, Tino has a lot to learn, I feel confident he’ll learn from his mistakes and progress.” …………….. Hey Dave, nevermind!!!

Just wait till the Labor Strike!

-evil laugh hahhahahahah

I’ve pointed this out before …. Pitt finished in the Top 10 from 76 thru 82 every year but once when they finished in Top 20 (had plenty of stars … Dorsett, Walker, Marino, Jackson, Green, Collins, Flynn, May, Grimm, Covert, McMillan, etc) … yet you could walk up and buy a ticket at Pitt Stadium for any game except vs PSU, WVU and ND.

Like it or not, Wanny kicks ass in recruiting despite competing against Steelers, competing in the BE and Western PA not being close to the fertile recuiting area it once was … (in addition to the TV ratings, the other local story of note is that Thomas Jefferson amd Woodland Hills got their butts kicked vs Florida schools.)

wbb, ya, talked to some people that saw the games. Everyone knows T.J. and Woody High are perennially two of the top teams in W.Pa., they said the speed of the Fla teams was incredible, it was like knives through butter!!! No offense to anyone from, is that Pleasant Hills and Jefferson for T.J.?? and the Swissvale Churchill gang, they just said the Fla. teams were unreal!!

FL kids develop faster athletically.

While we’re inside playing video games for four months per year, they’re outside running around.

It’s not rocket science.

Also wbb, I concur with your memory. In the 70’s, those were the three games that sold out, same as now, sans PSU, but, the last PSU game was a sellout at 3 rivers. Most of the rest of the games the sides were filled in and part of one end zone. If a half decent team came, other than the previous 3 mentioned, then the one endzone may have filled up, and the other usually empty endzone would have some scatterers!!! As far as Wanny, wbb, as I previously posted, had faith in him, excellent recruiter, and despite some horrible game days, I thought ship was heading in right direction. For me to have any faith, they have to destroy New Hampshire, no excuses, no learning curve, no, blah blah blah, whip them, and then beat Miami. Maybe I bought into too much of the hype, but, it is his 6th year, no more “we have a lot to learn”, “we have to improve”, don’t speak, do it!!!!!! Those words were good on years one, two and three, starting to ring hollow a bit. Again, maybe I’m shooting too high, I’m looking for a consistent 9-3, 10-2, 11-1 team, consitently in the top 15, and where the name Pitt is mentioned on sportcenter with the best of them. I seriously am starting to wonder, that it’s me, and I should be happy we’re a little better than mediocre and hopefully we go to a bowl game.

First game of the season, on the road, against a VERY solid Utah, with a starting QB. I was disappointed with the way we lost in OT (and we could have and probably should have won in regulation), but I liked the way the team came back to tie. In a hostile environment, that’s a tough challenge. I also liked that Tino visibly tried to take the team on his shoulders.

In the long run, Pitt can still have a very strong season. And if Pitt is going to lose a game, an early one on the raod against a strong opponent is less harmful than a loss to a weak opponent, one at home, and/or late in the season. I have always felt that it was a mistake to schedule a road game versus Utah as a season opener, but it is what it is.

I still think Pitt can win the BE, and go to a BCS game. That was — and still is — the most important goal for this season.

I don’t think it pays to get worked up over Pitt’s ratings against the Steelers. 99,000 households watching Pitt when the Steelers were on at the same time is rather good.

The Steelers rule the Pittsburgh/Tri-State TV market and nobody else come close, not the Penguins, not Pitt and not State Penn. That’s just how it is. College football loyalties are divided in western Pennsylvania and Pitt will never be in the majority of those fans.