Big Lead Sports Bar

2/13/2008

Sehn: Top 10 Reasons Why Pitt is Better Than WVU

News and Notes
--Pitt beat the feared Friars from Providence last night, 82-63, at the Pete. Levance Fields talked about suiting up, but ended up missing another game. Let’s hope he’s in uniform this weekend for Marquette.

--I’ll be in New York next month for the Big East Tournament. I'm suggesting a Mondesi's House get together at the makeshift Pitt bar across the street from the Garden. Hit me up with an email if you’re interested in this.

--For the first time ever, the Pitt women (#15) were ranked ahead of the Pitt men (#21). They showed their appreciation for this recognition by losing to #16 Notre Dame by 15 points.

A Mosh Pitt Top Ten
A pretty popular thing to do here at la casa de Mondesi is to compile a list. I, for one enjoy Big Snack and Diego’s weekly top 10 lists, or Raul’s Deadspin columns. But for my article, it’s a lot like drinking boxed wine. It’s gonna be cheap, but I’ll get the job done.

Pitt’s recent down-to-the-wire win against WVU got me thinking...not about whether or not Pitt is more classy or has better athletic programs than WVU. Nope. That’s a given. What I was wondering is, just how much better are we? I think the following Top Ten list will help answer that question.
Top 10 Reasons Why Pitt is Better Than WVU

#10
Pitt 55, WVU 54
I love the thought that WVU lost this game because Bob Huggins is bit of a jackass. His ripping of his own player after and during the game was ugly, period. I guess karma is a bitch.


#9
Football National Championships.
Pitt – 9
WVU – 0
I know Pitt hasn’t won a title since 1976. I know most of those national championships, (8 of them), came before 1937 and five of them were shared. But I’m willing to bet there are hundreds of thousands of WVU fans who would be elated with one national championship in the last 32 years. Like say in ’93 or ’88. Or in ’07. But we’ll get to that later.


#8
Pitt is an all around better school, academically, than WVU

Pitt has world renowned hospitals and the 18th ranked medical school in the nation. West Virgina isn’t in the top 25, just like their basketball team. Pitt doesn’t have as many Rhodes scholars (five) as WVU (25). But we’ve had two in the last four years. WVU has none in the last 10. Also a well known fact, WVU admits anyone who can fill out their application. In crayon or otherwise.

#7
The Pete vs. The Coliseum.

Not even a contest. The Coliseum plays the dungeon to the Petersen’s palace.

#6
This one involves another Pete: Pete Gonzalez.

The 1997 Backyard Brawl was one of the most intense in the history of the rivalry (until 2007, of course). This win got Walt Harris and his gang into the Liberty Bowl, Pitt’s first bowl since 1989. The stacked WVU team had 11 future NFL players, including Marc Bulger, Amos Zereoue and Jerry Porter. At 9-4 that season they were quite the disappointment.

#5
He wasn’t able to bring a national championship home, so in my mind, he’s going to be remembered for one thing, and it’s not any one of the multiple offensive records he set at WVU.

Ladies and gentlemen, the growling Pat White.


#4

The ‘Stache may not be the best game-day coach, but he’s one hell of a recruiter. Oh, and one other thing. He would never kick his alma mater when they’re down as hard as one Rich Rodriguez.

Did Michigan bring in Rodriguez just to get Pryor to be a Wolverine? Think about it, they forced out a coach who lost to a 32 point underdog to bring in a coach who lost to a 28.5 point underdog. Even worse, that game was for a trip to a national championship game. If Rodriguez can’t win the big one against Pitt, how do you think he’ll handle the pressure of Michigan/Ohio State?


#3
The return.

We miss you, Darrelle Revis.


#2
Could there be a dirtier place than south Oakland?

You betcha’. And the answer is: Morgantown. True, you might need a tetanus shot to live in South Oakland, but just a couple minutes away is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the country. There’s only an occasional riot (see: Steelers, Super Bowl) but they’re mostly just partying and a contained fire. Mo’town, on the other hand…well…


#1
13-9.

OK guys, I’m out of here. Drop me an email with any suggestions or comments. Until next time, Hail to Pitt.

22 comments:

Jim said...

"True, you might need a tetanus shot to live in South Oakland, but just a couple minutes away is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the country"

I'm gonna have to call BS on that one. "The Chief" is considered high culture in Pittsburgh. If we're comparing only Pittsburgh and Morgantown, then Pittsburgh is a cultural mecca. But let's not make ridiculous claims here.

Louis Lipps is my homeboy said...

Actually, I live in Tampa.

There's a lot more art, science, and culture in Pittsburgh than here and a few other places I've been to actually.

I know, I know, it's Pittsburgh and it's supposed to be football football football all the time, but that's not always the case.

"The Chief" is just high culture to... well.... ok I got no excuse for that one.

Backyard Scrawler said...

As the resident WVU fan I gotta call shenanigans on this.

#10, #6, #3 and #1 just happened to be selected moments of Pitt greatness – and #3 was one play in a game in which Pitt got totally smoked. I’ll give you #1 because it prevented WVU from playing for a national championship, but how many has Pitt had a chance for lately? WVU has won four of the last five Big East titles, won two BCS bowls, and went to five straight New Year’s bowls (only USC has matched that).

#7 The Pete may be better than the Coliseum, but how can you compare facilities when Pitt plays in a half-empty football stadium it doesn’t even own and its AD has to beg people to attend.

OK, so, Pitt is better than WVU because (#5) Pat White growls (?) after running all over the Panthers in 2006 and because its current basketball coach (#10) and former grid coach (#4) seem like jerks.

#2 Morgantown is one of the fastest growing small cities in the country and Pitt is crammed in an urban area with no campus atmosphere.

Lastly, Pitt football always gets these great recruiting classes but they have nothing to show for it. Pitt basketball is this great program but they can’t get past the Sweet 16 (even WVU went to the Elite 8 in 2005).

John MacLean said...

You say of Michigan: Did Michigan bring in Rodriguez just to get Pryor to be a Wolverine? Think about it, they forced out a coach who lost to a 32 point underdog...

Where in the hell did you get the idea that Lloyd was forced out? That reflects total ignorance of Lloyd's circumstances and path leading to his resignation / retirement.

My god is the sun said...

I was unaware that Pitt had a fan base. Aside from the #1 reason, your list is delightfully delusional.

Louis Lipps is my homeboy said...

Ummm.... what happened to all the Pitt fans that used to frequent this site?

Little help here?

AbrahamNunezPlays9Positions said...

to john maclean:

Do you remember when Michigan lost to App. St.? Michigan fans were going crazy to get rid of Lloyd, burning effigies and stuff like that. People were calling for him to retire in the middle of the season. The so called analysts on espn were saying that he needs to go. Losing to Ohio St. for 10 years straight was pretty bad, but losing to a D-1AA team was the last straw.

to backyard scrawler:

How many national titles does WVU have in football? Hint: same number as Cleve Brownie SB appearances.

Big East titles mean nothing, they have had 0 chances to play for a national championship because of them.

Huggybear and DickRod do not only seem like jerks, they are complete A-holes. If the guy Huggybear called out the other day didn't double on the man with the ball, he would have berated him for that. DickRod got out of Mo-town as fast as he could, but who could blame him? What was funny about it was that he was an alumn, and showed no loyalty to the school he grew up watching, played for, and coached.

To all WVU fans:

How can you get upset at DickRod getting stolen by Michigan when you stole Huggybear from K-State? Your football coach is a joke. It is like going home with a girl when you are blacked out drunk, wake up next to her the next morning, and decide you want to take her on a date. It is ok for awhile, but then you realize that this girl is not worthy of dating because after all, the first time you scored her you were blacked out drunk.

It seems like times are changing in the Big East and WVU is on the down, Pitt is on the up (hopefully).

Unknown said...

Hey MacLean,

Were you in a coma or something when Michigan lost to App. State? Near as I can remember the entire population of Michigan was out with rakes, hatchets, shovels, any farm implement they could find looking for Lloyd's head. The cry for his resignation couldn't have gotten any louder. Where were you when all of this was taking place?

John MacLean said...

Hey worstavid and others:

In the words of Roger, you "misremember." I've been a Michigan fan for over 40 years (and an Ann Arbor resident for most of them) and I can't remember any of those years when some purported Michigan fans were not bitching and many of them wanted to "change the coach." But look at the history. Michigan does not dump coaches. Most Michigan fans stay loyal. Such was the case with Carr.

He was not forced out. Lloyd was making retirement plans and arrangements (for himself and his assistants) at the end of the previous season, long before the App State debacle.

And 10 straight years of losing to Ohio State? Someone needs to get their facts straight (and understand that Michigan still holds a big advantage in the overall series).

Yes, the loss to App State nearly put me in a coma, but not quite. Where was I "when all of this was taking place?" Right here in Ann Arbor, probably a lot closer to what was going on than you. If I'm wrong and you, too, are personally acquainted with 1/2 a dozen people in the Michigan athletic department, let me know. We may know one another. If I am correct, you can keep shooting off your mouths (keyboards?), but understand that your opinions are only as good as the facts and evidence of the same you have to back them up.

AbrahamNunezPlays9Positions said...

john,

You are right I was mistaken, Lloyd is 6-7 against Ohio St. And he has lost 6 of the last 7. His downslide started when OSU got Jim Tressel.

Seems to me like that only is 13 years. I really don't care about their record (vs. OSU) before him, I was just making the point that he hasn't really done well against their biggest rival.

As for you having friends in the athletic department, would you care to pick their names up?

This is a Pitt vs. WVU thing anyways, so please, go away. Say hello to Ryan Mallet for me. Oh wait, nevermind.

tha friendly stranger said...

Alright way 2 go my man u started a message board fight with your 1st top 10.... well played although reason #1 pitt is better is cuz we don't f our cousins



lets go pitt!!!

John MacLean said...

You're right. I should get out of here. I got into this discussion simply because my google tags brought up either Rich Rod or Pryor (not sure which here). When I got here I discovered some inane collateral shots being taken either at Michigan or our new coach. So, I filed a response. Nothing in the blog said it had a restricted audience or noted any restriction on participation. My responses were relevant to something someone had said. Otherwise, I simply would have trashed the e-mail generated by my google tag. If you set yourselves up as a target, expect to be shot at. I didn't expect to run into some self-appointed policeman of participation.

chris said...

Just to clarify, Rhodes scholars are selected on a regional basis. WVU's 25 Rhodesians competed against scholars from Washington D.C., Kentucky and Maryland.
There are good schools in those places, but there is no Ivy league competition in that region. Additionally, 15 of the Rhodes Scholars WVU produced were selected for their work in either furtrapping or muzzleloading. Not a knock, but Pitt doesn't offer that sort of curriculum.

and John... Oh how the mighty have fallen! You must truly love Pittsburgh sports. Have fun with the spread option.

John MacLean said...

To review the falling fortunes of one of the mighty, see:

http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=14&yr=2008

chris said...

"have fun with the spread option"

..now get back to scheduling UM intramurals.

John MacLean said...

Sorry. I guess I'm too old. Just don't get this one.

John MacLean said...

Honestly guys, I'm trying to reduce my remarks to a few guttural utterances --- kind of like 55 or so years ago when my folks took me to the local zoo and I tried to communicate with the primates. If this keeps up, guess I'll have to drop out. There must be a course in this kind of communication (at Pitt or WVU?), but they never offered it here in Ann Arbor.

chris said...

(((((((((yawn)))))))))))

John MacLean said...

Agreed! But I was trying to elevate the level of the conversation. An impossible task.

Todd Hunter Holsopple said...

Calm down, John. None of us really care about Michigan at all, and you're not doing anything but lowering our opinion. Answer me one question, and do it honestly: if Lloyd hadn't been ready to retire, do you think he would have returned? Not a snowball's chance, my friend.

Unknown said...

Hey Maclean, Simon says: When is a duck like a skunk? You have one minute to type in your answer.

chris said...

MacLean! Hold your winged head high, you smarmy crumudgeon. RR has instituted open tryouts.

http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2008/02/15/Football/Tryouts.Attract.Football.Hopefuls-3213349.shtml