Pitt vs Penn Stste at one time was a major tradition....shame Penn State isn't capitalizing on all the publicity.
Rivalry Weekend...Tons of Tradition.
- Thread starter ChandlerPearce58
- Start date
Most Penn State fans don't care about playing Pitt. Pitt fans are the ones that want it. Everything to gain and nothing to lose from them and Penn State has nothing to gain by playing Pitt.
Last week, my son was riding in an Uber near Rutgers. The driver was a Rutger's employee, and my son mentioned PSU. The driver said you know that PSU is our most hated rival. Rivalry weekend, bring it on.
My friend....I believe you are wrong. Most Penn Staters I talk to miss the rivalry.
I'd hate to play Pitt tomorrow. It'd be awkward since Dooz will be our coach next year.
I'm close. I made the original post. Still don't think most Penn State fans really care. Just my opinion. Obviously can't speak for everyone.
You spoke for me, I have no interest in playing them. We just played them four years in a row not too long ago and it did nothing for us.
Oh I agree with you. I only know a couple Penn Staters that actively want to play the series and it's all about the past which tradition is great but we gain nothing from playing Pitt. If we win, we were supposed to. If they do, it's a huge deal.
A major game for about 6 years in the late 70s early 80s, but Pitt decided it wanted to be a bouncy ball school and build a rivalry with Seton Hall instead. Otherwise it only had regional meaning limited to SW Penna. It would be like LSU vs Tulane
Yea this fan base would lose its **** when they found out some of those games were on Fridays'. LOL.
We couldn’t play Pitt on the Friday after Thanksgiving because the Big wouldn’t allow it.
No one cares. Respect ya @ChandlerPearce58 but no one cares about Pitt football.
I know every season tix holder would rather play some FCS school like we do....but why do so many complain about our OOC schedule? Pitt at least is a P4 team and beating them is good for business
The exposure teams playing rivalry games get is massive....good for tix sales, good for claiming ownership of Pa, good for recruiting, and good exposure for B1G beating an ACC contender.
**** Pitt. I know way to many Pitt people who delighted in our misery and all that 'Joe Knew' BS. Let them twist in the wind now.
Fair enough--I'm honestly shocked by that. I know almost no one around my age (50) that has any interest in renewing the rivalry and I'm in Pittsburgh
For those who don't care if we play Pitt, who is our arch rival? Michigan and OSU, Bama and Auburn, Army and Navy, Florida and FSU etc.ate some arch rival matchups in the country.
I'm, well older but not much, grew up in SW PA and I have zero interest in Pitt. It was fun in the 70's 80's and early 90's. But it's over.
Do we need an "arch" rival. My dislike bordering on hatred for all things B1G it more than enough to me.
Pitt isn't either though--we don't have a geographic rival (Pitt has WVU) or anything like Army/Navy.
Penn State-Nebraska should have been paired when Nebraska entered the Big Ten but that ship has sailed.
And, honestly, Ohio State and Michigan are our rivals even if they don't care about us on that level.
In the 70s and 80s, there wasnt a bigger game in the country than Pitt and Penn State. It was as big as any rivalry game. But was destroyed when we joined the Big Ten.
Beating them is no different than beating an FCS school from a rankings/playoff selection standpoint. They both count as a game we should win.
but you can't turn back time--a lot has changed over 3+ decades since we joined the Big Ten
No need to turn back time. Play the game and the interest will return. When you have kids from the same high schools and neighborhoods going to opponents, the rivalry will heat up.
You have to remember the mid 70s to early 80s. That means about 55-56 and older.
When the Big Ten decided that PSU had no "rival", nor "rivalry game", that created a really sub-optimal situation. Especially for the end-of-year game.
How PSU leadership allowed that to happen? Who knows, but that was a very goofy thing to allow. Certainly, the fans see games with OSU and Michigan as the most interesting among the conference opponents - but PSU doesn't even play them every year anymore. And, obviously, not as an end-of-year game.
Having the end-of-year game rotate between the likes of Maryland or Rutgers is pathetic - and only assures one thing: a near empty stadium for the season finale each year, with zero fan interest (and, for the bean-counters and future revenue, very few TV viewers).
At the very least PSU should have, I believe, told the Big Ten to schedule them so as to have the final weekend NOT be a conference game (many schools in other conferences, obviously, do exactly that), and use that last weekend to schedule "old rivals" - Pitt being the obvious prime option, but could also rotate in a WVU on occasion, and seek out options with other partners (Notre Dame would be an ideal, but probably unlikely option, for an occasional match up - and there are a few Big 12 and ACC schools without a good end-of-season game that could also be possibilities for an occasional 2 game series, if desired).
In any event, any number of programs - including Pitt - would be 1000% more interesting and attractive than the current situation.
How PSU leadership allowed that to happen? Who knows, but that was a very goofy thing to allow. Certainly, the fans see games with OSU and Michigan as the most interesting among the conference opponents - but PSU doesn't even play them every year anymore. And, obviously, not as an end-of-year game.
Having the end-of-year game rotate between the likes of Maryland or Rutgers is pathetic - and only assures one thing: a near empty stadium for the season finale each year, with zero fan interest (and, for the bean-counters and future revenue, very few TV viewers).
At the very least PSU should have, I believe, told the Big Ten to schedule them so as to have the final weekend NOT be a conference game (many schools in other conferences, obviously, do exactly that), and use that last weekend to schedule "old rivals" - Pitt being the obvious prime option, but could also rotate in a WVU on occasion, and seek out options with other partners (Notre Dame would be an ideal, but probably unlikely option, for an occasional match up - and there are a few Big 12 and ACC schools without a good end-of-season game that could also be possibilities for an occasional 2 game series, if desired).
In any event, any number of programs - including Pitt - would be 1000% more interesting and attractive than the current situation.