West Virginia football is a wild, wonderful thing. Quirky, too.
For media members, nothing about taking in a game at Milan Puskar Stadium is quirkier than moving from the press box to the postgame interview rooms. Doing so requires walking through a section of the stadium and all the way across the field.
It’s a walk I made several times during the Mountaineers’ heyday when Pat White compiled Heisman Trophy-worthy numbers, Steve Slaton racked up touchdowns and Rich Rodriguez engineered one of college football’s more entertaining offenses.
So what’s this got to do with Pitt?
Well …
On Dec. 1, 2007, I made a walk through those stands I won’t soon forget. Moments beforehand, another journalist who had just witnessed West Virginia’s likely ascension into the national championship game turned to me by the elevator in the press box and asked, “Do we really have to walk through the stands?”
I confirmed affirmatively. He looked at me skeptically.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ve done this a bunch of times. I’ll run fullback.”
I understood his concern. Heck, I was a little worried, too. After all, more than 60,000 had just watched one of the greatest upsets in college football history. Pitt, a 28.5-point underdog with a 4-7 record, beat No. 2 West Virginia, 13-9, behind the hard running of LeSean McCoy and a staunch defense led by Scott McKillop. It was the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl and, arguably, the most significant in the rivalry. Who knew how the home crowd would react?
After a quick elevator ride, it was time to hustle down to the field. Along the way, some WVU fans had a few choice words for Pitt, but mostly, the only sounds heard came from a small sliver of Panthers fans chanting, “Let’s go Pitt!”
The scene was eerie and tense. It also was special.
So rather than hustle off to the interview rooms, I stayed on the field with notebook and pen in hand. It turned into one of the better decisions of my professional career. As I watched Pitt players celebrate and WVU players scurry off the field in disbelief, the Mountaineer took a knee near me. He did his best to fight off emotions.
I took notes.
Then, I looked down at my feet. Just in front of me was a glass bottle. I picked it up. It was an unopened pint of vodka. I turned to security guards standing behind me, prepared to hand it over.
“You’re 21, right?”
I nodded.
“Keep it as a souvenir.”
I did, but I continued to take notes, wondering what might have happened had I been standing in a different spot when the bottle landed.
From there, it was time to get the postgame interviews done. Pitt players sang the fight song, and it could be heard from most places in the area. But everyone covering the game heard that. We all had the same or similar quotes. By staying on the field those extra couple of minutes, I had color and background that added to the experience of the craziest game I’ve covered in my 23-year professional career.
It’s that power of personal observation I plan to bring to Pitt beat and my other work here at DK Pittsburgh Sports. I strive to seek the unusual, spectacular and significant. I plan on relaying that information because you deserve it.
I might be new to the Pitt beat here, but I’m no novice when it comes to following and covering the Panthers.
In terms of coverage, it started at The Pitt News, where I spent a year as sports editor. That was in the mid-1990s when the football program floundered during the second coaching tenure of Johnny Majors and the basketball team transitioned from the Paul Evans era to Ralph Willard as coach. It continued at the Observer-Reporter in Washington, Pa., where I covered the final game at Pitt Stadium and occasionally bumped into former head coach Walt Harris and special teams coach Bob Ligashesky while jogging around the South Side Flats.
I was there for Pitt basketball’s emergence under Ben Howland, Brandin Knight, Julius Page and company. When Jamie Dixon guided the program to the top of the polls, yep, there for that, too. When Duquesne students chanted 'Over-rated!' during the closing seconds of a 73-68 Panthers win Dec. 5, 2007, at Palumbo Center, DeJuan Blair looked over at me in press row. He smiled and started laughing. Rest assured we talked about it after the game.
My knowledge of Pitt athletics extends far beyond those moments.
I continue to contend Hugh Green and Larry Fitzgerald are the best college football players to never win the Heisman. (The Observer-Reporter voted for Fitzgerald in 2003.) I believe the 1987-88 Pitt basketball team is the most talented in program history, but Barry Goheen happened. Clyde Vaughn is the first basketball player I can remember. Some of the best years of my life were spent in Oakland.
Now, my goal is to provide the best Pitt coverage.
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