Incoming Panther fans, beware of streakiness

As an incoming college student, chances are you are familiar with the adage, “You win some…. As an incoming college student, chances are you are familiar with the adage, “You win some. You lose some.”

As a Pitt student, the words will become creed.

If you’re like me, you knew Pitt was “it” long before you began the college search. Sure, the lively yet beautiful urban campus aids the attraction of a prestigious university, but there’s one aspect of life at Pitt that is infectious to all – the sports.

Pitt offers 11 varsity sports, ranging from football to swimming and diving, that compete on national levels year round. However, along with the top-flight competition comes the same kind of exposure. And as a Pitt Panther fan, you’ll learn, if you already haven’t, that it’s never forgiving.

Take Pitt football for instance. Three years ago, the Panthers won the Big East Conference title with a thrilling fourth-quarter victory over archrival West Virginia in the nationally televised “Backyard Brawl” on Thanksgiving, clinching their first ever BCS Bowl berth in the Fiesta Bowl.

Life as a Panther fan was good.

But just as the momentum peaked and the Panthers were on the verge of recapturing greatness, they dropped it all – big time.

Alex Smith and the Utah Utes manhandled Tyler Palko and the Panthers en route to a 35-7 nationally televised beatdown that led the college football community to conclude Pitt really hadn’t rediscovered the “it” that it had 30-some odd years ago.

After some time to mourn the loss, Panther fans were once again energized. Everybody’s favorite goat of a head coach, Walt Harris, had left for the coast and Pitt filled the coaching void with Dave Wannstedt – the hometown, moustache, former Panther and cure-all for Pitt football.

Or so we thought.

The high expectations, along with Pitt’s pre-season No. 23 ranking, were short lived. After ESPN College Game Day’s Lee Corso decided the Panthers would take the night’s contest vs. Notre Dame from the show’s improvised set on Heinz Field’s front lawn, the Fighting Irish steamrolled the Panthers in front of yet another national crowd and started them on a three-game skid, setting the table for the 5-6 disappointment of a season that was 2005.

And 2006? After starting the season 6-1 and nearly cracking the top 25 again, the Panthers lost five straight, making UConn’s D.J. Hernandez look like West Virginia’s Pat White in the process.

Oh, and White? The only thing that stopped him in last year’s “Backyard Brawl” was the end zone.

But the Pitt athletic stock market doesn’t close with the gates of Heinz Field. If only we were so fortunate.

The Petersen Events Center, Pitt’s state-of-the-art, on-campus basketball arena has been the home for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams for the last four years. Although the arena is new, the teams that play inside still wear blue and gold, so prepare for the worst.

For example, the men’s basketball team has made the NCAA Tournament each of the last six years – good. Hey, great. Good job, guys. But, every year the team stops just short of overachieving.

As a matter of fact, the Panthers have a knack for losing to opposing universities that you couldn’t locate on a map if you were even given the correct state.

The first such loss came to Kent State in the Sweet 16 in 2002. The next year, it was Marquette that trumped the Panthers in the same round. But the Golden Eagles did have Dwyane Wade, so they can have that one.

In 2004, though, after beating Wisconsin in Milwaukee in the second round, the Panthers failed to advance past the regionals when Oklahoma State brought the Pitt season to an end.

In 2005, it was an embarrassing loss at the hands of the University of the Pacific.

I’ll give you $10 if you can tell me where Pacific is on the spot, or even better, one player on the team.

Two years ago, after starting 18-0 and making a run to the Big East Tournament championship game, Pitt lost to Bradley in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Another $10 if you can honestly say you heard of Bradley before that game.

And last year, the Panthers flopped every time they had the chance – twice against Marquette in the regular season, twice against Georgetown, one of which cost the Big East Tournament Championship, and against a UCLA team that played as poorly as it did all season in last year’s Sweet 16.

Somehow, no matter how many shots the opponent wants to miss, no matter how many turnovers they wish to commit, Pitt always seems to want to be worse.

Needless to say, nothing is guaranteed with Pitt sports. Some of the greatest sports memories I have come from thrilling Pitt victories throughout the years. Then again, the Panthers never fail to disappoint on many occasions.

If there is one piece of advice I can give you as a new Pitt student and sports fan, it would be to never get your hopes up. As harsh as that sounds, it’s the truth. Let the teams do the talking for you. I can’t even remember how much smack I spit on my Notre Dame-bound friends two summers ago only to have it thrown right back in my face not months later.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve bled blue and gold. I’ve waited hours in the blistering cold outside the Pete to get good seats for a hoops game, and I’ve sprinted up the ramp at Heinz Field for the same purpose.

But as a seasoned, born-and-raised Panther fan, I’ve taken the highs with the lows and have learned to expect the unexpected.