Sometimes, it’s okay to hate

The best night of my entire spring break was exactly one week ago. Watching our Pittsburgh… The best night of my entire spring break was exactly one week ago. Watching our Pittsburgh Panthers beat West Virginia from a nosebleed seat in Madison Square Garden was by far the highlight of my otherwise boring vacation. This victory meant more to me than beating the second-ranked team in the country on the very next night.

Most of the game I spent jumping up and down and screaming. I rooted for us. I rooted against them. By the time the final buzzer sounded, I was so worn out from cheering that I felt as if I had been the one running up and down the court for 40 minutes. And as we were walking out, I kindly suggested to the Mountaineers that they should all go home.

Driving home from the city with my dad, all I could think about was how much I hated WVU. By the way – when I say “the city” I mean one and only one place. It’s not Philly, or Pittsburgh or even Rochester. It’s New York. If you don’t agree, you’re wrong.

Back to my point: I hate WVU more than Tom hates Jerry. I hate them like Homer Simpson hates treadmills or PETA hates a fur coat sale at Macy’s. I may even hate them more than I hate Penn State – I haven’t decided that one yet. My distaste for the Mountaineers runs pretty deep, but there’s one little problem: I don’t know why.

Maybe it’s how they look, or how they act or the things they say. Maybe they hate freedom. Maybe their arrogant, chest-pounding players have too much attitude. The problem with that is that it could also be used to describe Pitt, and some of the reasons why it’s so much fun to be a fan of the Panthers.

With that in mind, are the Mountaineers really all that bad? Have any WVU students ever done anything wrong to me? No. Are there any rational reasons for the vulgar things I shout at their basketball players during games? Not at all. I mean, for all I know some of those guys could be pretty cool. I could see myself discussing current events over a few I.C. Lights with Beilein, Gansey, Herber or Collins. Not Pittsnogle, though. No way.

I even have family from that very state. Please, don’t throw out the paper yet. Both my aunt and uncle were born outside Parkersburg, W. Va. My mom, however – like me – was born in Manhattan, thus saving me from a lifetime of torment from the people who I now call my friends.

So why should I hold so much contempt for West Virginia? The best answer I could come up with is pretty simple – because I go to Pitt. That’s all it is. Despite not having any connection with WVU before two years ago, I already cringe and moan whenever the school is mentioned. The second I moved into my room in Sutherland freshman year, my blood automatically became blue and gold and my hatred went straight to Morgantown.

That’s the beauty of college. When you enroll in a school, you sign up for all the baggage that comes with it. When you go to UNC, you hate Duke. When you go to Michigan, you hate Ohio State. When you go to Pitt, you hate West Virginia. And when you go to Carlow, you hate men.

I stand by the fact that my blind hatred is completely justified, mostly because their students do the same thing to us. I found this out the hard way while trying to give a high-five to a man waiting in line wearing a Steelers championship shirt. It hadn’t yet occurred to me that West Virginia fans also like the Steelers.

Though I didn’t appreciate some of the things that came out of this guy’s mouth, I respected his passion. This is what makes sports, especially college sports, fun. They create enemies and then decide rivalries in healthy outlets. Sure, we hate the other team for two halves, four quarters, three periods or nine innings, but after it’s over everyone goes home, usually unhurt, and reflects on the entertainment they were just privileged enough to witness.

So yes, I still hate West Virginia. Hopefully, they still hate me; I wouldn’t have it any other way. The animosity between the two schools brings so many people so much joy that I couldn’t imagine ever being without it. I love it. Especially when we win.

E-mail Sam at Seg23@pitt.edu to tell him which is worse: WVU or PSU.