It is often said that nothing great in life is ever accomplished without adversity. For Pitt… It is often said that nothing great in life is ever accomplished without adversity. For Pitt students who frequent home football games, this may mean that great things are in store, because we already have our fair share of obstacles to overcome. Our student section has often taken fire for being weak – and make no mistake, it is – but it’s not entirely the students’ fault.

For starters, the Pitt student body has been forced in recent years to bounce from home to home like a hacky sack. We moved to Three Rivers when Pitt Stadium was demolished, and then to Heinz Field when Three Rivers got the ax. Our team hasn’t had a real home field advantage for quite a while, simply because our team hasn’t had a real home field. But at least this time we can look forward to a real future in the building we now play in. We have entered into our second season at Heinz Field and it hasn’t yet been slated for implosion.

It is also true that much of college football fanaticism is born outside of the stadium, hours before the game starts. But here too, Pitt students are faced with a handicap. Though the pregame tailgating scene on Saturday was crazy as always, it was confined to a student parking area that is terribly small and extremely far away from the field. Many students were not dissuaded by the size and the distance, but the lot can’t hold everybody, and many grills and beer pong tables were erected in the isolation of a parking garage.

We are further inconvenienced this year by a new Gate C only policy. It’s just a matter of walking to the far side of the stadium, but that’s a tough trek to make when you just finished the marathon hike from the student lot with a beer in one hand and a kielbasa in the other.

Also missing from the proper football experience are solid traditions, a Friday night pep rally and the guy who used to proclaim “First down, Panthers!” with great enthusiasm over the PA system – not to mention the complete lack of Bubble Boy.

Next Saturday we will go on ESPN to play a strong Texas A’M team that enjoys the company of strong Texas A’M fans. This will present the first real test of how tough Pitt fans can be, and it will give us the opportunity to start a fiery new tradition of Pitt football and Heinz Field. Sporting a wild and crazy student section is not only vital to a school’s well being, but it’s easy. Penn State does it, and they suck.