So How Did That Win Feel?

I am a big fan of articles that let the readers know how a certain game felt from a perspective that they might share, the fan's perspective.  I have the privilege of being a student at Pitt and therefore attend every home game.  I sat through the Cincinnati game in 2009, when I watched the Panthers lose a BCS Bowl bid in front of my blistering cold face.  I watched Notre Dame in the same season, come in to Heinz Field boasting a fan base as vast as the home team's, the Panthers came out on top with dignity and excitement.

Basically, the privilege that I had spoken about earlier was not always necessarily what some would consider a "privilege".  Watching this team fail, year after year, last season the humiliating defeats at the hands of Miami and West Virginia on national television.  All of this leading up to this season.  New coach, new offense, new feeling of rebirth and another chance at success.  All of these things had amounted to a 2-2 record with wins against teams that most people have never heard of and losses to the teams that are recognizable.  Coming in to Thursday's game against a ranked opponent on national television, this was a must win game to re-ignite this "high-octane" offense and start Big East conference play off on the right foot.

As the stadium lights illuminated the grassy surface and yellow seats of Heinz Field, the stadium slowly started to come alive.  In one of the worst showings in attendance that I have ever seen at the stadium, the place was also as electric as I had ever seen it.  When that offense started putting up points and Ray Graham started making the South Florida defense look like a Pop Warner squad, the place was wired.

Like I said, I was there for that Cincinnati game, the Backyard Brawls, the Notre Dame games.  I heard the 65,000+ fans at a sold out Heinz Field all screaming at the top of their lungs on those days and nights.  In this pitiful showing of attendance on a Thursday night in late September, rain falling from the sky and South Florida hopes falling just as fast, the student section had finally come alive.  When B.J. Daniels took snaps in the third quarter near the closed end of the stadium, he had to have had trouble making changes at the line.  We were screaming at the top of our lungs, excited, rejuvenated.

For the first time since last season, we were jumping up and down like it was the Oakland Zoo.  For the first time this season, we believed that the Panthers could actually make something of the remaining games.  And for the first time in years as a Pitt fan, I couldn't wait to see how the offense was going to progress and put up even more points.

In the Pitt student section it is a common practice to raise girls (or even petite guys depending on the situation) in the air after a score.  Each repetition signifies a point scored by the beloved team.  We started with Tino's touchdown run in the first quarter and the extra point, 7 reps.  Then came a field goal, 10 reps.  Then another field goal, 13 reps.  By then end of the game, my friends and I had lifted this random girl that had volunteered to be our aerial representative in to the air one hundred and ninety-six times.  

Oregon's mascot does push-ups when they score points.  He (or she for that matter) does this every game for the high-powered, fast-paced, breathtaking offense that the Ducks run.  It has been said that Pitt wants to mimic that offense in production and speed.  The Panthers did just that against the Bulls from USF.  

On Thursday In this pitiful showing of attendance on a Thursday night in late September, rain falling from the sky and South Florida hoped falling just as fast, the student section had finally felt as if they were a part of something to be proud of.  We cheered, we screamed, we laughed, we got rained on, we watched Ray Graham play his heart out, we watched a team blossom in front of our eyes, we watched touchdowns be scored, we watched the defense play well, but most of all, we watched the Pitt Panthers evolve in to what we hope will be a National Championship contender.

I have watched Pitt dominate teams before.  I have never watched Pitt dominate a top 25 opponent.  I have never watched Pitt outscore a top 10 offense.  I have never watched Pitt hold that same top 10 offense to only 17 points (which were all scored in the first half).  With all of that in mind, I have also never been as excited about Pitt football as I am right now.

I'm excited for what is to come, or what hopefully is to come of this team.  The Pitt Panthers have a massive following of fans and supporters that are ready to jump back on the wagon and cheer this team to victory.  After years of disappointment, an empty stadium was what they needed to realize where they were at in terms of producing for the people who care about them.  In light of that, they put on one of the best shows that I have seen in years by any Panther team.  Now that they have gotten everyone's attention.  It's time to hold it, secure it, and take that attention all the way to a BCS game in January.

If Pitt plays the way that it did Thursday every week for the rest of the season, look for them to not only go to a BCS Bowl game, but they might even win.  This is what these fans, these alumni and students, all needed to see before they could have any faith at all in this football team.  Now that the faith has been restored, the swagger is back in the locker room, and the country is noticing a rumble in our backfield again, the question still remains; "So how did that win feel?".  Well I'll tell you right now how it felt, it felt damn good.