This isn’t your regular MMBUDL post that you have grown accustomed to seeing after a Steelers game over the past five weeks. And while Turrible wasn’t planning on making a post as of yesterday afternoon…something magical took place last night in Chapel Hill, NC that has compelled a long suffering Panther fan to take a mental dump onto his keyboard for the entire world to see. Hopefully, he will remember to wipe when he’s done.
I grew up in the era of Paul Evans and Ralph Willard. My boyhood heroes were Sean Miller, Jason Matthews, Darelle Porter, Demetrius Gore, Charles Smith, Jerome Lane, Curtis Aiken, Brian Shorter, Bobby Martin, Eric Mobley and Jerry McCullough. When the University of Pittsburgh concocted some half-baked scheme to bring another system Coach in that wasn’t from the northeast and had a bunch of underachieving honkies thrusting up 3-pointers at a record pace…I was less than enthusiastic. That dude was Ben Howland. He brought Jamie Dixon. They made players out of Brandin Knight. Onterrio Lett. Julius Page. Jaron Brown. Ricardo Greer. Chevy Troutman. They brought Pitt a Big East basketball championship and some new found respect.
Now, for the first time in the 101 year history of the University of Pittsburgh’s men’s basketball program, the Panthers sit atop the media polls as the by-god #1 team in the country. On message boards and in instant-columns everywhere today, nay-sayers have been crapping all over the Pitt parade by writing that it doesn’t matter unless you are on top of the poll in March. For a team who’s meager list of highlights include one shattered backboard and plenty of upsets and disappointments, believe me…it matters. (Pitt Basketball Positive Historical Highlights Reel, Take 1):
It matters because I had to watch Darren Morningstar get abused routinely by Alonzo Mourning and wonder why a man who had both “morning” and “star” in his name was such a stiff. It matters because I had to watch Sotiris Aggelou. It matters because Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun and Rick Pitino were the first people I ever wanted to throw projectiles at…and I didn’t even know what the word projectile meant at the time. It matters because I am going to get to hear that short little man and his old, beloved, gravelly-voiced sidekick that I listened to on my dad’s old clock radio while dunking on a Nerf hoop talk about their top-ranked basketball team.
I haven’t seen this anywhere else yet…but on behalf of the boy living inside of a TurribleWriter’s body…I just want to say thank you to the Panthers’ coaches and players, past and present, that made this dream an absolute reality. HAIL TO PITT!!!
Monday, January 5, 2009
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2 comments:
That dunk was 21 years ago.. Jesus Christ am I getting old. Funny trivia note about that play. The game wasn't on TV here in Pittsburgh and my dad and I listened to it on the radio.. and I remember him explaining to me what happened. Because at age 10, shattered backboards seemed crazy to me.
First of all, I could watch that dunk on a loops for 12 hours straight. Secondly, I like that we had an add for Pitt ringtones on your post.
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