I got lucky enough to be able to go and see the Pitt vs. PSU football game this past Saturday. This was a game that was history in the making as it has been sixteen years since they have last played each other. Since these colleges are big ones in the area with a lot of alumni working in western Pennsylvania, you knew it was going to be a heated match up. I’ve personally been waiting to watch this game since I was twelve years old and was first introduced to the rivalry.
My day started off early having to wake up at 6:30 a.m. so we could get there in time for the tailgate. After a long drive, getting stuck in traffic, and wandering around the city we finally found our tailgate and were able to enjoy a brunch and meet fellow Pitt fans. The entire block was packed with tailgates of both sides and it was an insane atmosphere of people hyped up for the game.
What’s great about college sports is that there are a lot of generational fans especially with families. So you could see entire families decked out in their gear ranging from the grandparents all the way down to the infants. I’ve lived in Pittsburgh my entire life and I’ve never seen an event be this crowded and with such a range of people.
We finally got seats high up in the student section and unfortunately they weren’t shaded so now I’m completely sunburned. It was totally worth it though, because the people we were sitting next to made the game even more enjoyable. Anytime a good play happened or Pitt scored it was a jubilant feeling with everyone celebrating with strangers. I met students from other Pitt campuses and it was great that this game was able to bring us all together.
The best part about our seats was that they were so close to the PSU student section. Anytime we scored we got to cheer and watch their reactions. There almost was a fight that broke out before halftime between opposing fans and it was pretty entertaining to watch them scream insults at each other.
Ironically though most of the people I saw went to UPJ. I was just surprised that with how many people were there I kept running into my classmates. And the stadium was PACKED! It was a sold out game with people all over the state coming into the city to watch it. The fact that there were so many people there made the game better in my opinion. So much noise made everyone even more excited and I’ve never been to a sporting event with so much enthusiasm from the crowd.
The best part of course was definitely the game. It was excellent to watch because it was so intense. Especially within the last five minutes everyone was on the edge of their seats hoping that Pitt could maintain the lead. I’m glad that it wasn’t one team constantly scoring or nothing exciting happened, because the intensity made it that much better. There were constantly interceptions and fumbles and you could see the players on both sides were giving over 100%.
Overall, it was an amazing experience. I’ll be able to say I got to see this game and it will be one that both schools will be talking about for a long time. There’s something about a rivalry that makes sports even better to watch and this is one I couldn’t wait to witness. For my very first Pitt football game it was definitely the perfect one. The students, fans, and players all made it something that they wanted to remember and with Pitt winning it was just icing on the cake.
