Saturday, 1 a.m.
Q: You are sure scary. Last week you got it right about Joe Paterno when you said he needed to get over his lost dream of his own conference and resume the rivalry with Pitt. As a devout Pitt fan all my life, and alumnus, too, I despise Joe for his egocentric, despotic power to end a grand annual event. Now you are praising his achievements like he’s the God of all that’s good in college athletics. His dream was a good one and his devotion to Penn State admirable, but all this is cast aside to me by his child-like peevish refusal to play a long arch-rival and help his state achieve notoriety for this annual event.
Bob Smizik: I see no contradiction in my stances. The world is made up of shades of gray, not black and white, as most Pitt and Penn State fans view the rivalry. It’s entirely possible to admire and respect Paterno and still believe he is wrong on a certain issue.
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Q: Could an argument be made that Notre Dame in the Big East makes sense? In that case, Notre Dame becomes likely the top dog in a BCS conference as opposed to possibly dwindling prestige as an independent or becoming one of many in the Big Ten. The Big East gets the biggest name in college football, albeit past its prime, and solidifies BCS status. The move doesn't affect basketball for either party, etc.
Jeff Flynn
Bob Smizik: The case for Notre Dame in the Big East certainly can be made. Just don’t try to make it to Notre Dame administrators. The Irish have the best of both worlds. In football, they’re an independent and thus do not 
have to share their vast football revenues with conference members. In basketball, where there clout is considerably less, the have membership in the best conference in the country.
Notre Dame’s reputation isn’t dwindling as much as you might believe. When that does happen, then the Irish might consider joining a conference. I would be shocked if that conference was not the Big Ten.
The Big East’s BCS status is fine and in no need of an outside push.
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Q: I was there Bob. It was wave after wave of black and gold. I was out there for work in the Pueblo (Colo.) area, and our customer drove us up to Denver for the game. Never having been to a game in Denver before, I had no idea what to expect. I'm thinking: Do I let the colors show or what?
I knew as soon as we were an hour outside of Denver, and I saw car after car with Steeler logos and people wearing black and gold waving Terrible Towels out their windows this was going to be something.
We pulled up and there was black and hold everywhere There were more Steeler tailgaters than Denver tailgaters.
They weren't all from Pittsburgh, just Pittsburgh fans. There were Steeler fans from Colorado, Montana, Texas, the Dakotas, everywhere....
When the Broncos came out on to the field, there was a thunderous boo across the stadium. When the Steelers came out, the crowd went crazy. Most of the night was spent by Denver fans trying to do their best to drown out the Steeler fans cheers. It didn't work!
I knew before the game ever started, this was going to be a special night.
Bob Eritz
Bob Smizik: Sounds like a great time, Bob. Thanks for sharing.
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Q: I enjoy the blog and had a question about the state of college football. Let me first say that I definitely want to see a playoff in college football. It would be great for the sport and would bring in much more revenue than the current bowl structure, which I think would satisfy everybody. That being said, I think for teams such as Penn State and Pitt, the current BCS structure gives them a much better chance of winning a national championship then a 16-team playoff.
Currently, teams can control there non-conference schedule pretty well and in the Big Ten and Big East there will likely be only one or two major obstacles throughout the season to go undefeated. I think that anything can happen in a one-game situation, but having to beat four teams such as Florida, Alabama, Texas, and USC in a playoff would be much more difficult considering the talent of those teams.
I think that this year may not be the best example, but I think going undefeated would likely be enough to get into the BCS National Championship game. PSU would have made it last year had they not lost to Iowa, while two one-loss teams made it to the title game. A two-loss LSU won the title a few years back as well, so I feel that an undefeated BCS team will generally not have to worry about making it to the title game. For the reasons mentioned above, I feel that their path to playing and winning the championship is a lot easier.
Yes, a playoff would allow a lot more teams to get into the national championship picture, but it would be a lot tougher to actually win for teams such as PSU or Pitt.
Sam Schilling
Bob Smizik: As you state the case, it could be easier for a non-deserving team (Pitt, Penn State, Texas Christian, Boise State) to win the national title under the current format. That’s why a playoff is essential. I guess there are partisans who would prefer a method that would allow their team to win even if it were not the best. For myself, I prefer to see the best team win.
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Q: I am a transplanted Pittsburgher (West Mifflin) living in Indianapolis. I am still amazed at how everyone is surprised by the number of Steeler fans at visiting stadiums. It is pretty simple. The population drain suffered by Western Pennsylvania during the 1970's, ‘80s and ‘90s displaced thousands of Steeler fans throughout the country. As you know, most Steeler fans are great community people. The season-ticket holders in many of these stadiums are friends or colleagues with many of these Steeler fans. At the beginning of every season, Steeler fans check the schedule and call in their favors. You can bet I will be sitting on the 50-yard line for every game the Steelers play in Indianapolis. Not because I will pay top dollar for the tickets and not because the Colts fans aren't loyal. Just the opposite. The fans in the other cities are loyal to their friends (who happen to be Steeler fans). This trend is likely to continue for another generation with the continued success of the franchise. I have two boys (ages 4 and 5) who are not alone wearing Steelers shirts to school on a Friday.
Kevin Johns
Bob Smizik: You’ve got some great friends, Kevin. The people who I know who own Steelers season tickets might give them up for exhibition games, maybe even the Cleveland game, but not for a big game. I’m not sure how the Steelers fans get all those tickets, but I don’t think it’s strictly through the goodness of the opposing fans.
Posted
Nov 14 2009, 01:30 AM
by
Bob Smizik