Panther247 Board

rfalcone and hauser .. you guys are absolutely beautiful. I agree whole-heartedly.

I also have to say .. ski .. the reason i mentioned you is because of your block/bball fixation. Listen .. look at the top 25 .. why aren't we ranked? Because we've stunk it up so badly in March so many times that it's like the boy who cried wolf. The media is sick and tired of hyping us only to be proven wrong. Our basketball glory is at a do-or-die point in time now. Put up or shut up. I'm tired of this pro-block-bball crap. Give us the script. It's a football town and a football school.

I think Ghost probably knows this. Others as well. For an institution that has often treated big time football success as a unwanted case of the crabbies, the Pitt Script is a recognizable symbol of this school's prior football prowess. That's also a major reason why it's kept in the background. It has little to do with the 90's. Plenty of national programs have had their own protracted down periods and kept their traditions in a game that's built on them. It's something they'd just as soon stay away from.

Unfortunately, the decision is not Steve's alone. There has been, under Nordenberg's tenure, an attempt to reengineer the program into something more palatable to some of the strange constituencies that comprise that institution. Up to this point, it hasn't worked. My guess is a new, young, talented, and PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED AD (not the empty suit we have now) will need to come in here when the U leadership changes(naturally) and try to effectively meld what's been done, with the immense value of Pitt's football tradition and finally get everyone on the same page. Until that occurs, that gorgeous design will remain carefully in the rear with the gear.

I find it odd that McKillop would consider this some kind of joke though?

Paco, you are twisting my words to fit a bunch of rediculous straw men that don't exist.

I actually agree with nearly everything you said. Maybe I offended you or you are taking my post too personally for some reason.

I don't think anyone ever turned away from Pitt because of a font and if they did, you are right....not a true fan BUT the font issue is a very clear indicator that the folks that care, that would otherwise be paying the bills are not respected by the decision makers. The script thing is very symbolic to many people of many issues IMO.

Maybe you don't understand why different fonts exist but yes, they infact do represent different things. There are entire professions based on such things.

Finally, there is a big difference between wanting to further Pitt academically which is a noble undertaking and being elitest and lording yourself over others as superior. Who gives you the right to be so arrogant towards Boise and WVU? There are many fine folks associated with both Universities and many idiots that passed through Pitt. When did pride become a virtue in this culture? As I said, I'm grateful to be a Pitt alumnus and I have great affection for the school but judging folks by where they went to school or making sweeping generalizations about folks in such a silly way strikes me as wrong and I think that is what leads to so much stupid animosity between people.

There are idiots at Ivy Leagues and the are geniuses at community colleges. No one disagrees with that reality.

But academia lives on a model of perception. A model that relies on people paying a premium for perception. A model where the greatest proportion (1/4) of the most influential determinant of consumer choice is straight up perception. If you are in the business of higher education and aren't pushing your perception, you're in the wrong game. Right or not, that is the reality of the extremely competitive higher education sector and it isn't going away. In fact, it is getting worse because money is more scarce, competition is more fierce, academic recruiting is more (inter)national, and published rankings more prevalent than ever. Academic bias is real, and it can have real effects, particularly in certain fields, and particularly in academia.

Does that mean that it is right to demean someone because of the institution degree? Of course not. If one does, keep in mind there are people in Ivies that disrespect Pitt as much as someone from Pitt might disrespect WVU. But it isn't always just perception, there are real difference between schools and their priorities and missions. Just as WVU will never be Pitt because of its mission to educate the entire impoverished state of WV, Pitt will never be Yale because of its semi-public mission to Western PA. Colleges are not all created equally. That's reality.

But if people are going to throw up success in athletics as some benchmark of institutional worth, then there is no reason they shouldn't get a dose of academic achievement right back, after all, we are still talking and debating about schools. You think Harvard cares if it can't beat Pitt on a football field? Guess what, I feel the same way about Pitt beating Boise State because Pitt means so much more to me, and to the world, than football. Keep in mind, these latter things are, after all, the equivalent of bar room arguments as someone pointed out previously.

Do you really think in today's economy that a hiring manager is going to pay someone more because they went to school X vs school Y? Or even give the job to someone because they went to school X over school Y?

The name on your paper doesn't carry as much weight as it did 20 years ago....hiring managers want quality workers on the cheap because they have incredibly tight budgets. With companies STILL laying off people like crazy, quality workers are unemployed all over the place. The name on your paper is more of a talking piece for the getting to know you section of an interview vs actually being a piece of criteria you'll be judged by. What university you went to might be like 10th on the list of criteria when comparing 2 qualified candidates.

Wrong .. it's just a font. And the colors? So what. Big deal if we wear a shade of gold that looks like baby poop. It's a color. Get over it. There is no symbolism to see here .. move along.

So when the Chargers wear the Baby Blues it doesn't catch everyone's eye? Or when ND wears the green jerseys?

Marketing and branding matters. If it didn't matter then Oregon would still be wearing these. I don't agree with the crazy crap they wear, but they have created a buzz and sell a lot more gear than they did prior.

I LIKE CHOCOLATE MILK

Too many calories. I'd rather waste the calories on beer or wine.........

I think it's all a cruel joke by Stevie.

Fact: The bowl game is Jan. 5, 2013.

Fact: The Mayan calendar ends in December 2012.

Stevie: "You Script Pitt fans can have your way. The next game uni will be exactly what you want. Except, THE WORLD WILL HAVE ALREADY COME TO AN END!!!"

Fun Fact: Stevie still wins.

Says who? You? Yeah ok. You are an expert brand marketer I can tell.

Its not just a color, its not just a font. Its a freakin trademarked logo. Its a direct symbol of Pitt and at one time - the Pitt football program.

I will never move on and neither will the Pitt fanbase...sorry Stevie P.

So a powerful program like Florida changed their helmets?!?!?!

JEREMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

on another note......Wh4p pretty much nails it with the subject line....LOL...Three pages and counting