Expectation Creation

I had a discussion with a fellow Pitt fan (and huge Wanny supporter) who basically accused me of being a bad fan for expecting Pitt to finish either 1st or 2nd in the Big East every year. This fan stated that with the cyclical nature of football we should expect to win one or two per decade while sharing the rest with the rest of the teams.

This person didn't find it too amusing when I reminded him that Wannstedt had set the bar in terms of expectations immediately after his hiring. "the 52-year-old Wannstedt thinks Pitt can win a national championship and contend each year in the Big East Conference. ". I guess sometimes the truth hurts when you take off those blue and gold color glasses.

That is the problem with this team. Real fans want to win 10 or more games every season. They want the Panthers to finish at the top of the league and earn BCS bids. Will there be a bump in the road from time to time? Absolutely. That does not mean that we can accept one 10 win season surrounded by extremely mediocre seasons. We rose from the dead at the end of the 90's only to be stuck somewhere in the middle. Year 6 of Wanny and we're still average/below-average.

When Pitt heads into this game on Saturday, just remember we have gotten to the point that in year 2 of the Doug Marrone era, Pitt is an underdog to Syracuse. So if we win, the apologists will claim we won a game we weren't supposed to win on the road. If we lose, no big deal, we weren't even favored.

How have we fallen this far where in year 6 of Wanny, we are now underdogs to Syracuse.