May 18, 2012

Pittsburgh Sports, Opinion and Politics | Just Watch the Game Blog

Blog by John Steigerwald

Print

WEST VIRGINIA COACH RIPS SMART FANS

Give the West Virginia football fans credit.

They were smart enough to stay away in droves from last week’s game with Bowling Green.

The head coach, Dana Holgorsen, ripped them for not showing up.

It was cold and rainy and it was going to be a blowout and he scolded them for being smart enough to stay home.

They still drew 46,000 which is about 40,000 more than the game deserved.

Bowling Green is actually pretty good as rent-a-victims go. Just ask Pitt.

But the only cure for stupid scheduling is empty seats.

 

Related posts:

1. MUTING PITT-WEST VIRGINIA
2. CUBS FANS ARE SUCKERS,TOO
3. A REMINDER FOR BREWERS FANS
4. PITT STINKS/FIRE THE COACH
5. COACH BONDS?

---

Date: October 5, 2011

Categories: Sports

Tags: BIG EAST, DANA HOLGORSEN, HOLGORSEN RIPS WVU FANS, NCAA FOOTBALL, WVU COACH SCOLDS FANS, WVU FOOTBALL

Leave a comment

Comments RSS TrackBack 21 comments

• Reply

  Frank

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 10:29

  Who’s he to tell others how they should spend their cash? I’m a strong believer in not bashing the paying customer and instead worrying about your own job at hand, like not repeating that LSU performance.

  Whether people feel he was right or wrong in his situation, I think it’s fairly safe to say Oliver Luck wasn’t exactly jumping for joy and smiling from ear to ear when Holgorsen went off on his little rant.

  ---

• Reply

  colt

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 10:40

  John, it is amazing to me how that those affiliated with sports feel that the residents of the area are somehow OBLIGATED to support teams and/or individuals who participate. It’s like saying because there is a hardware store down the road, I must patronize it. They don’t necessarily do that. Even announcers will get close to rebuking fans for not showing up. It does not matter if a team is a winner or not, it is irrelevant; how I choose to spend my money is my business.

  I remember Steve Blass saying that fans wanted the new ball park, now they should support it. What a jerk. It just never dawns on them that sports (especially professional) is just not that important.

  ---

• Reply

  Bobzilla

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 11:48

  Blass is employed by the organization for which he was attempting to drum up business. Same with Holgorsen. Can’t blame them for trying. No big deal.

  ---

• Reply

  John Steigerwald

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 13:03

  In both cases the teams draw (or drew) more than they deserved.

  ---

• Reply

  colt

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 22:24

  Your point is well taken, Bobzilla. I do get that. But whether he is employed by the company to draw up business is not the point, I don’t think. The idea that we (residents of the greater Pittsburgh area) are somehow obligated to go is what I am objecting to. No one is obligated to support the Pirates, or the Steelers, or the Penquins; for that matter, no resident is obligated to support any particular enterprise, let alone a sports team. That is all I am saying.

  Yea, it is, in the big picture, no big deal. But this blog gives us the opportunity to put forth opinions about lots of stuff – sports stuff – that are no big deal. What Frank says below is well said and right on; as John says, “Bingo.”

  ---

• Reply

  John Steigerwald

  in October 6th, 2011 @ 02:21

  I’ve always believed that the teams were obligated to field competitive teams in order to be deserving of any support. The people who say, “They’re still my Buccos no matter what, kill me.”

  ---

• Reply

  Bobzilla

  in October 6th, 2011 @ 14:58

  Colt: I wasn’t implying that your opinion is “no big deal.” I was suggesting that Blass and Holgorsen’s panhandling aren’t big deals. They’re both paid to push the product that their employers are trying to sell.
  You are absolutely right in your belief that no one is obligated to support a sports team.
  I agree 100 percent.

  ---

• Reply

  Frank

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 13:40

  “I remember Steve Blass saying that fans wanted the new ball park, now they should support it. What a jerk. It just never dawns on them that sports (especially professional) is just not that important.” – Colt

  ———————————————————————————————–

  Blass seems like a nice enough guy, but is there is a bigger homer in Pittsburgh? He has Pompeani beat. Blass can get back to me when he has to pay for tickets, parking and food. Until then, he can continue pulling the company line in order to keep his job and pouring drinks for the kool-aid chuggers.

  Also, he left out the part about the Pirates promising to field a better product if they were given a new ball park. Funny how he didn’t bother mentioning that when he was telling others how to spend their cash and what to do in their spare time. People will “support it” when they actually have something worth supporting. It’s a fairly simple concept.

  ---

• Reply

  JimGott

  in October 6th, 2011 @ 01:55

  “Blass seems like a nice enough guy, but is there is a bigger homer in Pittsburgh?”

  -Could not agree more! I’ve always liked Blass, but within the last couple of years, his rhetoric during the games regarding people supporting the Pirates, has become over the top and unbearable at times.
  -Also, he makes excuses at times for The Steroids crowd. I listened to him go on and on for 3 innings about what wonderful men Tony LaRussa and Mark McGuire are/were. He was slobbering all over them! I wanted to throw up! If u have to go on for 3 innings to justify your point about these people, something is not right Steve. He’s made excuses for others tied to Steroids as well. It surprises me a little because I always thought of him as an old school guy with an old school mentality, that wouldn’t have the patience for that B.S.
  -It’s caused me to lose a little respect for him.

  ---

• Reply

  Bobzilla

  in October 6th, 2011 @ 15:04

  Here’s how much I know what Steve Blass has to say: Zero. I pay not attention to the Pirates. Lanny Faterie (sp?) just spent 30 years in this region, and I couldn’t tell you one thing he’s ever said, good or bad. He spent three decades working for a sports team that’s irrelevent in my mind. Meanwhile, Bob Prince… completely different story. Funny how that works.

  ---

• Reply

  Gary M

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 12:02

  You can’t blame a guy for trying…..
  If the reports are true, WVU got the big NO from both the ACC and SEC.
  There academics don’t shine like a beacon in the sea of knowledge.
  They relish their hill billy-ness as evident by their West F$@&%*& Virginia tee shirts.
  They have no real television market to tout.
  They are stuck in a basketball oriented league without much hope of near term football improvement.

  What do they have?
  Attendance and they travel well. And attendance has just left the building. Holgorsen knows that the program (and his job) took a big hit when Pitt and Syracuse made their decision to leave. He also knows that if Rutgers and UConn follow suit, he’s going to have a rough time convincing a recruit to come to Morgantown.

  The man is in pain, leave him be.

  ---

• Reply

  Cambot

  in October 6th, 2011 @ 07:00

  “There academics don’t shine like a beacon in the sea of knowledge.” Words of wisdom from an obvious Pitt graduate.

  ---

• Reply

  Haas

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 13:06

  Insult the customer….smart move…..

  ---

• Reply

  Donald

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 14:07

  Holgorsen wouldn’t walk out on his back porch to watch that game if he were not associated with one of the teams. He needs to shut up and Just Coach The Game.

  ---

• Reply

  Mike V.

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 14:16

  At the end of the day, the fana are the customers. The customers said they did not want to buy what WVU was selling. Never insult the customers who don’t buy what you are selling. Ask why they aren’t buying. The WVU coach was a jerk for saying what he did. Don’t piss off WVU fans or they will never come back.

  ---

• Reply

  MPM

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 17:34

  It wasn’t a very smart move for Holgorsen to make those comments. Just not the right thing to do. But I don’t think what Holgorsen said was wrong. What coach wants to have less than a full stadium? I also think the comparison to professional sports isn’t totally accurate. Pro sports teams are in the business of selling tickets to customers. Colleges are too, but colleges also have thousands of alums. Alums are suppossed to support their alma mater. Again, I don’t think he should have made the comments, but I don’t think he’s wrong and I bet there are many other coaches that think the same thing.

  ---

• Reply

  John Steigerwald

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 18:34

  If you want big crowds, don’t schedule small teams.

  ---

• Reply

  Pat

  in October 5th, 2011 @ 22:50

  WVU Games :LSU beer sales: 36,042 units of beer sold $255,396 gross in beer sales $120,469.81 net in beer sales

  Holgersen probably gets a cut.

  ---

• Reply

  Ochotexto

  in October 6th, 2011 @ 13:50

  The weather was terrible. Yinz ever try burning a couch in a driving rainstorm ?

  ---

• Reply

  Joe Butler

  in October 6th, 2011 @ 19:08

  Ochotexto, I attended the WVU – Bowling Green game last Saturday. Not the usual crowd but they were enthusiastic. Cold, damp, and a non-stop straight down rain is no fun to sit in. WVU Stadium rule, no umbrellas. That complicates the matter. Needless to say, I was shivering and left at the end of the 3rd quarter soaking wet because I forgot about the no umbrella policy and did not wear the proper rain-gear.

  ---

• Reply

  Tony D

  in October 7th, 2011 @ 20:24

  You never take on the fans. They’re there every day ready to fight back.

  ---

JustWatchTheGame.com is Designed and Hosted by TheCybercom.com