BEAT PITT IN ‘22

There are some future events in life that, I guess, are really worth waiting for. The other day when Arlena and I were back in our old stomping grounds of West Virginia, she having been born there and I having served there for over 17 years, we saw a huge sign in one of the store windows that read “Beat Pitt in ’22”. You had to be a part of that rivalry to really understand.

Years ago, and not too many at that, the game between the University of Pittsburgh, near where I grew up and where we now live, and West Virginia University was called “The Backyard Brawl.” It was that and sometimes more than that. What made it even more interesting was that many a player from each team grew up in their now-rival’s backyard. It was always a fun time for the alumni.

But Big Money reared its ugly head. West Virginia went off to the Big 12 where its closest rival is half a continent away in Oklahoma, the majority of the rest being in Texas. Pitt is now in the Atlantic Coast Conference composed of almost all southern universities. No more backyard brawls and none in the offing as no university for either of them will ever be considered to be in their backyard.

The leveler heads in both schools decided that something important was going on when there was a true rivalry, something that one could not pin down but knew it was important just as it happened when that other backyard brawl, Pitt vs. Penn State was dissolved when Penn State went packing to the Big Ten because of financial considerations. It’s always about that, isn’t it?

Well, Pitt and Penn State are back at each other’s throats and it’s been good for both schools even if the head coaches hate giving up a patsy to play a meaningful game that a loss might cost them when bowl bids come a begging. But the Pitt and Mountaineer fans will have to wait until 2022 to renew the backyard brawl. And for some Mountaineer fans they just can’t wait. So up went the sign.

Now one might consider waiting almost five years for a meaningless football game to be silly, but one would not be a Mountaineer fan. I tend to think Pitt fans might be a little blasé about that game, but not by very much. That game will not be meaningless for either university even if, God forbid, both teams were truly awful. God forbid even more at that thought! Doesn’t life revolve around football?

Sorry about that. But just think: wouldn’t it be something wonderful if we Christians could get as excited as football fans when it comes to living out our faith? Yes, there are some things in life that are worth waiting for, some more than others, even football games for many. But wouldn’t the world, and we ourselves, be so much better if we couldn’t wait for the next opportunity to live out what we believe?