Never bet against a Cicilian when death is on the line!

I’m not sure if death is on the line, but there sure is a lot at stake tomorrow for Pitt. This is one of those games that can turn the direction of a program. It won’t pay as much as a bowl game, but I think it’s more important. What was more important for Pitt in the last few years? Their loss in last year’s Sun Bowl? Or the win against WVU in 2007? Who cares about the Sun Bowl!? The WVU win not only kept those hillbillies out of the National Championship game, but it turned Pitt recruiting fortunes around. Heck, two visiting WV recruits at that game followed Pitt into the locker room and are on the team today!

A couple of years ago, the two schools created a trophy and tried to manufacture a rivalry…  I know it was a rivalry because they named it The River City Rivalry. The trophy looks like a riverboat control. It never really took–as you can tell by the nearly empty stadium. I’m guessing it might take now. Tomorrow’s game is already sold out. See, you can’t fake these things. Rivalries have to happen on their own. This one is a natural though… no need to manufacture hate between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati fans when it comes to football, is there?

As big as this is for Pitt, it’s even bigger for Cinci. They are undefeated. A win combined with a Texas loss would have them in the conversation for the National Championship game. With their coach probably be moving on to Notre Dame next year, this could be their only shot.

But it’s big for Pitt, as well. A loss would mean a great regular season ends with two disappointments. It would probably drop them behind West Virginia, and maybe even Rutgers, in the bowl selection process. Hello Papa John’s Pizza Bowl and a trip to beautiful downtown Birmingham. How will we ever get those boys back to Pittsburgh once they’ve seen Birmingham? A win, however, would mean a Sugar Bowl birth in the Big Easy against either Alabama or Florida.

Vegas seems confused on this. You would think the #5 undefeated Bearcats would be favored by 5 or 6 points at least. But the game opened with Pitt favored by 1. Gamblers jumped on Cinci and now the spread has moved to favor them by 1. Of course, most people mistakenly think a point spread is a prediction on who will win. It’s not! A spread is simply the point at which equal money is being bet on both sides of the line. Therefore, the early money was pushed toward Pitt. Vegas must like the cut of Dion Lewis’ jib and Dave Wannstedt’s mustache!

Also, what’s with the Bearcat? Did a little research on that and, according to About.com (Yeah, that’s my source. Get off me!) they were named by a UC cheerleader in 1914. They were playing Kentucky and their best player was Leonard K. “Teddy” Baehr. According to the story, this cheerleader (a dude, by the way) created the chant: “They may be Wildcats, but we have a Baehr-cat on our side.” Hmmm. Do you clap with that? Is there a rhythm? Lame right? Named by a cheerleader. And it stuck. Okay. What horrible name did they go by before that? The Cincinnati Flotsam? The Cincinnati Chilisuckers?

It’s completely fictitious, like a Horselizard or a Monkeygnat. Now, however, they pretend that it’s an actual animal. Here is the closest thing to a bearcat. It’s called a binturong and it’s from Malaysia. The Cincinnati Zoo has one and they sometimes bring it to the game as if that was the idea all along. Yeah, that’s one ugly-ass animal. Not cool and sleek like a panther.

Meow. Bad kitty!  Hail, Pitt!