Point: Why You Should Be Excited About The Bowl Game

Ever since Pitt was invited to play Bowling Green in the Little Caesars Bowl, there have been the typical groans about the game frmo a lot of fans. It's the same old thinking that has Pitt fans constantly disappointed when they don't win 9-11 games per year: Most Pitt fans think they are too good for certain things. I'm not. I predicted 6-6 at the start of the year and that's where they ended up. They have been .500 in the past three seasons, so what makes you think they are too good for this game or just shouldn't play in it? Look, Pitt not having the bottom fall out despite the repeated changes in the coaching staff the last several years is remarkable, but they have also now gone to three straight bowl games despite these changes as well and that's an accomplishment.

I love Pitt football. I love watching it, reading about it, and writing about it. I know ... I love punishment, but it is who I am. If you are reading this article, the chances are that you love Pitt football, too. If that's the case, why wouldn't you want one more game? The bowl game offers a few more hours of more Pitt football and after that, we'll all be waiting for next year to start.

The extra practices will also help the younger players. Last year, when Paul Chryst's staff was in bowl preparation, I was intrigued to read that the first few practices were geared completely to freshmen and younger players. It also allowed the upperclassmen to sit back and relax and also coach a little to the players they are leaving the program to when they are finished. I had not seen this approach before, but I liked it. It also wouldn't hurt for a few more practices with Matt House or the rest of the coaches. Whether you hate him or not, if you read our recap of his performance, you know that the defense got better as the year went on this season. If you still don't think extra bowl practices don't help, maybe you should be re-introduced to how TJ Clemmings switched to tackle last year.

Another reason the game should excite you is that if you live in the Pittsburgh area, it's not that hard to attend this game. There will be multiple packages that are affordable to allow you to attend and it's also a drivable distance. I was hoping for the Pinstripe Bowl or the Military Bowl since I live out here in the northeastern portion of the USA. Hell, even the Belk Bowl would have been doable for me and I would have loved that.

If that's still not enough, how about this? This year, Pitt will get to face a Bowling Green team that comes in as the MAC champs. It's not Florida State and it's not Auburn, but it is a conference champion and a team that won ten games. And if you still can't get fired up for playing Bowling Green , obviously you didn't read about their quarterback's remarks on Twitter. Pitt will have a chance to make him regret wanting to play the Panthers. On top of all that, Bowling Green's coach just left to take on a new job. Won't it be fun for once to watch someone else have to do that in a bowl game Pitt is playing in?

Lastly, Devin Street and Aaron Donald deserve this game. Street has put in too much with this school to not have one last shot at playing a game. It must have killed him to have to sit there and watch the Miami game and most of the Syracuse game while injured. He's taken such a leadership role on this team, performed on and off the field, and you want him to just leave without one last shot on the field? If you do, then you must also hate puppies. And seeing Aaron Donald one more time is going to be a treat, obviously. If you've missed what he's done, you must have been living under a rock.

Later on, Anson will write about a post countering my argument, but as for me, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the game.

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