The 10th anniversary logo was introduced at the 7th annual SHAT golf outing as part of a beer cooler bag/coozie giveaway item to all of the golfers. This years event also took on a special significance as the event along with the championship trophy were renamed the SHAT/Harv Kappeler Classic in honor of Mr. Kappeler. A new permanent logo was also created by Bob Mish for the outing. As is always the case, the outing was a tremendously good time. 23 foursomes teed it up @ Village Green Golf Course. The winning foursome: Sean Pilarski, Wes Morgan, Sean Croner & Mike Shelb took home the 1st place hardware with a -11 effort. As has been the case for the past few years, the 13th place, Dan Marino Award was a multiple team, overtime battle that was eventually won (after numerous attempts by all teams missed the green) by the Matt /Rob Glancy, Russ Dankowsky & Dave Norcutt foursome. Thanks to all who put forth big time efforts in pulling off this event.

The following week, the event that SHAT had been planning from a Tom Spray idea for over 2 seasons finally came to fruition. Opening day was highlighted by the appearance of the local heavy metal band Broken Bone. The previous years concert had been rained out on opening day, so fingers were crossed that this years weather would cooperate and cooperate it did. After a quick scare early in the day when Knickerbocker Construction (who are now the 2nd company to receive a SHAT business ban) on Campbell's Run Road closed up shop a day earlier than announced, leaving the band without a generator to provide the power for the day's show. (Kind of an important thing when electronics are involved). A frenzied phone call attack just two hours before the start of the tailgate by numerous SHAT/Broken Bone members to area hardware stores was rewarded when Lori Kushner found a site in the North Side that rented out generators. Day saved. Lori scored the first SHAT tailgate award for the year and we hadn't even made it to the parking lot yet.

Earlier in the week, The Pittsburgh Tribune Review (with a little nudge from new SHAT Media Relations Man Garrett Conti) had interviewed Darin McHenry and myself for a season kickoff story on tailgating. SHAT received some excellent press in the article which even promoted the concert about to take place in Green Lot 22. (See SHAT in the News under the Multimedia section of the site).

Every year, the bar is raised a bit higher when it comes to the tailgate events. The Eastern Michigan tailgate was beyond description. It all began with the unveiling of Ron Bauer's custom paint job to the SHAT Bar. He did an incredible job in transforming the SHAT bar into an '80's style Pitt uniform look. In addition he created a new bracket system to sturdy the structure after assembly. The first two of four kegs were tapped and the show was on. Bob Gable cranked out an insane amount of grub highlighted by: Maple Sugar Smoked Turkey stuffed w/ Sausage, Maple Sugar Smoked Sirloin Tip Roast, Grilled Old Bay Pork Loin, Fried Chicken & Fried Potato Halves w/Cheddar Cheese. Mix in about 200 Irish Car Bombs concocted by Joe Speeler and you have yourself a major bash going on. Oh wait, Broken Bone has just now taken the stage on the hillside in Lot 22 and you now have a party that you can hear from 3 blocks away. Mark Bailey, Mike Ekis, Joe Starkey and Andy Quinn delivered a fantastic 2 1/2 hour set and even let some guy with no musical talent come up on stage with them to sing the lyrics during a specially prepared mini Van Halen concert. What a blast. When it all came to an end, there was nothing left to eat, drink or in many peoples energy tanks with a football game still to be played. With well over 100 people in attendance, (4) - 1/2 kegs had bit the dust along with all of the emergency 30 packs, the band's case of Guinness, numerous bottles of shots, all of the giant cooler of SHAT drink of the day, plus all of the car bomb ingredients. There were two cans of Diet Coke and a bottle of water remaining in the cooler. That was it. That folks is a bash!!!!

Unfortunately the next couple of hours wouldn't be so fun. While Pitt went on to defeat Eastern Michigan 27-3, it was a costly victory. Starting QB Bill Stull was injured early in the 3rd quarter and would end up being lost for the season. Add to the mix that top WR Derek Kinder had already been lost for the year with a knee injury and Pitt's offense was in a world of hurt after only 1 game.

The following week brought the Grambling State Tigers and their world famous marching band into Heinz Field. This also brought out the SHAT favorite skewer day. Gable again delivered the goods with numerous skewers of beef, chicken, shrimp and pork. Another great tailgate generated despite the damp weather and the early start time in order to televise the game on ESPN.360 that nobody cares about. This was also the first time that the new purchased SHAT beer pong table got a workout. It was kind of forgotten about during all the festivities in week #1. This was a tremendous off-season acquisition by Mark Thompson. The pong table would soon deliver hours of entertainment throughout the 2007 season.

On the field it was all Panthers 34-10. Pitt fans got more than the small glimpse they saw of prize freshman RB recruit LeSean McCoy in week #1. McCoy exploded for the first 3 TDs of the game and went over 100 yards in only his second NCAA game. Unfortunately for Pitt, DL - Gus Mustakas was lost for the season with a knee injury in this game. A huge blow to the Panthers already injury depleted squad.

Week #3 saw the Panthers on the road at Michigan State. In front of a large crowd, Pitt's D played an inspired type of D that hasn't been seen around these parts for quite some time. The Dline was absolutely dominant against the Spartans. So was LeSean McCoy. With Stephens-Howling out of the game due to injury, Shady saw his chance and took it; running like a wild man for 172 yards, many of them coming from the newly unveiled Wildcat Formation. Unfortunately, Pitt's QB play struggled mightily turning the ball over on all of MSU's scores and the Panthers came up short 17-13.

Week #4 brought the UConn Huskies to town. It was also Fryfest at the SHAT Tailgate. Bob Gable has perfected the use of the multiple turkey fryer system over the past couple of seasons. This one was his fried-food crowning jewel. Right out of the oil came: Fried Fish, Fried Shrimp, Fried Steak, Chicken Wings, French Fries (a vegetable in disguise) and Fried Oreos and Twinkies. Unfortunately the on-field action by the Panthers was pretty much fried too. Kevin Smith continued to struggle while playing injured finally giving way to freshman recruit Pat Bostick. After a shaky start he delivered a pretty solid game, but it was apparent at this point that the QB position was going to become this teams Achilles Heel. There just was not enough experience at the position. The Panthers fell to the Huskies 34-14.

The following week it was time to hit the road to Charlottesville, VA. Baldy Kappeler, Paul Bonetti and PT made the trip to meet up with old CV alums Tim Nieman, Tom Chidlow, Mike Campbell and John Reid. After a drunken Friday evening, the boys settled into the parking lot at 10:00am on Saturday morning. This was going to be an all day tailgate with all 3 meals being prepared in the lot. It began with a tremendous breakfast prepared by Nieman and Chid. The breakfast stew was washed down with some Bauer Bloodies that were hauled down especially for the occasion. Next came the chilli/braut lunch, which in turn was followed by a fantastic steak/shrimp finale for dinner. All the while beer pong was taking place between meals. Chid & Soups were unbeatable running the table throughout the day. Many times they were on the roaps, but Bonetti; who elected to go the Terrell Owens Uncoachable Award route (eating no food and drinking the entire day despite a team game plan to consume much food throughout the day), continued to taunt the champs and always inspire them to amazing comebacks to remain undefeated.

Then the fun day came to a crashing end. Moments after entering fabulous Scott Stadium (great place to watch a game), it was over. Pitt elected to go for an onside kick during the opening kickoff which they failed to recover and the rout was on. An exasperated Bonetti was gone about 5 minutes into the game. "I can't take this anymore"!!! He screamed as he stormed out of the stadium. About the only highlight was Baldy scoring a fantastic F. Paterno photo with the PantherRants.com guy with his Pitt Football: Wasting My Saturdays Since 1981 tshirt. A classic shot of probably the two greatest shirts in Pitt history side by side.

October 10 was the lowlight of the season. Horrible Athletic Director Jeff Long in his desperation to get on tv, elected to play Navy on a Wednesday night. Pathetic!!! Pathetic enough to have Pat Thompson and Tom Spray end huge perfect attendance streaks (each going for their 9th consecutive season) to attend the Van Halen reunion concert in Cleveland. Also electing to say no to Wednesday night football were Scott Thompson, Joe Speeler and Kurt Bruner who also made the trek to see VH. The Steak & Shrimp Tailgate was run by the Chief Assistant to the Commissioner's Office - Aaron Kushner, Dan Blocher and Mark Thompson. All went smoothly except for one incident with the Lucci Bros Brother-in-Law bitching about not getting enough for his $, causing Blocher to chase him out of the lot screaming to not ever come back. (Where else can you go for surf/turf and all you can drink for $20? Guess you can't please everyone).

Again, the food/tailgate was the highlight of the evening as Pitt's D philosophy left everyone in attendance shaking their heads. Navy scored on pretty much every possession and won the game in 2OT after some questionable play calling and clock management cost Pitt a chance for the victory. Things were not looking too good at this point after four consecutive losses.

Week #7 brings the Cincy Bobcats to town. You know what that means...Oh Yeah…(Imagine sound of River Boat Horn Blowing in the Background)...It's River City Rivalry Time. The 2nd greatest made up rivalry since PSU-MSU's Land Grant Trophy Battle. At this point of the season, you had already adjusted your expectations that the only other probable victory was going to be against Syracuse. Cincy was top 25 ranked so things were not looking good. The thing that was looking good was Gable's "Where's the Beef Menu" - The greatest day of the year. As always, tons of flavored meats flew off the grill and were devoured by hungry SHAT-Heads. On the field Pitt staged a tremendous second half comeback led by the duo of McCoy/Stephens-Howling who both went over the 100 yard mark. The defense finally got aggressive and went after the QB. Apparently the Navy debacle finally woke up D-Coord Paul Rhoads. There was even some atmosphere in the crowd which had been absent since the previous year's Rutgers game. And the Panthers headed home with the River City Rivalry Trophy for the 4th consecutive year. What else could you ask for?

Week #8 was on the road in Louisville, KY. This was initially supposed to be a heavily attended road game. After the torturous start to the season, most road-trippers decided to keep it home. Mark/Kelley & Scott/Krista Thompson made the trip along with the Dankowskys (Russ & Harile). They ended up seeing a tremendous game in which Pitt drove the field late in the game. (Led by McCoy and a razzle dazzle lateral pass play) which unfortunately fell short in the final minute after an apparent tying td was correctly over-ruled by replay and then a botched handoff led to a goal-line fumble ending the game and Pitt's chances 24-17. The news was not all bad as McCoy continued to dominate and the defense after struggling early picked up the pace again.

Week #9 was dubbed the Foreign Exchange Program. A group of Syracuse Tailgaters led by Texan Mark joined forces with SHAT for Pittsburgh Bulk Day. A perfect autumn day highlighted the fine morning of Primanti Style sandwiches, Pierogies, Sausage and some Syracuse White Hot Dogs. (Tremendous Stuff). Wind was a factor on the Beer Pong Table, but Brian Kapp/PT dominated to a perfect 5-0 record despite PT's continued habit of knocking over cups in defense mode. The highlight was the drubbing dealt out to Chris Gable and his buddy Jeff who taunted their elders and were soon taught a serious lesson.

On the field, Pitt delivered a very unspectacular victory, but with a team as young as they are, any win is a good one. LeSean McCoy continued his dominance and went over the 1000 yard mark in this game. Aaron Berry set the Panthers up for the win with a huge punt return deep into Syracuse territory late in the 3rd quarter leading to a McCoy score and despite a late Syracuse scare, Pitt held on for the 20-17 win. This game was highlighted by the return of the 1982 Sugar Bowl champion squad. A good amount of Pitt greats were on hand for the halftime ceremony.

The following week, the Panthers were on the road at Rutgers. Another solid defensive effort led by LB Scott McKillop was wasted as Pitt squandered numerous scoring chances after defensive turnover recoveries put them in great field position. Pitt ended up falling to the Scarlet Knights 20-16 after a furious last minute drive was thwarted by an Oderick Turner touchdown that was called back due to an awful offensive pass interference call in the endzone. It wasn't interference - Bad call, game over. The encouraging sign was the continued dominance of Pitt's D. The entire D line led by Greg Romeus played an inspired game. McKillop had an insane day with 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and an interception. Not a bad day at the office.

Week #11 brought us to the final SHAT tailgate of the year. The final menu was Italian Day bringing out fan favorite Killer & Seafood Lasagna and the world famous, Giant Pizza from Mama Lena’s. This year’s pizza was personalized to spell out SHAT in pepperoni. A nice touch. . This was also awards day with numerous highlights of the year being recognized. Brianne Kinney and Liz Laymon split Rookie of the Year awards, numerous perfect attendance awards and special 10 Year Anniversary Awards for all of the SHAT original members were dished out. Founding Father - Dan Blocher was recognized as the only man to land perfect attendance for the entire decade. An incredible achievement. . All in all it was another great season of tailgating despite some shaky play on the field - which didn’t get any better with a 48-37 loss to South Florida in this one. McCoy ran for 3 TDs breaking Tony Dorsett's Freshman record. Scott McKillop also continued to maul opponents with 18 tackles in this one. Unfortunately interceptions doomed the Panther early in the 3rd quarter and they were never able to recover. Pitt's record stood at a feeble 4-7 as they headed to Morgantown for the season finale against the hated Mountainqueers.

Milan Puskar Stadium was packed with whiskey-drunk, redneck hoopie fans for the 100th meeting of Pitt-WVU in the Back Yard Brawl. What they didn't realize was that they were going to need all the booze they poured down their throats during their pre-game "National Championship Is in the Bag" tailgate parties to drown their sorrows after this one was over. .

Despite being 28 1/2 point underdogs to #2 BCS ranked WVU, Pitt came out and absolutely dominated on defense, holding the powerful Queers offense to 183 total yards for the game. LeSean McCoy was pretty much the entire Pitt offense, but the Panthers did a tremendous job of possessing the ball, holding it for over 36 minutes in this contest. (Including all but 3 plays of the 3rd quarter). The list of defensive stars is endless. Everyone stepped up and played the perfect game that night. Despite some seriously shady referee work which screamed Big East Conspiracy to get WVU into the National Title Game, the Panthers overcame the blatant cheating and still prevailed 13-9 in one of the greatest victories in Pitt history. .

The victory set off a chain of events throwing Morgantown into chaos following the game. Head Coach, Rich RodSleazuez after a deer in headlights post-game press conference where about all he could mumble was that the game was a total nightmare, was soon bolting for the head coaching opening at the University of Michigan. While this was going on Pitt stole a couple of major recruits that appeared to be headed to Morgantown who quickly changed their minds and came over to Pitt following the victory.

Dave Wannstedt put the finishing touches on what appears to be another stellar recruiting class in February. All signs are pointing to a very encouraging season in 2008. They return the majority of the defensive starters. Plus they will be adding Elijah Fields and Gus Mustakas back to the team after each missed all or most of last year's season. These are huge additions to an already stellar defense. Add to the fact that Paul Rhoads and his shitty read and react defense is now in Auburn and things are looking good. The offense should be in good shape with the return of QB Bill Stull and WR Derek Kinder along with a good number of returning skill players highlighted by LeSean McCoy in what will probably be his last season as a Panther. (Enjoy him this year people). With the home schedule lining up the way it is, this could finally be the season we've all been waiting for.

See you on August 30th in Green Lot 22. Depending on the start time be ready for another rocking opening tailgate with:

If the opener is a nooner, they are slated to play on September 6 vs Buffalo.

PT