Fans celebrate long-waited return of Backyard Brawl

Pitt and West Virginia fans waited over a decade for the return of the Backyard Brawl, and they weren’t going to wait another minute longer to start partying in the Acrisure Stadium parking lots.

There was a line of traffic to get into the stadium parking lots well before they opened at 2 p.m.

“This is the most excited I’ve ever been for a sporting event,” said Pitt fan Dylan Mitchell, 26, of the North Hills. “There is nothing like this. They haven’t played this game in 11 years and this is what college football is all about.”

Pitt fans have enjoyed reliving the Panthers’ 13-9 upset of the Mountaineers in 2007 that ruined WVU’s national championship opportunity that season. But on this night, the memories were not what mattered most.

There was a game to play, and the winner would have the bragging rights.

Mitchell was standing with his girlfriend Natalie Brant who could have been mistaken for a Pitt cheerleader in her royal blue halter top and short white skirt.

“I’ve never been to anything as big as this,” Brant said.

They were with a large group of royal-blue-and-gold-clad Pitt fans in the stadium’s Gold Lot, right next to a large group of West Virginia fans. And the barbs were flying.

“(Expletive) West Virginia,” said Mitchell, echoing sentiments expressed by Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis at a pep rally earlier in the week. “They were trying to set up cornhole boards in the middle of our tailgate and we were like, ‘No way. You’re not taking up space here.’”

“West Virginia is for all the people who didn’t get into Pitt,” said Jake Rebel, 19, Ross Township.

“It hasn’t come to blows yet, but there has been some pretty heated talk,” said Joe McShea, 22, Oakmont, a Pitt senior majoring in economics and finance.

As WVU students Jon Sepcic, Sawyer Quesenberry and Drew Solt, all wearing Mountaineers jerseys, made their way through the gauntlet of tailgating Panthers fans, they were loudly booed. That wasn’t the worst of it, according to Sepcic, who said there were a lot of jokes made about inbreeding in West Virginia.

“I don’t think this stacks up to the tailgating back in Morgantown,” said Quesenberry, 21, Richmond, Va., a junior business major. “It’s more cohesive back home. This is more spread out, but it’s still a great experience. I don’t like the (Pitt) fans, but it’s still a pretty good time.”

Solt, 20, Columbus, Ohio, said the experience was living up to what he expected.

“I’m interested to see what the stadium is like,” said Solt, a WVU junior majoring in sports journalism. “It’s going to be 75% West Virginia fans potentially.”

Ryan Hunker, a 21-year-old junior majoring in sports media at WVU, looked every bit the part of a West Virginia fan in a Mountaineers jersey and white cowboy hat.

“I’m glad the Brawl is back,” Hunker said. “It’s a lot of fun so far. I’m having a great time. I think it’s going to be a close game, but I have full confidence in the Mountaineers. I think it’s going to be a great game.”

Justin Runion, 38, Fairmont, W. Va., is old enough to remember the last time the Backyard Brawl was played and said he was glad to have it back.

“We hate Pitt. Pitt hates us. It’s fun to have a game like this to look forward to,” Runion said. “It’s good to see the fans being crazy, everybody out here enjoying the day.”

Runion was wearing a navy blue T-shirt with “West Virginia” in gold letters on the front and “Country Roads” written on the back, a nod to the John Denver song that’s become the Mountaineers’ anthem.

“It’s our tradition,” he said. “All our roads lead to Morgantown — back roads, country roads, even the one-lane roads where it’s just turn on the music and just ride for hours. When you get to the big cities, it’s a completely different feeling.”