Top 10 Worst Pittsburgh Sports Moments of 2012
By Matt Shetler
With the new year only a matter of days away, I felt now would be a good time to go back and reflect on the last year of Pittsburgh sports.
The staff here at City of Champions Sports already took a look at our Top 10 Best Moments of 2012, now it is time to take a look at the not-so-good moments and there were plenty of them as 2012 was not one of the better years to be a Pittsburgh sports fan.
So with that being said, let’s take a look at the Top 10 worst moments of 2012 in Pittsburgh sports.
Honorable Mentions: The demise of Rashard Mendenhall and Mike Wallace and the Jordan Staal trade.
December 15, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jamie Dixon yells instructions to his team against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
10. Pitt loses eight straight games- Sure Jamie Dixon’s Panthers were young, but fans didn’t know exactly how young until an eight-game losing streak to end 2011 and begin 2012 crushed Pitt’s season. It began with a loss to Wagner on December 23 and Pitt didn’t win again until January 25 against Providence. The 2012 season was the Panthers worst under Dixon and resulted in Pitt missing the NCAA Tournament.
9. Pirates fail to sign Mark Appel– The Pirates went out on a limb and drafted Stanford’s Mark Appel with the No. 9 overall pick in June’s draft, after Appel fell from potentially being the No. 1 overall pick because of salary demands. It was a nice risk to take, but the Bucs never came close to signing the Scott Boras client and have nothing to show except a compensation pick for last season’s draft.
8. Pitt loses to Youngstown State– It wasn’t exactly how the Paul Chryst era was supposed to begin. With all of the excitement surrounding the new Panthers’ head man, Pitt came out and did the unthinkable to start the season- get beat soundly by FCS Youngstown State, at home nonetheless. That set the tone for an up-and-down season of Pitt football.
7. Pirates Keep Front Office/ Hoka Hey Controversy (tie) – I lumped these together because they both deal with the Bucs’ front office. First is the fact that no changes were made following a second consecutive collapse, which is disappointing because the current plan just isn’t working. Finally there is the Hoka Hey controversy and the careless manor that the front office not only handled it, but even addressed questions about it. One day the Pirates front office will learn, it just won’t be today.
6. Tim Tebow Torches Steelers in Playoffs- The Steelers exit from the playoffs came at the hands of Tim Tebow? The thrower? Tebow torched the Steelers’ secondary to a tune of 316 yards and two touchdown passes, including an 80-yarder to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime. That’s the same Tebow who has completed six passes for 39 yards this season.