Pitt Athletics has experienced a phenomenal 2024 campaign so far, with several teams climbing to the top of national rankings, but it hasn鈥檛 always played out this way.听
The school has seen its fair share of spine-chilling seasons, resulting in several frightening comments from coaches and athletes. If you鈥檙e looking for a good scare this Halloween, look no further than some of Pitt鈥檚 past press conferences.
聽No one was more frightened this past year than women鈥檚 basketball head coach Tory Verdi, and he didn鈥檛 hide it either. The team is left haunted by its performance last season (), and Verdi can鈥檛 seem to shake it.听
In the , Verdi was asked to recount some positives and negatives of rebuilding the program.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like PTSD right now,鈥� Verdi said. 鈥淢y wife says to me all the time, 鈥榃hy are you doing this again?鈥欌��
Perhaps Verdi is looking for another good spook this season, or maybe women鈥檚 basketball will find its rhythm and Verdi can avoid another season.
Verdi鈥檚 terror was palpable throughout the 2023 season. After a brutal loss against Boston College to close out the regular season, Verdi went so far as to console fans for having to watch the game at all, delivering a chilling post-game press conference.听
鈥淚 would like to apologize to every little kid, every little girl who dreams of, you know, to play at this level and to see that,鈥� Verdi said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not okay.鈥澛�
Verdi isn鈥檛 the only Pitt coach to eerily shock a press conference. After football鈥檚 underwhelming 2023 performance (), fans were terrified of where the current season was headed. As a result, head coach Pat Narduzzi has had his fair share of fearsome press conferences.听
Narduzzi received some hate for keeping redshirt senior quarterback Phil Jurkovec under center. In a pre-game interview before facing No. 17 North Carolina, Narduzzi commented on Pittsburgh fans, much to their dismay.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in boo city鈥� Boo city, PA,鈥� Narduzzi said. 鈥淚f that鈥檚 what they want to do, that鈥檚 great.鈥�
Despite the foreboding press conference, Pitt fans were unfazed by Narduzzi鈥檚 sentiment. Evidently, that is what Panthers鈥� fans wanted to do 鈥� and when they lost to UNC , fans booed again.听
Before the final pick, an honorable mention goes to a live game reaction rather than a press conference. In a 2022 football game against Miami, defensive lineman Devin Danielson experienced some heated frustration mid-game 鈥� despite his team leading by 26 points.听
When he walked down the sideline, the 6-foot-2, 300-pound senior . The players on the bench were the most frightened, giving the cameras a shot of their utter horror at the scene.
This wasn鈥檛 an uncommon occurrence, either, according to a .听
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 the first time he鈥檚 done that,鈥� the staffer said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 crazy.鈥�
Finally, the press conference interview that generated the biggest quantifiable scare occurred after the Backyard Brawl in September. After a heated game filled with Panthers鈥� penalties, Pitt won 38-34. In a postgame live broadcast interview, Narduzzi shared his thoughts on the game’s officials.
鈥淪ome of the calls we got 鈥� I鈥檝e never seen anything like it,鈥� Narduzzi said. 鈥淲e beat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl and we beat the officials too in one game.鈥�
This quote may have spooked the ACC the most because .听
These are the spookiest press conferences for now, but with fall sports concluding and the winter season starting up, another frightening press conference might be looming just around the corner.