When Pittsburgh sports fans woke up on the morning of January 1, 2004, they were not miserable like many other sports fans. Their teams had given them much to be happy about in the previous decade and a half. They were however frustrated. Their beloved Steelers still could not win that elusive “one for the thumb” despite coming painfully close so many times, and now they were coming off a 6-10 season with no future at quarterback. Their beloved Penguins had made the playoffs for nine straight seasons following the second Stanley Cup victory in 1992, but they never again reached the Finals and now the franchise was not only losing games on the ice, they were also losing money and their survival was once again in jeopardy. Their college football team had just lost arguably its best player ever in Larry Fitzgerald and now headed towards what seemed to be the end of their brief revival. College basketball in this town was still a footnote to everything else, and despite some promising seasons from Pitt, the loss of head coach Ben Howland indicated that Pitt basketball was headed back to the pits. Then all of a sudden, everything changed. A golden era of Pittsburgh sports was ushered in. This is really unlike anything many of us younger fans have ever seen, and like the 1970’s, it is a time that we will look back on with fond memories – especially when we reach the inevitable point where our teams go thru some kind of a downturn. This week’s America Loves Countdowns® series looks at the top highlights of this amazing era.

Duquesne Plays in A-10 Championship Game
Normally a basketball team advancing to its conference title game would not be a big deal, but for my alma mater, it was downright amazing. The Dukes went 3-24 in 2006, then suffered thru an unfortunate shooting incident on campus that fall, which hurt not only basketball recruiting, but recruiting in general (I talked to a woman who refused to send her daughter there after the shooting despite my best attempts to convince her that The Bluff is probably the single safest place in the entire city). Just three years later, they made an incredible run thru the Atlantic 10 Tournament before falling to Temple in the title game. Duquesne came within one win of having three Pittsburgh colleges advance to the NCAA Tournament. Much of the credit for this astounding turnaround goes to head coach Ron Everheart, whose aggressive style of play has not only helped win games, but attract fans as well.

Pitt wins Big East in football
Not only did Larry Legend leave Pitt after the 2003 season, but so did the rest of the core of the offense, including QB Rod Rutherford, RB Brandon Miree, and TE Kris Wilson. The 2004 season held almost zero prospect, especially when head coach Walt Harris punched his ticket out of town via his agent’s infamous “Pitt is not a major power” quote in October of that year. But the scrappy Panthers won some big games, including an OT thriller against Boston College and Tyler Palko’s five-touchdown “I am so F-ing proud” performance at Notre Dame. By Thanksgiving night, Pitt had a chance to win the Big East conference for the first time, and they did it with a come-from-behind victory at Heinz Field over rival West Virginia. The fact that Pitt got shelled in the Fiesta Bowl was merely an afterthought after the incredible run that they had to win the conference (after all, there is no real championship in college football, so champion of your conference is technically the best you can do anyway).

Thrilling Finishes
This Golden Age has seen its fair share of memorable games and fantastic finishes. There was the heart-stopping Steelers-Colts game in 2005, the touchdown in the final seconds of Super Bowl XLIII, Peter Sykora’s "called shot" goal in the 3rd overtime of the Stanley Cup Finals, Pitt’s game-winning kick in the 4th overtime at Notre Dame, and many more. Even some of the losses have been exciting, like the playoff game against the Jaguars or Villinova’s buzzer beater to knock Pitt out of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

Pitt Basketball Success
The Pitt basketball program enjoyed a renaissance early in the decade, but few people thought it would continue after Ben Howland bolted for UCLA. Jamie Dixon has somehow managed to make the program even better, consistently winning and recruiting each year. They won the Big East tournament in 2008. In 2009, the Panthers had the best success in the history of the program, being ranked #1 in the nation for the first time and advancing further in the tournament than ever before.

Steelers Beat Ravens in AFC Championship Game
When the Browns went to Baltimore in 1996, they left the colors, logo, and history of the organization in Cleveland. The one thing they did take with them though was their rivalry with the Steelers. Of all the years of Steelers-Ravens (or Steelers-Browns for that matter), no game was bigger than the 2008 AFC Championship Game. The Steelers were playing at home because they had already beaten Baltimore twice that season, and they did not disappoint the home fans. Troy Polamalu’s late interception sealed Pittsburgh’s 7th conference title and crowned the Steelers as kings in this rivalry.

Penguins Eliminate Flyers Twice
Beating a rival is great. Knocking a bunch of filthy scumbags out of the playoffs is even better. For years Philly had our number. That all changed the past two seasons. In 2008, the Pens and Flyers faced off in the Eastern Conference Finals. The winner would take the Prince of Wales trophy and play in the Stanley Cup Finals. It was the most important series in the history of the rivalry, and the Pens crushed the Flyers four games to one. In 2009, the Pens eliminated the Flyers in the first round at their arena in Game 6. They were down 3-0 in that game but came back to win on the back of Sidney Crosby, who buried the series-winning empty-netter as chants of "Crosby Sucks" rained down from their loser fans, who went home for another year knowing that Sid got the best of them.

The Sidney Crosby Lottery
After the lockout canceled the 2004-05 season, the NHL had to decide who would get the first pick in the following draft. Because Sidney Crosby, who even then was considered the best player in the world, was going to be the sure-fire #1 pick, the league decided to make things interesting and hold a weighted lottery to determine who got the pick. Ping pong balls featuring every team’s logo were put into a machine, and the one that came out had a skating penguin on it. One lucky ping pong bounce completely resurrected hockey in Pittsburgh. The Pens have sold out games almost ever since. There is now a waiting list for season tickets. Thousands of people show up to sit outside the arena to watch on a big TV screen. Best of all, the core of the fan base are young people, so the Pens will continue to be popular for many years to come. It also helps that Sid has more than delivered on his potential thus far.

Pitt Ruins WVU’s Football Program
At 7:59pm on the night of December 1, 2007, the West Virginia University football program was at its absolute pinnacle. They were one seemingly easy win away from immortality. A victory at home over 28-point underdog rival Pitt, whom the Mountaineers had pounded the previous two seasons, would put them in the BCS title game which they almost certainly would have won for their first ever national championship. Four hours and one massive upset later, the program was in absolute ruins. Their star coach abruptly left town, their QB didn’t even get an invite to the Heisman ceremony, donors started pulling their money out, recruits changed their minds, and their fans were all exposed as a hateful bunch of inbreds capable of sending death threats to everyone from their kicker to their ex-coach’s family. Everything went straight into the toilet, all because of that one game. Has one rival ever decimated another rival as badly in the history of sports? Just for good measure, Pitt beat them again in 2008, with Shady McCoy scoring a last-second, game-winning touchdown in his final home game as a Panther.

Penguins Win Stanley Cup
When the Penguins built a core consisting of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, and other young stars, it was clear they would be a contender. They made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2008, only to lose to the more experienced Detroit Red Wings, who were quite simply the better team. It was a tougher road that brought the Pens back to the Finals in 2009. They were in 10th place in the middle of February and had just hired a new coach with zero NHL head coaching experience. They fought back to make it to the Finals against the same Detroit team, and after going down 2-0, they won 4 out of the last 5, including an AMAZING performance at Detroit in Game 7. The franchise that has been left for dead so many times over the course of its history has once again captured the hearts of an entire city.

Steelers Win Two Super Bowls
Pittsburgh sports fans are the best in the world, and their #1 love will always be the Steelers. We waited 26 long years for them to win another championship. We saw them get close so many times but never quite pull it off. Finally in 2005, after nearly falling out of playoff contention late in the season, the Steelers put together a historic run which they capped with a win in Super Bowl XL in Detroit. Three years later in Super Bowl XLIII, they trailed the Arizona Cardinals in the final minutes and needed to drive 88 yards to win the game. QB Ben Roethlisberger, who in my opinion is already one of Pittsburgh’s greatest sports legends, led the team to victory. The Steelers captured their sixth Super Bowl title, more than any other team, and clearly established themselves as the best-run, most decorated franchise in America’s most popular sports league. As a Pittsburgh sports fan, does it get any better than this?

Honorable Mentions:

• Steelers go 15-1
• Pens beat Capitals in memorable "Crosby vs Ovechkin" series
• Steelers knock Bengals out of playoffs twice
• Pitt lands multiple high draft picks in both NFL and NBA