FRIENDLY RIVALRY For Pitt and Penn State fans, it was mostly a day of harmony

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — There was only so much time that could elapse, only so much small talk to be had during Rich and Kelly Burkitt’s first date before the inevitable emergence of the elephant in the closet — or, more aptly, the Nittany lion or the panther.

They came from different ends of one of the few things that has the power to transcend love — fandom.

Rich was a Pitt graduate and Kelly was a native of State College, Pa., placing them on opposite sides of a longstanding rivalry that once was among the most bitter in college athletics.

The topic was broached quickly and was just as promptly accepted. But when Christmas came and it was time for Rich to visit Kelly’s family – who include, among others, her Penn State professor of a father — the reality of the arrangement began to come into focus.

“It wasn’t until then that I realized the enormity of it all,” Rich said.

In a region of the state where alumni and fans of Pitt and Penn State live in close proximity to one another, stories like the Burkitts’ aren’t exactly the norm, but they’re far from rare.

Sports, and specifically rivalries, have the power to divide houses, friendships, workplaces and, for those like the Burkitts, marriages.

Their bond also illustrates a reality that occasionally gets lost in fits of rage and zeal. For all the vitriol and venom that seemingly exists between the two fan bases for much of the year, at least online, placing them together in a confined area around Beaver Stadium on Saturday — with bountiful supplies of alcohol, no less — reveals more commonalities and genuine relationships than animosity and anger.

Tailgates around the stadium were littered with fans of both programs, with blue and white intermingling with blue and gold.

Such pairings, in a way, are unavoidable for those from the western half of the state. There are families like the Nesticos, Pittsburgh-area natives whose bloodline is divided almost evenly between Pitt and Penn State. There are people like Tim Truitt and Zackery Erb — a Pitt and Penn State fan, respectively