From 1893 to 2000, Penn State played Pitt 96 times–with the Lions holding a 50-42-4 edge. But from the turn of the millennium until today, they hadn’t met. And restarting the rivalry seemed like a longshot.

But today, the two schools annouced that in 2016 and 2017, the Panthers and Nittany Lions will once again meet on the football field, first at a rented NFL stadium that will be half filled with Penn State fans (the other half will be empty seats), and then at one of the most iconic stadiums in college football, in front of close to 110,000 fans, with the best student section in college football cheering on their hometown boys.

The money quote, from Tim Curley:

“We are very excited about renewing our rivalry with Pitt… We have worked our schedules to play some of our neighboring rivalries like Syracuse, Rutgers and Temple and are glad to have identified dates that worked for our schedules to play Pitt. The Penn State-Pitt game was one that football fans across the Commonwealth have been passionate about. There have been many memorable Penn State-Pitt games, featuring outstanding players and coaches, and we look forward to playing the Panthers again. “

For many older fans, who are crying out “Hallelujah!”, this is a welcome sight. When the two schools were independents–for the vast majority of their football lifetimes–the Pitt game was the game, the only one that mattered. Penn State wasn’t competing for a conference title, they just wanted to beat their in-state rival–and the same went for Pitt. But as Penn State settled into the Big Ten, and Pitt into the Big East, the annual Thanksgiving game took a backseat.

The excuses piled up so high that it almost seemed like Penn State would be doing itself a disservice to play Pitt. We couldn’t afford it, the arguments went, because we could only play one home-and-home series every two years, and Pitt wasn’t the kind of elite program we should be scheduling. In order for it to be efficient, we’d need to play a 3, or 5, or 7 game series–with Penn State getting the extra home game. Heck, Pitt wasn’t even in our league–we’re an elite program, they’re a mediocre one in a barely-BCS conference. What could possibly be gained by curbstomping our little brothers, against whom JoePa holds a 23-7 record? Or maybe it was JoePa, who held a grudge against Pitt for not joining his Eastern Conference, and refused to lead his team into battle against those scallywags?

But, let’s be honest: It’s good to be able to throw those out the window. Even now, while my generation finds Ohio State to be the ultimate evil, and as Pitt has settled into a hate-filled rivalry with West Virginia, we’re still regaled with the stories. Take 1981, when Penn State beat then-undefeated Pitt 48-14, preventing the Panthers from playing for a national championship. That’s oft recounted as one of the greatest games in Penn State history, and it’s something kids like me have no basis to judge.

The only drawback is, of course, that this is just a 2-game series. It’s enough to whet our appetite, but not to fulfill our hunger. This game must be played on a yearly basis if it’s going to be played at all–but this is, at the very least, a very encouraging start.