Pitt offensive lineman Ryan Baer on Thursday just could not catch a break.
Pitt lost a wild game to Toledo at the GameAbove Sports Bowl held at Ford Field in Detroit Mich. The two teams needed six overtime periods to decide the contest, which ended with Toledo winning 48-46.
The Rockets had two potential game-winning plays wiped out, one by a penalty and another by replay review, before finally closing out the Panthers. You can read more about the Pitt-Toledo game’s dramatic finish here.
But despite high drama on the field, the most viral moment that came out of the game had nothing to do with football. It came when Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy posted about Baer’s hairline, which was briefly shown on the ESPN broadcast.
“This 6OT game just blessed us with this hairline. How old are college kids again?” Portnoy captioned his X post.
This 6OT game just blessed us with this hairline. How old are college kids again? pic.twitter.com/yaysEcxukH
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 26, 2024
Portnoy’s post got over six million views as of writing.
After the game, Baer responded to Portnoy’s post with a simple one-word message.
“Damn,” the Pitt player wrote.
— Ryan Baer (@RyanBaer2003) December 27, 2024
Several fans could not help but make the same joke after Portnoy and Baer’s humorous exhange. Many posted about how Baer had a full head of hair when the game started.
Pitt – Toledo game was so long this dude had a full head of hair at kickoff. pic.twitter.com/mtIupNkhwh
— Go Heels Nation (@GoHeelsNation) December 27, 2024
He had a full head of hair when the game started.
— H. Clay Aalders (@KnifeTruth) December 27, 2024
He was 27 at the start of OT. 58 at the end of it
— 🏈 Pigskin Petey 🏈 (@pigskinpetey) December 27, 2024
It’s bad enough for Baer that Pitt ended up losing its final game of the season in brutal fashion. But he also ended up having millions of people see a close-up of his bald spot.
Now Baer probably knows how Keenan Allen felt when the same thing happened to the Chicago Bears wide receiver last month.
