Terrible Towel
The Terrible Towel is a gimmick created by Myron Cope, a broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Steelers (an American football team). Needing a way to excite the fans during a 1975 playoff football game against the Baltimore Colts, Cope urged fans to take yellow dish towels to the game and wave them throughout. Some Steelers players were unenthused (notably linebacker Andy Russell who told Cope they weren't "a gimmick team"). Nevertheless, the stands were filled with yellow towels that day, and the Steelers always seemed to complete terrific plays when the towels were waving. The Steelers won that game 28-10, and Russell himself scored a defensive touchdown.
The Steelers introduced gold towels with the words "Myron Cope's Terrible Towel" in black on them just in time for Super Bowl X. The Steelers went on to win, "thanks to the Towels," many claimed, against the Dallas Cowboys.
Today, there are many other types of Terrible Towels for sale, such as golf towels, black towels, beach towels, and towels with the Steelers logo on it. In addition, fans of many other college and NFL teams have begun waving towels in their teams colors.
In 1996 Mr. Cope gave the rights to Myron Cope's Official Terrible Towel to the Allegheny Valley School in the Pittsburgh suburb of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The school provides care for more than 900 people with mental retardation and physical disabilities. Proceeds from the Terrible Towel have helped raise almost $1.1 million for the school.
On October 31, 2005, a special Terrible Towel was created to honor Cope for his 35 years as a Steelers broadcaster and was waved prior to the Monday Night Football game between the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field. A limited edition of 35,000 were made, all with familiar "Cope-isms" like "Yoi!".
In the days leading up to 2006 Super Bowl, Terrible Towels became more popular than ever with many Pittsburgh stores running out of them, including the special commorative towel shown on the right. [1] When the Steelers defeated the Seahawks to win Superbowl XL, Coach Bill Cowher was handed a towel, which he held during the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy.
Related gimmicks
- The Touchdown Towels of many NFL teams
- The Homer Hankie of baseball's Minnesota Twins
- Towel Power, which began with hockey's Vancouver Canucks
- Rally Towels at 2006 MLB playoff and World Series games