Aside from its importance to me, the terrible towel has a rich history that makes it important to every person who is a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the city. This importance begins with the towel’s creation in the mid-1970’s. The Pittsburgh Steelers played the Baltimore Colts in 1975 for the divisional championship game. It was a home game for the Steelers and Myron Cope met with WTAE, Pittsburgh’s main radio station, to voice his opinion about promoting an object that would raise excitement for the game. His first idea was to make a Chuck Noll mask with the words “whatever it takes” written across the forehead (Garber, 2009). Chuck Noll was the head coach of the Steelers at the time, but the plan did not work out because manufacturers
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The terrible towel is now recognized as a symbol for the city of Pittsburgh and the pride of its citizens. Success, Myron Cope, tradition and legacy are what the terrible towel have been a part of and no longer is it limited to Pittsburgh. It has appeared on the television show “Saturday Night Live”, been waved at the Great Wall of China, the White House, the Vatican City and has traveled to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has even been waved at the International Space Station in space (Garber, 2009). Hence, the term “Steelers Nation” was coined to represent all of the Steelers fans across the world. Other major sports franchises have tried to market a similar towel, but none of them have come nearly as successful as the terrible towel. This is because it is what the fans bring to the towel that make it so iconic and it has a tradition that dates back to Pittsburgh’s earlier history. DeAngelo Williams, Pittsburgh Steelers running back, summarizes its history with a perfect explanation, “It’s synonymous with Pittsburgh. You see it and no matter where you are, it’s there. Other stadiums try to duplicate it. It originated right here in Pittsburgh and was really made big in the Chuck Noll era. The big difference is fans all buy theirs. At other stadiums they hand them out to try to get the crowd up, but the fans even in other stadiums know where it originated from and that keeps Pittsburgh alive.” (Varley, 2015). The terrible towel may still be a towel, but it means so much more that that coming from a Pittsburgh
The terrible towel is now recognized as a symbol for the city of Pittsburgh and the pride of its citizens. Success, Myron Cope, tradition and legacy are what the terrible towel have been a part of and no longer is it limited to Pittsburgh. It has appeared on the television show “Saturday Night Live”, been waved at the Great Wall of China, the White House, the Vatican City and has traveled to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has even been waved at the International Space Station in space (Garber, 2009). Hence, the term “Steelers Nation” was coined to represent all of the Steelers fans across the world. Other major sports franchises have tried to market a similar towel, but none of them have come nearly as successful as the terrible towel. This is because it is what the fans bring to the towel that make it so iconic and it has a tradition that dates back to Pittsburgh’s earlier history. DeAngelo Williams, Pittsburgh Steelers running back, summarizes its history with a perfect explanation, “It’s synonymous with Pittsburgh. You see it and no matter where you are, it’s there. Other stadiums try to duplicate it. It originated right here in Pittsburgh and was really made big in the Chuck Noll era. The big difference is fans all buy theirs. At other stadiums they hand them out to try to get the crowd up, but the fans even in other stadiums know where it originated from and that keeps Pittsburgh alive.” (Varley, 2015). The terrible towel may still be a towel, but it means so much more that that coming from a Pittsburgh