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View Full Version : The Terrible Towel and Why the Steelers Need to Win the SB



JAR
01-17-2009, 09:46 AM
Members of the Steeler Nation know all too well the story of the
Terrible Towel. It was a brainchild of beloved and dearly departed
Myron Cope during the Noll Dynasty. The magic of the towel lasted beyond
the retirement of Chuck Noll, maintained its staying power throughout
the entire Cowher age, and is still going strong in the early years of
the Tomlin era. The towels are manufactured in Wisconsin by Chippewa
River Industries. Proceeds from the sale of the towels benefit
Chippewa, which employs the mentally disabled, and helps to pay for
their care. Myron Cope also collected royalties and donated all of them
to the Allegheny Valley School , a special needs place where his
autistic son is a resident. Before he died, Cope bequeathed the Towel
rights to the school, ensuring proper care for his son and for many
others.

What you may not know is that greed has found its way in to this
benevolent endeavor. The NFL is quietly working on a promotion to
produce larger towels for every other team in the league besides the
Steelers. They plan to unveil this gimmick after the conference
championships this week and push it through the super bowl. The plan is
to market these towels and capture the enthusiasm of the super bowl
contestants. To get things moving, free towels were handed out at every
stadium during the divisional playoffs this week. You may have seen the
Tennessee fans waving those powder blue
things. Of course, they would not have brought their own. Did anyone
notice the complete backfire? All the home teams lost EXCEPT the
Steelers!

This is why the Steelers need to win the Superbowl. The sanctity of the
Terrible Towel must be preserved!

SanAntonioSteelerFan
01-17-2009, 10:20 AM
Man, the NFL really sucks. I live in San Antonio, and I've got three terrible towels ... one is kind of gray from the '80s. one is from the 90's and at least looks gold, and the other is a special edition Super Bowl XL winner towel. I spread them out on the back of my couch every game (alas, I have no true shrine ...).

It would suck if there were "Terrible Towels" for other teams. Yeah, I saw those pansy blue things at the Titans game, almost made me puke.

pfelix73
01-17-2009, 11:25 AM
You can not duplicate the Original......... :tt1

buckeyehoppy
01-17-2009, 12:50 PM
Members of the Steeler Nation know all too well the story of the
Terrible Towel. It was a brainchild of beloved and dearly departed
Myron Cope during the Noll Dynasty. The magic of the towel lasted beyond
the retirement of Chuck Noll, maintained its staying power throughout
the entire Cowher age, and is still going strong in the early years of
the Tomlin era. The towels are manufactured in Wisconsin by Chippewa
River Industries. Proceeds from the sale of the towels benefit
Chippewa, which employs the mentally disabled, and helps to pay for
their care. Myron Cope also collected royalties and donated all of them
to the Allegheny Valley School , a special needs place where his
autistic son is a resident. Before he died, Cope bequeathed the Towel
rights to the school, ensuring proper care for his son and for many
others.

What you may not know is that greed has found its way in to this
benevolent endeavor. The NFL is quietly working on a promotion to
produce larger towels for every other team in the league besides the
Steelers. They plan to unveil this gimmick after the conference
championships this week and push it through the super bowl. The plan is
to market these towels and capture the enthusiasm of the super bowl
contestants. To get things moving, free towels were handed out at every
stadium during the divisional playoffs this week. You may have seen the
Tennessee fans waving those powder blue
things. Of course, they would not have brought their own. Did anyone
notice the complete backfire? All the home teams lost EXCEPT the
Steelers!

This is why the Steelers need to win the Superbowl. The sanctity of the
Terrible Towel must be preserved!

I don't know about you, but this sounds like a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the Steeler Universe against the NFL.

T3 was the brainchild of Myron Cope and all the proceeds from the sale of this item have been used to help others. For the NFL to capitalize on the concept for commercial gain is not ethical and is only questionably legal if unchallenged.

I don't think we are looking for the money this generates for any of us. That, obviously, would be just as wrong. But, in the spirit of T3, we should find someone who would be willing to look into this case and sue the league over any proceeds their "towel" campaign generates. If successful, the league should be forced to donate 10% of the sales to Allegheny Valley School because Myron was the original brainchild behind the concept and the other 90% to Special Olympics.

T3 was never a project for personal enrichment or profiteering on Myron's part and it shouldn't be on the NFL's part either.

Djfan
01-18-2009, 03:20 AM
Goodell strikes again!

flippy
01-18-2009, 03:23 AM
The Gold Towels will always stand out.

Let the others have their rags....

buckeyehoppy
01-18-2009, 01:56 PM
The Gold Towels will always stand out.

Let the others have their rags....

The Terrible Towel...A Pittsburgh Original...all others are cum rags!!!

snarky
01-18-2009, 02:39 PM
TBH, this sounds like an internet hoax. I think the towels in Tennessee were paid for by some natural gas company.

JAR
01-18-2009, 02:53 PM
NFL Adds "Trophy Towel" To On-Field Super Bowl Celebration
NFL Licensee McArthur To Produce Item Similar To Steelers "Terrible Towel" The NFL immediately following the conclusion of Super Bowl XLIII on February 1 at Raymond James Stadium will give a 24-by-42 inch "Trophy Towel" from NFL licenseeā€¦

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/inde ... eID=126645 (http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=sbd.preview&articleID=126645)

JAR
01-18-2009, 02:57 PM
In a Steelers-obsessed city where the fabric of society is terry cloth, a new twist on the towel will be on display at the conclusion of the American Football Conference championship game today.

The National Football League's marketing geniuses will magically produce Reebok hats and shirts, licensed and authorized by the league, for every winning player to entice fans to rush out and buy the same merchandise.

Now, for the first time, they will also hand out to players something called the Trophy Towel, a bath-sized textile in basic white. And that means a licensed NFL towel will share Heinz Field with a Pittsburgh original, the gold cloth with the global reach that has been twirled for more than 30 years by the Steelers faithful.

Yoi and double yoi.

The new product retails for $24.99 and -- at 24 inches by 42 inches -- may be too big to wave. The NFL does not believe that it will siphon sales from the Terrible Towel, which costs about $6, with the proceeds going to charity.

"We're well aware of Steeler history," said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. "We think it will add to the celebration and give fans another way of sharing in their team's accomplishments. We'll test it out."

The official marketing kicks off at the Super Bowl, with the NFL to air a commercial on NBC promoting the Trophy Towel. About 50,000 or so will be available at NFLshop.com and retailers such as Dick's Sporting Goods, JCPenney and Kohl's.

To give customers a glimpse of them -- and the NFL hasn't released images yet -- a smaller number have been made for the AFC and National Football Conference champions. They will be brought out today in Glendale, Ariz., and then Pittsburgh, where passions have long been terribly fanned by The Towel.

The Terrible Towel is a symbol, and, like all symbols, it is profoundly personal for many Steelers fans. Described as the perfect blend of color and motion, it is tough, ubiquitous, resilient to abuse, utilitarian, portable and the most recognized fan accessory in the world of sports. This being Pittsburgh, a towel-come-lately is sure to evoke strong passions.
Steelers Nation symbol

Bill Hillgrove and Andy Russell had special relationships with Myron Cope, the Steelers radio color commentator and inventor of the Terrible Towel, who died 11 months ago. The former is offended by an idea that he thinks is, well, terribly crass; the latter holds to the principle that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; others think it's downright, um, terrible. And the unanswered question is whether the NFL would throw in with the idea if the creator of the Terrible Towel were still alive.

"I think he would be insulted. It's a shame," said Mr. Hillgrove. "The towel had magic with Myron, and it's become a symbol of the Steeler Nation. Fans know their money is going to charity, and now this one is being sold for profit. I have an ethical problem with that.

"Like all the other towels that have surfaced out there, it's a cheap imitation," he added. "I think it's a dumb idea. It's a ripoff. A copycat."

Mr. Russell, who was present at the creation as captain of the Steelers when the towel was introduced at a playoff game in 1975, sees it differently.

"I think he'd be proud that his legacy is still growing after his death," he said. "It may seem like they're cherry-picking Myron's patent, but the NFL has been very smart about the way it promotes the game. It's hard to argue with their decisions."

The original concept of a towel did not appeal to Mr. Russell. But in that playoff game against the Colts, the lumbering linebacker set a record that still stands with his 93-yard return of a fumble for a touchdown, towels all aflutter.

"It's kind of embarrassing for me," he said with a self-deprecating chuckle. "I told him I thought it was a gimmick, and the Steelers aren't a gimmick team.

"But when you see all those towels waving in the stadium now, and all those towels displayed at bars around the country and around the globe, it's safe to say I was wrong."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09018/942668-66.stm

snarky
01-18-2009, 03:11 PM
OK, thanks.