The Homer Hanky. The Rally Monkey. Towel Power. All items designed to help fans rally their team to a decisive victory. And all owing a debt the grandfather of them all, the Terrible Towel. The creation of longtime Steelers broadcaster Myron Cope, the Terrible Towel is as much of a symbol of Pittsburgh as Iron City Beer, its many bridges and shuttered steel mills.
But now Pittsburghers (Pittsburgians? Pittsburghesi?) are steaming mad about the latest idea to liberally borrow from the Terrible Towel - especially since the alleged rip-off artists in question are the NFL. The PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW says that the league is planning on making “Trophy Towels” a highly-visible part of the post-Super Bowl celebrations, and then start selling them the next day.
And what are Trophy Towels? Well…no one is really sure, since the league is treating this like the secret recipe to Coke. Pictures of the towel are locked inside league offices, and won’t be revealed until after the AFC and NFC Championship games, presumably to stop copycats from making counterfeit versions before the real ones go on sale.
Needless to say, the Steelers and their fans aren’t pleased with what they consider the NFL’s own version of counterfeiting:
“They’re trying to piggyback off Myron Cope’s wondrous product,” said Steelers play-by-play announcer Bill Hillgrove. “It’s a cheap imitation. I think it’s wrong.”
Proceeds from Terrible Towel sales have generated more than $2.2 million for Allegheny Valley School, which assists mentally disabled children and adults. Meanwhile, proceeds from the Trophy Towel? You guessed it, going straight to the NFL’s coiffers. Plus, it will retail for $25, more than three times what the Terrible Towel goes for.
If you were looking for a reason to root for the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the Super Bowl, this is a good one. What are the odds that if someone from the NFL tries to drape a Trophy Towel on Mike Tomlin following the game, we see a recreation of what LenDale White and Keith Bullock did to the Terrible Towel a few weeks ago?
7:16 pm on January 9th, 2009
I'm guessing it will be a towel with the Super Bowl logo & the logo of the winning team.
Sounds crazy, I know.
7:22 pm on January 9th, 2009
Don't forget the logo of whatever corporate entity is officially sponsoring the towels.
7:32 pm on January 9th, 2009
$25 for a towel? There better be a hot cheerleader wrapped up in it before I make any such purchase.
7:33 pm on January 9th, 2009
Could the Cope family sue the NFL over copyright infringement?
7:35 pm on January 9th, 2009
El Stinko:
And the towels with the losing team's name on them get shipped to Nicaragua or Sierra Leone for the poor little children to wear.
7:41 pm on January 9th, 2009
The only towel rip offs I want to see involved playful cheerleaders in the shower.
8:51 pm on January 9th, 2009
And what are Trophy Towels? Well…no one is really sure, since the league is treating this like the secret recipe to Coke.
So you could say these Trophy Towels will be as well received as New Coke.
12:02 pm on January 10th, 2009
For ultimate awesomeness, the Steelers need to win the Super Bowl and throw the towels away on live TV.
3:55 pm on January 12th, 2009
Before Myron's recent passing, he gave the copyright to the Allegheny Valley School. As I type this, I hope the AVS lawyers are hard at work on this.