Take Part in the Terrible Towel Wave
Nothing better symbolizes the Steelers’ rabid following than when the Terrible Towels start flying—whether it is at Heinz Field or at away stadiums.
The ubiquitous towels, not surprisingly, have been incorporated into the Steelers’ pre-game festivities. A celebrity fan leads the crowd in the Terrible Towel Twirl, a linen salute to the Steelers that also turns up the volume at Heinz Field.
This is one of the easiest things to check off a Steelers bucket list since Terrible Towels are both inexpensive—they sell for around $10—and easy to find. They can be purchased at a huge trailer parked on Art Rooney Avenue just outside of Heinz Field and a number of other merchandise stands run by the team.
The Pittsburgh Fan, which is about a five-minute walk from Heinz Field, is also a popular spot for fans to buy Terrible Towels, especially before a game.
The apparel store on Federal Street has everything a Pittsburgh sports fan could want, and I mean everything. Looking for a Steelers-themed ugly Christmas sweater? Check. Been dying to buy Steelers’ Zubaz pants? Check.
I stopped at The Pittsburgh Fan four-and-a-half hours before the Broncos-Steelers game and quickly learned that the aisles of the bustling store are like a sidewalk in New York City: keep moving or risk getting run over.
The store opened at 10:00 am that day—kickoff wasn’t until 4:25 pm—and the shelves behind the register had already been re-stocked by the time I got there around noon. One of the employees had the sole task of folding Terrible Towels, which made sense since 600 to 700 of them are sold before the game.
Surely Myron Cope has to be smiling somewhere when he sees the phenomenon he created with a simple dish towel.
Cope, the legendary Steelers broadcaster and Pittsburgh character, hatched the idea before the Steelers’ 1975 playoff game against the visiting Baltimore Colts, albeit somewhat reluctantly. WTAE, the TV station where Cope served as sports director, wanted him to come up with a gimmick to draw more attention to his shows. He went around the Steelers’ locker room one day and asked players what they thought of a towel as a prop for fans.
“When he came to me I said, ‘Myron, that’s a dumb idea, even for you. We don’t need our fans waving towels. We need to concentrate on our jobs and not focus on towels being waved,’” former Steelers linebacker Andy Russell said. “I think he just turned around and walked away from me.”
Cope apparently got enough support elsewhere for WTAE to go with the Terrible Towel and decades later Russell got an earful about how wrong he had been. Russell, in an interview shown on the Jumbotron at Heinz Field, recounted his initial stance on the Terrible Towel and fans started to boo the former Steelers great.
“No big deal,” Russell said with a laugh.
The Terrible Towel has become such a big deal that it is sold in many variations.
Traditional gold towels with black lettering are the most popular ones. But there are also pink towels to promote breast cancer awareness, camouflage towels, and towels for most major holidays, including the Fourth of July.
Proceeds from the sales of Terrible Towels have raised millions of dollars for the Allegheny Valley School in Coraopolis, which serves those with special needs, including Cope’s autistic son.
Cope, the longest-tenured broadcaster in Steelers history, passed away in 2008 and hundreds of fans gathered in downtown Pittsburgh soon after his passing to wave Terrible Towels. Cope lives on through the towels that continue to capture the color and energy he supplied to Pittsburgh and the Steelers for so many years.
Opposing players are well aware of what the Terrible Towel means to the Steelers and their fans. Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh wiped his cleats on a Terrible Towel after scoring a touchdown in the Bengals’ 38–31 win at Heinz Field in December of 2005. Three seasons later running back LenDale White jumped up on down on a Terrible Towel with several teammates during the Titans’ 31–14 stomping of the Steelers in Nashville.
The Steelers had the last laugh in each case. They knocked the Bengals out of the 2005 playoffs with a win at Cincinnati and watched the top-seeded Titans get upset by the Ravens in the 2008 postseason, paving the way for the Steelers in the AFC. Both seasons they went on to win the Super Bowl.
The most curious case of Terrible Towel dissing came in 2014 when the Steelers visited Jacksonville. The Jaguars’ mascot held a Terrible Towel during the game next to a sign that read “Towels Carry Ebola.” Jacksonville lost the game and issued an apology for the ill-advised stunt the following day.
Have Towel, Will Travel
Terrible Towels travel well and not just within the United States. They have been photographed everywhere from the International Space Station to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, and taking a picture with the Terrible Towel at a landmark qualifies as a bucket-list item for Steelers fans.
Many have already done it, including Greensburg, Pennsylvania, resident Tim Welty.
Welty, a season-ticket holder for more than 40 years, is among scores of Steelers fans who have a designated traveling Terrible Towel, and he has taken pictures with his towel at the Rock of Gibraltar among other places.
“That towel,” he said, “has traveled around the world.”
For those who don’t travel the world, here is an idea for the Terrible Towel: run a race and wave it as you cross the finish line. The Terrible Towel part is easy. If you need inspiration to actually take part in a race look no further than former Steelers great Alan Faneca.
Faneca has run a marathon, several half marathons, and some trail races since retiring following the 2011 season. Faneca, who played guard for the Steelers from 1998 to 2007, checked in at 315 pounds at his final NFL weigh in and generally played between 315 and 320 pounds. He now weighs around 220 pounds and has become a running enthusiast.
“I’ve never been this size in my life, at any stage of my life,” Faneca said. “I had always said I wanted to lose weight when I was done and it’s stuck so far. It’s a bad day if I don’t get out for a run.”
Pope Yinzer
Dear Father, Art Rooney in Heaven,
Heinz Field be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, and six Super Bowls won,
On Earth, right here in Pittsburgh.
Give us this day, a Primanti sandwich,
And forgive us for our penalties, as we forgive those who try to beat us,
And lead us into the Super Bowl, but deliver us no evil,
For Ben is the kingdom and Troy is the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Fans who have attended Steelers games at Heinz Field, training camp at St. Vincent College or even rallies in Pittsburgh are no doubt familiar with Don Zadach—or have at least seen him.
That is because Zadach and his wife, Remy, are impossible to miss. Don anointed himself as the “Yinzer Pope” close to 10 years ago, and he wears a homemade mitre with the Steelers logo and drapes himself in black and gold robes and beads as well as Steelers scarves.
Zadach has gained such a measure of fame that he now leads a Steelers prayer at the AE Theater, which is right next to Heinz Field, before every home game. He always delivers the prayer around two hours before kickoff so he and Remy can get to their seats in time for the game.
“I can’t go more than a few feet at a time without people stopping me,” said Zadach, who lives in Jefferson Township, a South Hills suburb of Pittsburgh.
Not that he ever turns down a photo request, and Zadach takes countless pictures on the day of a game since he and his wife arrive at Heinz Field as tailgaters are setting up in the stadium lots.
The Zadachs visit tailgates in the parking lots outside of Heinz Field and mingle with former Steelers such as Louis Lipps, Barry Foster, and Robin Cole. They also stop at Jerome Bettis’ 36 Bar and Grille, McFadden’s and the Tilted Kilt on the North Shore before making their way to Stage AE for the prayer that Don has long been able to recite without any notes.
Don Zadach, aka “Pope Yinzer,” blessing a fan before a Steelers game. (Courtesy of Don Zadach)
Zadach’s route to Steelers papacy started in 1969 when his father and namesake took him to his first Steelers game, which was played at Pitt Stadium. He saw Chuck Noll’s first win as a head coach when the Steelers beat the Lions, 16–13, on a 6-yard touchdown run by rookie Warren Bankston. Zadach, as it turns out, saw the Steelers’ only win of 1969 as they lost their next 13 games, putting them in position to draft quarterback Terry Bradshaw the following year.
Zadach’s love of the Steelers only grew as the organization dominated the 1970s and he and his wife eventually started dressing as Mr. and Mrs. Claus for home games in December.
“We used to have a ton of fun doing that,” Don said.
So much fun that they wanted to find costumes that would be as relevant in August as they were in December. The Zadachs got their answer one year before Halloween when they came across a Pope outfit.
Almost 10 years later Zadach, who turned 58 in March of 2016, still gets a charge out of leading a Steelers prayer before games, tossing black and gold beads to fans, and posing for pictures.
Pope Yinzer has his own Facebook page, and if anyone questions Zadach’s credentials as a Steelers pontiff all he has to do is show them the Hines Ward autograph he has tattooed on his back.
Yes, Zadach had the former Steelers wide receiver sign his back one year after a taping of the Hines Ward Show and then made it a permanent part of his body. He is hoping to do the same with Jerome Bettis, which is another sign of his dedication to his Steelers calling.
“I enjoy doing it,” Zadach said, “and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.”