Steelers Great Bill Cowher Said Trevor Lawrence Daring To Trash The Towel Will Awaken A "Terrible" Jinx

Pittsburgh Steelers fans can be easily spotted during their games, regardless of the stadium in which the team is playing, by the waving of the gold-colored "Terrible Towels." Steelers fans are truly everywhere, in every city, all over the world. All you have to do to find them is to watch any away game, like the recent one at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA., and see the towels waving all over the arena.

The Terrible Towel has become a part of Steelers lore. It is more than just a prop or a giveaway item, Yinzers believe in the power of the towel. It is why it is not taken lightly when opposing teams disrespect the tradition, like Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback, Trevor Lawrence has just done. Now former Steelers Head Coach and current NFL analyst, Bill Cowher, said Lawrence might have made a big mistake. 

Lawrence was asked recently at the team's press conference if he knows about the Terrible Towel or if he is too young to have heard about it. The response Lawrence gave has plucked a nerve with Steelers fans everywhere. 

"No, I know what they are," Lawrence said grinning. "The little yellow towels they swing around."

WHAT??? Little. Yellow. Towels?!?!

To be fair, the third-year quarterback went on to say all the usual stuff opponents say before a game. He gushed praise for everything Pittsburgh-related - the city, the stadium, the fan base, the players, and so on. Frankly, it was a little too late, hard to come back from "little yellow towels."

Cowher was recently on an episode of The Pat McAfee Show and the former kicker turned media phenom, asked the Hall of Fame coach about Lawrence's comments. He likened it to the time former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh rubbed a Terrible Towel all over his cleats. 

"That was a bad mistake," said Cowher referencing Houshmandzadeh's display. "And Trevor Lawrence talked about those 'little gold towels' this week. Little gold towels?? Little?? Little gold towels? Come on Trevor, it's not called a little gold towel, it's called a Terrible Towel! And you're going to be terrible because this towel is going to make you terrible. That's why it's called a Terrible Towel."

Cowher goes on to say that he thinks it will be a great match-up between the Jaguars and the Steelers. The Jaguars have been quietly having an excellent season, sitting atop the AFC South at 5-2. The Steelers on the other hand sound like a noisy rollercoaster. Miraculously they are second in the AFC North at 4-2 behind the 5-2 Baltimore Ravens. 

Does The Steelers Terrible Towel Really Put A Jinx On Those Who Disrespect It?

The iconic Terrible Towel was created by Steelers radio announcer, the late, great Myron Cope during the 1975 playoffs. While some were concerned the towel would bring bad luck to Pittsburgh, like then Steelers captain, Andy Russell, the opposite seems to be true.

There is no other team that has an item attached to their fan base that is as beloved as our towel. Not only does it travel to away games, but people take photographs all over the world waving their towel. When celebrity fans come to games they can be seen waving a towel to get the fans hyped. The towel has even been to outer space when Astronaut Colonel Mike Fincke, a Pittsburgh fan, waved his towel at the International Space Station. This is why no one laughs when it is disrespected. 

The first known occurrence of the "Curse of the Towel" happened in 1979. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Dorsett, dismissed the existence of the towel, saying he'd never heard of it. The Steelers and the Cowboys were major rivals in the 1970s. He'd definitely seen and heard of it before. In the famous words of Cope, "That's gorgonzola!" 

That wasn't the last time it would happen. In 1995, the then-San Diego Chargers beat the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. They couldn't just be gracious winners, stomping all over Terrible Towels and being disrespectful. They went to the Super Bowl, but got their butts handed to them by the San Francisco 49ers in one of the biggest blowouts in championship history, 49-26.

Not enough proof? The occurrence Cowher and McAfee alluded to when the Bengals played the Steelers at Heinz Field in 2005. Once again, playoff implications were involved. The Bengals beat the Steelers 38-31 and after the game, Houshmandzadeh wiped his dirty cleats with a Terrible Towel. Terrible Towel? Terrible decision! 

The Bengals won the division, but had to face the Steelers again in their first playoff game in over two decades. On the first Cincinnati drive of the game, their quarterback Carson Palmer tore his ACL and was out of the rest of the game. After that, the towel unleashed its true fury and fights broke out between Bengals players and possibly even a coach. The Steelers? They went on to win their fifth Super Bowl that year. 

There are countless more examples, but here is one last one. When the Arizona Cardinals were preparing to meet the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII, the mayor had a pep rally to see their team off in style. During his speech, he pretended to blow his nose on a Terrible Towel. This was even after Steelers Coach Ken Whisenhunt asked him not to do it. The Cardinals lost to the Steelers and Pittsburgh picked up its sixth Lombardi Trophy.

While the "Curse of the Towel" is hardly an exact science, we should just keep hoping these other teams roll the dice and be disrespectful. Let's hope the bad karma extends to the Jaguars and Lawrence this weekend, maybe it will help Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt each pick up another touchdown. 

What do you think about the "Curse of the Towel?" Do you believe in it? Tell us all about your Steelers' voodoo and suspicions! Click to comment below.

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