Terrible Towel - Similar Gimmicks

Similar Gimmicks

During his coaching career from 1922 to 1964, E. A. Diddle of Western Kentucky University began carrying a red towel with him during the basketball games he coached. Diddle would wave and throw the towel during games, and the concept was adopted by fans of the college. It became an official part of the school logo in 1971. Fans of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins cheered the team by waving the "Horrible Hanky" -- white handkerchiefs. However, the handkerchiefs were deemed "too dainty" for football, and the tradition faded. "Hate the Yankees Hankies", in reference to the franchise's rivalry with the New York Yankees, were handkerchiefs distributed to Cleveland Indians fans in September 1977 in a promotion.

The Terrible Towel is traditionally known as the first "rally towel"; its popularity has spawned similar traditions for other teams. Fans of the Minnesota Twins cheer the team with the "Homer Hanky" during the playoffs. The Philadelphia Phillies have distributed white towels to fans during home games. During a 2006 playoff game against the Steelers, the Indianapolis Colts handed out blue towels to rally fans, however, Pittsburgh went on to win the game. In a 2000 preseason game, played in Mexico City, many fans that filled the 100,000 seat Aztec Stadium waved Towels. Cope, glad that the Allegheny Valley School would receive a sizable donation from the proceeds, was later disappointed to learn the towels waved by the fans were "knockoffs" made by local artists, and therefore no proceeds would go to the school. In 2008, the NFL approved a white towel entitled the Trophy Towel, which will be sold to fans and given to the winning team of Super Bowl XLIII. Members of the Steelers criticized the idea, broadcaster Bill Hillgrove—who worked with Cope—called the idea "a cheap imitation." Steelers player Aaron Smith stated, "It started here, so why would anyone else want to have a towel? Why not kazoos?" During the 2010 Memorial Cup the host committee made up 8,000 yellow towels to represent the host team, the Brandon Wheat Kings, who played the Moncton Wildcats. Many fans brought the towels back for games after that.