Towel Power is an unofficial term used in several sports, predominantly in North America, to describe the waving of towels by fans at stadiums and arenas in order to give a morale boost to the home team. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... A towel is a piece of absorbent fabric or paper used for drying or wiping. ...

Football

While the term "Towel Power" originated in Vancouver, the tradition of towel-waving at sports games is said to have begun in Pittsburgh in 1975 when Myron Cope, a color commentator for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL urged Steelers fans to take yellow dish towels to a playoff game against the Baltimore Colts and wave them throughout the game. The stands at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh were filled with yellow towels that day and the Steelers won the game, 28-10. That same playoff season, the Steelers introduced gold towels with the words "Myron Cope's Terrible Towel" written on them in black. The Steelers went on to beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X. This article refers to the city in British Columbia, Canada. ... Pittsburgh as viewed from Mount Washington Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Wikinews has news related to this article: Myron Cope, Pittsburgh Steelers color commentator, retires after a 35 year career Myron Cope (born January 23, 1929 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), whose given name is Myron Sydney Kopelman, was a color commentator for the Pittsburgh Steelers radio broadcasts for 35 years. ... A color (or colour) commentator, sometimes known as a color analyst, is a member of the broadcasting team for a sporting event who assists the play-by-play announcer by filling in any time when play is not in progress. ... City Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Team colors Black and Gold Head Coach Bill Cowher Owner Dan Rooney Local radio Flagship stations: WDVE (102. ... The National Football League (NFL) is the largest professional American football league, consisting of thirty-two teams from American cities and regions. ... There have been two unrelated American football teams called the Baltimore Colts based in Baltimore, Maryland. ... The Honus Wagner Statue outside Gate C Three Rivers Stadium was a multipurpose sports stadium and event facility located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The stadiums name was derived from the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, where they formed the Ohio River, the Golden Triangle. The stadium was... City Irving, Texas Other nicknames Americas Team, The Boys Team colors Royal Blue, Navy Blue, Silver-Green, Silver, and White Head Coach Bill Parcells Owner Jerry Jones General manager Jerry Jones Mascot Rowdy [1] Local radio Flagship stations: THE TICKET (1310 AM) Announcers: Charlie Waters, Kristi Scales, and Brad... Date January 18, 1976 Stadium Miami Orange Bowl City Miami, Florida MVP Lynn Swann, Wide Receiver Favorite Steelers by 6 National Anthem Tom Sullivan Coin toss Game referee Halftime show Up with People presents 200 Years and Just a Baby: Tribute to Americas Bicentennial Attendance 80,187 TV in...

Several other NFL teams have since introduced Touchdown Towels, which are waved by the fans following a touchdown by the home team. These are usually either white or in the home team's primary color. A special edition of The Terrible Towel was created in honor of Myron Copes retirement following the 2004 Steelers season. ... A touchdown is the primary method of scoring in American and Canadian football, in which the ball carrier causes the football to break the plane of the end zone, or an eligible receiver catches a forward pass in the end zone, thus earning 6 points for his team (in both...

Hockey

The introduction of "Towel Power" to the game of ice hockey is claimed by the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL, which began completely on its own and was unrelated to the advent of the Terrible Towel. During the 1982 playoffs, the Canucks were playing the Chicago Blackhawks when bombastic Vancouver coach Roger Neilson, fed up with the performance of the officials, placed a white towel on the end of a hockey stick and held it up in mock surrender. The Canucks players sitting on the bench followed suit, placing towels on the ends of their sticks until the bench resembled a laundry line. Although the Canucks lost that game, 4-1, Neilson's actions inadvertently began quite a trend as, when the teams returned to Vancouver for the next game, many fans brought white towels to the game and began waving them above their heads. Referred to as "Towel Power" this sparked the Canucks to win the next three games and the series, taking them to the Stanley Cup finals which they eventually lost to the New York Islanders. Ice hockey, known simply as hockey in areas where it is more common than field hockey, is a team sport played on ice. ... The Vancouver Canucks are a professional National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. ... The modernized NHL shield logo debuted in 2005, replacing the orange and black shield, which had been used since the leagues inception. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. ... Roger Paul Neilson, CM (June 16, 1934-June 21, 2003) was a National Hockey League coach, and was responsible for many innovations in the game. ... American Hockey League referee Dean Morton In ice hockey, an official is a person who has some responsibility in enforcing the rules or maintaining the order of the game. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Look up surrender in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Stanley Cup on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame The Stanley Cup, originally called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, is awarded each year by the National Hockey League to the champion of its playoff tournament. ... The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. ...

Red and blue towels, waved by fans of the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs respectively, followed the "Towel Power" trend. The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta. ... For other uses of Toronto Maple Leafs, see Toronto Maple Leafs (disambiguation). ...

Baseball

The most notable use of towel-waving in baseball has been by the fans of the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball, who introduced the Homer Hanky in 1987. The Homer Hanky was officially produced by the Minneapolis Star Tribune and is a handkerchief printed with a baseball-shaped logo during Twins playoff campaigns (and sometimes the following season). The logo is usually red, but was blue in 2003. Baseball is a team sport in which a pitcher attempts to throw a small fist-sized ball past the hitting area of a batter. ... Major league affiliations American League (1901-present) Central Division (1994-present) West Division (1969-1993) Major league titles World Series titles (3) 1991 â€¢ 1987 â€¢ 1924 AL Pennants (6) 1991 â€¢ 1987 â€¢ 1965 â€¢ 1933 1925 â€¢ 1924 Central Division titles (3) 2004 â€¢ 2003 â€¢ 2002 West Division titles (4) 1991 â€¢ 1987 â€¢ 1970 â€¢ 1969 Wild... Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in the world. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-St. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Complete description of the "Towel Power" night from vancouverhistory.ca