It's Not a 'Terrible Towel,' But it is a Terible, Terrible Towel

A couple of Cleveland businessmen--business men who are evidently quite envious of the way the Pittsburgh Steelers do things--are marketing something called "The Dirty Brown Towel." It's a lot like the Steelers "Terrible Towel," only it's brown, lame, unoriginal, and has no history behind it. Other than that, though, it's great.

I'm sorry, Cleveland fans, you're just going to have to accept that the Steelers have a cool little fan gimmick that you don't have. It's OK. That shouldn't hurt your self-esteem; after all, no one in Pittsburgh dresses up like a dog for football games. Okay, actually, maybe that should hurt your self-esteem. But cushioning the blow with a cheap knock-off of the Terrible Towel? Weak.

Most offensive is that the words "A Cleveland Original" appear on the bottom of the towel. Exactly what about this is original? That the towel is brown? Yeah, that's revolutionary. Brown towels instead of yellow, that's positively brilliant, if I understand it correctly. Really thinking outside the box there.

Here's a history of Pittsburgh's Terrible Towel, written by none other that the original promoter of the towel, Myron Cope. Cope is a Pittsburgh sports radio personality that most Cleveland Browns fans would, almost understandably, like to stab to death. Like Cope or hate him, the Terrible Towel was his idea, it was original at the time, and any attempt to copy it is pretty sad and uninventive. Cleveland fans can do better. Maybe.

Thanks to ProFootballTalk.com, where I originally spotted the picture. And if you're interested in purchasing a towel, you can do so here, but I also recommend following the advice that PFT gives.