it has nothing to do with the pirates. cope invented the terrible towel as a way to get fans excited for a play-off game against baltimore in 1975… the terrible towel and the way fan use that as rally point has surely had an impact on games. 60 thousand fans waving towels jumping up and down, shaking the 1st level sideline seats of three rivers… myron cope had a nice hand in that atmosphere. people in this city get buried with their terrible towels… thats how much of an effect myron cope had in this city…he wasnt an annoying voice catch phrase announcer, he was an award winning journalist.