The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the original NFL franchises. In the first 39 years of their existence, they made the playoffs just once and were shut out by the Philadelphia Eagles. It was tough rooting for the Steelers, who only occasionally fielded a team that even remotely challenged the top squads in the NFL. It must be very similar to how Cleveland Browns fans feel in the 21st century.
All that changed when Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris combined for the Immaculate Reception in 1972. The once-lovable losers scored their first postseason touchdown in 40 years, and a dynasty was born. In December of 1975, Myron Cope was searching for a symbol to help get fans excited for the divisional-round playoff game against the Baltimore Colts. Cope urged fans to bring yellow dish towels to the game and wave them. The Terrible Towel was born and has been a fixture in Steeler Nation ever since.
James Farrior, the man in the middle for the last three Pittsburgh Super Bowl defenses, joined the 93.7 The Fan Oh, Momma Podcast with Chris Mack on Thursday. Mack and Farrior engaged in a retrospective on the 15th anniversary of the 2008 Steelers defense.
During the wide-ranging discussion, Mack asked about the 2008 defense getting blown out by the Tennessee Titans in Week 16 of the 2008 season. Specifically, the infamous incident regarding Keith Bullock and the Titans stomping on the Terrible Towel during the game and if it was a source of irritation for the Steelers.
“You always put that in the back of your head,” Farrior responded. “You always remember that. You never forget things like that.”
The Steelers' final loss during the 2008 season was an absolutely brutal blowout at the hands of the Titans. The 13-3 Titans thought they were sending a message to Pittsburgh that they were the most physical team in the NFL. Bullock and Lindale White had a good old time, spitting and stomping on the symbol of Steeler Nation. Unfortunately, Jeff Fisher’s squad fell 13-10 to the Wild Card Baltimore Ravens to prevent a rematch in the AFC Championship game.
“You just go ask T.J. Houshmandzadeh about messing with the Terrible Towel, what happens after that,” Farrior added. “It’s pretty well known. It’s a known history that you can’t mess with the Terrible Towel. We definitely put that in our memory bank and kept that in our back pocket.”
The Steelers' Terrible Towel Is Not To Be Disrespected
T.J. Houshmandzadeh famously shined his shoes with the Terrible Towel in a 38-31 victory against the Steelers in 2005. It was the season's second meeting, but it wasn’t the last. The wide receiver watched helplessly as Carson Palmer left the AFC Wild Card game with an injury, and a big early lead disappear against Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. The Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl, and the Bengals took the express train to playoff irrelevancy.
The Bengals wide receiver’s experience pales in comparison to what happened to the Titans. After the disgusting display of Bullock, White, and Jevon Kearse blowing his nose with the Terrible Towel, the Titans lost their regular season finale, the divisional round of the AFC playoffs and went winless in the following 10 games. They did not return to the playoffs for 11 years.
The 2008 Steelers were a vicious group, and Farrior and the rest of the starting defense exacted a heavy toll for disrespecting them on the gridiron. The Titans and Bengals learned that lesson the hard way at the hands of one of the best defenses in the franchise's history.
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