Yoi! Cope Puts In 35 Years With Steelers

PITTSBURGH —  As the Pittsburgh Steelers troop into a hotel lobby the night before a game, scores of black- and gold-wearing fans huddle anxiously, waiting for their favorite star. Player upon player goes by, yet he still hasn’t shown up, and the crowd is growing nervous.

Finally, amid a sea of mountainous men who tower over him by at least six inches, a septuagenarian man appears to a frenzied response: “Myron! Over here! Sign my Terrible Towel! Myron, give me a hug!”

It’s a familiar scene for Myron Cope, who, at 75, remains as popular in Pittsburgh as the players whose deeds he describes on radio. That he does so at many decibels with a one-of-kind-voice -- think of a car careening to a screeching stop -- adds to the allure, as does his invention of the towel that two generations of fans have twirled at Steeler games.

“He doesn’t play, he doesn’t put on a pair of pads, but he’s revered probably as much or more in Pittsburgh than Franco [Harris], all the guys,” said running back Jerome Bettis, who, like other Pittsburghers, occasionally performs a Cope impersonation. “Everybody probably remembers Myron more than the greatest players, and that’s an incredible compliment.”

One Cope accepts with a cackle of delight, just as he does the news that, in his 35th season, his career predates ABC’s “Monday Night Football” -- by one day. Cope and a rookie quarterback named Terry Bradshaw both debuted Sept. 20, 1970. The first Monday night telecast was a day later.

He didn’t become a broadcaster until age 40, and only when radio station WTAE asked the Sports Illustrated freelance writer to do daily commentaries. The Steelers wanted to sell more tickets at new Three Rivers Stadium, and, after hearing Cope, owner Art Rooney and publicist Ed Kiely thought his knowledge and unique style would bring the team more attention.

At first, Pittsbughers didn’t know what to make of this man of modest size and many words, some not in any dictionary.

A Steeler touchdown -- rare in the day -- elicited a “Yoi!” He dismissed doubletalk from an opposing coach as “garganzola.” New coach Chuck Noll was the “Emperor Chaz.” The despised Browns were the “Cleve Brownies,” the mistake-prone Cincinnati Bengals the “Bungles.” Something meriting his approval was “okal-dokal.”

And then there’s the Terrible Towel, created by Cope as a good-luck charm. Hundreds of thousands have been sold at $5 to $10 each, with profits going to charity.

Still, despite the Steelers’ unexpected surge to a 13-1 record, this has not been Cope’s easiest season.

Weary after battling sickness for two years, he was ready to check into a care home last spring until friends, including former linebacker Andy Russell, found a specialist who diagnosed a rare but treatable illness. And a concussion forced him to miss a game for the second time.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 35 years, though my aches tell me it’s been 35 years,” he said. “But when there’s a game and I get going, it doesn’t seem like it at all.”