Heading to Pittsburgh … with The Terrible Towel!
Raising Awareness for Adolescent Mental Health …
and Funds for the CCBS Fire Keepers Scholarship Fund!
This weekend the CCBS bike team arrives in Pittsburgh PA to begin their 350-mile ride (on Monday, September 23rd) to Washington DC. The goal for “BOTO’s Big Ride” is to raise awareness about adolescent mental health issues and to raise money for the CCBS Firekeepers Scholarship Fund, which allows CCBS families to access the care that their sons need.
David LePere, the CCBS Executive Director, is heading up the bike team and keeping the staff and students on campus updated on the preparation and the plan for the trip. At one update session, he mentioned that the weekend the trip kicks off coincides with the first home game for the Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 football season. And he added, “that’s the team whose fans wave the yellow towel right?”
CCBS staff member / Floor Manager, George Sloan, was at the meeting. George grew up south of Pittsburgh in the Monongahela Valley and happens to be a major Steeler fan.
He realized that he needed to help David prepare for the Pittsburgh part of the trip … starting with the important fact that the Steeler fans he runs into won’t be happy if he called it a “little yellow towel.”
George met with David and told him the story of the Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel …
In 1975, a Pittsburgh broadcaster, the late Myron Cope, was trying to think of a way to excite fans during an NFL playoff game. He urged them to take yellow dish towels to the game and wave them. The stands were filled that day and it just happened that when the fans were waving the towels, the Steelers completed some critical plays.
They won the game and kept bringing the towels to games throughout the playoffs. The towel was officially named “Myron Cope’s Terrible Towel.” The Steelers ended the Season in January 1976 by winning Super Bowl X against the Dallas Cowboys, many claiming it was “thanks to The Terrible Towel.”
Thus, the towel became an iconic part of the Pittsburgh Steelers history and an important prop for the fan base.
George gave David and the bike team some Terrible Towels to take on the trip.
He also showed him how to wave the towel and cheer “#HereWeGo Steelers,” so if he ran into any fans he and the team could fit in and make new friends in Pittsburgh.
Monday morning our bike team will surely say ‘HereWe Go’ as they depart Pittsburgh to start the big ride! You can follow the ride on our Cherokee Creek Boys School Facebook and Instagram pages!
It’s not too late to donate to support the ride … AND REMEMBER … right now a generous donor has offered to match your donation so your donation will have double the impact! YOU can make a difference for a child and their family by supporting BOTO’s Big Ride. Click HERE to donate or learn more!
Here’s to team spirit, supporting your team, and making a difference in the world.
#HereWeGo #Let’sRide
“Never doubt that a small group
of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
– Margaret Mead
