Former Washington Redskins head coach Otto Graham was credited with saying, “Don’t throw in the towel, use it for wiping the sweat off of your face.”
Sunday’s battle between the 6-2 Steelers and the home team Commanders (7-2) looks to be a tough contest. The Commanders have yet to face a defense as good as the Steelers, and the Steelers’ defense has yet to face an offense as efficient as Washington’s.
Speaking of towels, the Steelers have been known for some years to have their fans show up in attendance with their gold towels to wave during the game, exhibiting their support for the Steelers (black and gold).
Meanwhile, the burgundy and gold commanders have apparently determined that they will distribute a burgundy towel to the Commanders’ fans.
Former Redskins running back Brian Mitchell (1990-99), now an employee of 106.7 The Fan in Washington, evidently was the originator of the idea, calling upon the organization to supply burgundy towels to create some more home-team atmosphere at Northwest Stadium, Sunday.
“I need whoever the powers that be — I need you all to get burgundy towels to every fan coming into the stadium,” Mitchell said, underscoring the need to keep the Commanders’ presence strong. “We know the Steelers are going to come with their yellow, so we’re going to mix them together. It’s going to be burgundy and gold all through the stadium.”
On Wednesday, the Commanders emailed fans announcing the towel giveaway with an exciting message: “These giveaways steel the show! We’ll be handing out limited-edition rally towels and Salute to Service hats presented by Verizon this Sunday for our game against the Steelers. Let’s Command Our House and create a home-field advantage by packing Northwest Stadium with burgundy.” (Fox 5 D.C.).
