You mess with the Terrible Towel, you get the horns.
Er, something like that.
The Jacksonville Jaguars blew a chance to make the playoffs Sunday in a loss to the Tennessee Titans. In the process, they cleared the path for the Pittsburgh Steelers to make the postseason.
Steelers social media marked the occasion by taking time to troll the now-vanquished Jaguars. They did so with a callback to what accounts to a personal affront in Pittsburgh — disrespect of the Terrible Towel.
Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard intercepted Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky in a Week 8 Jacksonville victory. He celebrated by running down the field at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium while waving a Terrible Towel.
The Steelers remembered this moment and posted video of said celebration to commemorate Jacksonville’s loss to Tennessee.
The post came with a warning: “When will yinz learn?”
The implication here is that the Terrible Towel comes with some sort of curse. If you mock it or disrespect it, there will be consequences. In this instance, those consequences favored the Steelers and marked the end of the Titans’ season.
