CORAOPOLIS, Pa. -- The "curse of the Terrible Towel" has been a horror show for the Tennessee Titans, but they were finally able to stop it over the Halloween weekend.
On Sunday, the Titans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars for their first win of the season -- and their first victory of any kind since teammates Keith Bulluck and LenDale White stomped all over a Terrible Towel in a Dec. 21 game against the Steelers.
"It was just a coincidence. It was a nice gesture, they won. I don't know how they'll do the rest of the season," said Amy Harvilla, of the Allegheny Valley School.
The win raises the Titans' season record to 1-6, and it came just two days after
Allegheny Valley School received one of Myron Cope's signature yellow towels in the mail, signed by Bulluck and White.
"This is not an apology," said White, who had a good laugh as he signed the towel for the school last week. "I'll probably never apologize unless I'm playing with the Steelers one day, but, you know, it is what it is. It's going for a good cause and I'm happy to help it."
The autographed towel will be used as an auction item to raise money for the school, which, per Cope's wishes, already gets a portion of all proceeds from Terrible Towel sales. The school in Coraopolis works with children and adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities.
After disrespecting the towel on national TV last year, the top-seeded Titans went on to lose their final game of the 2008 season, plus their first playoff game. They started 2009 with an 0-6 record, extending their overall losing streak to eight, until Sunday.
By donating the signed towel to the Allegheny Valley School, Nashville's WNSR-AM sports radio host Thom Abraham was trying to conjure up some good karma and halt the Titans' lengthy skid.
Along with the towel, Abraham sent the school a handwritten note that said, "LenDale and Keith wish you all the best" and "P.S. Please release the curse!!"
Bulluck says he'll also make a monetary donation to the school.
"But I want the curse to stay on, if I had my choice," said Steelers fan Ricky Rawlings, a resident of the school on Ewings Mill Road. "If they lose again next week, I bet they'll be up here again."
Copyright 2010 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
