It’s that time of year again, the time for rally towels.

You see fans waving them all over Citizens Bank Park and many other baseball stadiums across the country.
I know I am in the minority on this one, but I am not a fan of rally towels, simply because they seem like a pointless addition to the game. Are fans so bored at a game that they need a towel to keep them busy?
Anyway the reason this comes to mind is the ridiculous amount of times I am seeing them on my television screen. They are everywhere.
The idea of the rally towel’s history actually has an accidental — and rather humorous — beginning.
While playing the Blackhawks on April 29, 1982, in the second game of the conference finals, Vancouver Canucks Coach Roger Neilson had a big problem with the way the game was being called.

More specifically, he believed that referee Bob Myers was biased against his team. After one particular call went against the Canucks, Neilson grabbed a white towel, stuck it on the blade of a spare stick and began waving it in mock surrender behind his team’s bench at Chicago Stadium.
Neilson was joined by several Canucks players, who were inevitably fined.
 A local businessman printed up and sold several thousand towels — with the proceeds going to a charity — and fans bought them up for the next home game. From there, it spread like wildfire.
I am also quite fond of the “hankies” issued by the Minnesota Twins during home playoff games. This started in the late 80s and has continued ever since. So why love for the Hankie?
Simple: it has a purpose.
The Metrodome has a white roof which causes fits for outfielders trying to locate a baseball. Add in thousands of swirling hankies and you can see the home field advantage that is created.
Now it seems that every playoff stadium or arena in every sport feels compelled to hand out towels — or worse — thundersticks.
The originality and purpose is gone. Now it is simply done to make fans happy and so the stadium looks cool, on TV.

Fans wave the towels when their team is in the field and waive them when they are at the plate. Clearly, it doesn’t help or hurt either team.
The towels look like they are here to stay though, so I will deal with them. They don’t take anything away from the game, so I guess it’s OK.
Personally, I stick to clapping my hands, or waving them wildly during a celebration. I’ll use a towel when I have a few dirty dishes.

Tagged with: rally towels

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