Myron Cope, Pittsburgh Institution

Myron Cope, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ longtime radio announcer, died early this morning. Even if you’re a stranger to Pittsburgh you may know of Cope for having been inducted into football’s Hall of Fame as a broadcaster, or for having invented the Terrible Towel that Steelers fans so like to wave.If you’re not a stranger to Pittsburgh, then you know this is a big deal. Maybe Mr. Rogers’ death was bigger here, but it seems unlikely. I moved to Pittsburgh after Cope’s last season (his 35th) as the Steelers’ announcer, and never got to hear him call a game. But even in the afterglow of Cope’s career, I feel like I got the idea.There’s the Myron Cope Greatest Moments DVD, advertised extensively on local TV, showing Cope getting a pie in the face from a hulking 70s-era Steeler; Cope wearing a Steelers hardhat with a rotating black-and-gold flag on top, fake snow falling over him.There’s his autobiography, Double Yoi!, always on prominent display in bookstores, and the Myron Cope board game, Triple Yoi!Besides being a native Pittsburgher (he’s a Pitt graduate), Cope is known as a pioneer in the world of sports broadcasting. Much of the eulogizing I’ve seen so far today has remarked on what an oddball Cope was, how strange his high-pitched voice and almost ceaseless stream of talk were compared to the rest of the broadcasting world.There’s that, and things like his nicknames for players and teams. And there’s this strange word “Yoi,” which it took me a long time to grasp. Cope used it after remarkable plays, modulating it as necessary so that it might become “Double Yoi!” or even the rare “Triple Yoi!” Cope’s Wikipedia entry credits him as an influence on ESPN anchor Chris Berman, and it’s easy to see the connection.It’s a sad, snowy day in Pittsburgh, even if you don’t particularly care about the Steelers.