Watch: Penguins' stars Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin lead the Terrible Towel Twirl at Steelers home opener

By Zachary Roberts

Modified Sep 23, 2024 18:00 GMT

Two Pittsburgh Penguins stars, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, were given a huge honor for the Pittsburgh Steelers' home opener against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon. The two hockey players were asked to lead the crowd in the "Terrible Towel Twirl," a signature of Steeler home games.

Fans bring and/or purchase yellow towels, which have long been nicknamed "Terrible Towels," and wave them wildly during the game. Before each matchup begins, fans join together to create quite the spectacle.

The two players ran out of the tunnel in Steelers jerseys with the names and numbers of iconic and legendary players. Malkin wore the No. 43 for Troy Polamalu, while Letang chose Jack Lambert's 58. Smoke poured in behind them as they waved, jumped and did all manner of things to hype the crowd up.

As they began waving their towels, fans at Acrisure Stadium responded by doing the same while cheering at the top of their lungs. The crowd was ready for the game, the first one at home for the Steelers, to begin.

The Steelers would eventually ride that wave of hype to a huge victory. In a matchup of unbeaten AFC surprises in the early season, the Steelers' defense was impressive in totally shutting down the Chargers and earning a 20-10 win to keep them undefeated at 3-0.

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Kris Letang speaks on Terrible Towel Twirl

In Pittsburgh, sports are important. The Steelers know it, and so do the Penguins. In this case, the two came together to create a unique event. Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin, two longtime Penguins stars, got to hype the crowd up to open the NFL franchise's home season.

Kris Letang got to wave his Terrible Towel (Imagn)

Letang said via NHL:

"I think we're all kind of in the same boat and we're all living the same life, meaning, like Pittsburgh is all about their sports. What else am I going to do on Sunday in Pittsburgh? You know, it's part of their culture. Sundays are for football, it's for the Steelers. It's just being part of it. When we had the chance this Sunday, it was fun."

Letang said the Steelers have lent their players to plenty of Penguin games, so they had no qualms about returning the favor and experiencing the game in that fashion.