NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Keith Bulluck tried not to pull out the gift sent to him back in February. The Tennessee linebacker couldn't wait any longer to share when asked if he felt like a marked man when the Titans visit Pittsburgh to open the 2009 season.
He started to answer, then turned around to his locker and pulled out a Terrible Towel from the Steelers' Super Bowl with a note sent to him dated Feb. 16. The note read: "On behalf of Steelers Nation, we would like to present you with our new Terrible Towel. Hang this up in your locker room. Sincerely, the Black and Gold P.S.: I hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl."
Bulluck was among the Titans who stomped on yellow towels after a 31-14 win over Pittsburgh in Nashville last Dec. 21.
"So you tell me if I'm on their mind," Bulluck said Friday after a Titans minicamp session. "Look at the date. It's like a week and a half after they won the Super Bowl. So you tell me if I'm a marked man. You know what? I can't wait until we go to Pittsburgh."
The Titans open the 2009 season at Pittsburgh on Sept. 10 in a Thursday night game. Bulluck isn't planning on a repeat stomp at that game.
"In all due respect, after we win, I definitely will not be stomping on any towels," Bulluck said. "That's just utter disrespect. The only reason why it happened was because they came into our house waving their 15,000 towels or whatever, and they travel well. They're a proud organization. Steeler Nation they are, but we're not too worried about it."
Bulluck called it part of the game with some Steelers fan having fun with him. And yes, he's looking forward to the opener.
"It is a little extra motivation, not that I really needed it," he said.
LenDale White also swiped his foot across a towel after the December win, but he hasn't been sent any similar gifts himself. He isn't apologetic about stomping a towel either even though the Terrible Towel is revered by Steelers' fans.
"They came into the Titans arena waving those ugly yellow flags, and I stomped on one," White said. "If they wave it again, I'm going to stomp on another one. I'm the Terrible Towel Stomper forever. If people don't like it on this team or anywhere else, whatever. I don't think a towel stomp makes you play more hard or less hard."
Now if anyone does want to send something, White, who is proudly weighing in at a svelte 234 pounds, has a suggestion.
"I've seen the Big Ben Roethlisberger sandwich on TV, so if anybody wants to freeze and send one over, I'll be more than happy to eat it," White said of the sandwich named for Pittsburgh's quarterback.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
