Cowher sounds the siren for his Hurricanes

By Tricia Lafferty, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

RALEIGH, N.C. — Cranking the Hurricanes' warning siren with his right hand and grasping a white Carolina rally towel with his left hand — sans his Super Bowl XL ring — Bill Cowher no longer bleeds black and gold.

Not with his hockey preference anyway.

Sporting a red button-down shirt, Cowher — a Crafton native and an iconic former Steeler coach — served as the "siren sounder" Tuesday night at RBC Center before the Penguins' 4-1 series-clinching victory against the Hurricanes.

Since Cowher moved to Raleigh two years ago, the North Carolina State graduate has taken a liking to the Hurricanes — and seemingly betrayed the Penguins. That gets sticky considering Cowher patrolled the Steelers sidelines for 15 seasons, won a Super Bowl in 2006 and had a street named after him in Crafton.

"Right now, I'm in Raleigh," Cowher said in a television interview with Versus' Christine Simpson. "I got to know (Hurricanes associate head coach and former Penguin) Ron Francis, and (Carolina center) Matt Cullen is a neighbor of mine. All of a sudden, they've gotten on this run. I said I wouldn't miss a playoff game, and I've missed two."

Though Cowher provided a vague answer when asked how he could abandon his Pittsburgh alliance for this series, it was obvious last night that he was pulling for the Hurricanes.

Cowher did admit that he would jump on the Penguins' bandwagon if the Hurricanes were eliminated.

"I'll take this white (Carolina rally towel) and replace it with a gold one," he said. "Absolutely. I'm an Eastern Conference guy. Whichever of these teams comes out, I'll be pulling for them."

The pregame festivities started with a spirited high-five between Cowher and Stormy, the Carolina mascot. As Stormy stood behind Cowher and cheered him on, an animated Cowher assumed his duties as the Game 4 "siren sounder." Cowher first raised his hands, encouraging the Carolina fans to make some noise. Then, he put his hand to his ear before Hurricane fans cheered and the Penguins fans in attendance waved their Terrible Towels and booed in disappointment.

All smiles and enthusiastically cranking the handle of the official Hurricanes warning siren for about a minute, Cowher seemed to have no problem cheering against the Penguins and the city where he was born, raised and adored by Steeler Nation.

"I remember him as a guy from Pittsburgh, so it's a little disappointing, maybe, to see him there, but that's fine," Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said after yesterday's morning skate.

After taking part in the Carolina tradition that started this season, Cowher posed for pictures with Stormy. Cowher was quickly escorted to his seat by the Carolina media relations staff and did not speak to reporters.

Cowher has become a fixture at Carolina games this postseason and was the "siren sounder" during Game 3 of the Hurricanes' first two series. Other notable sports figures - including Carolina Panthers Pro Bowler Steve Smith, 1980 U.S. Olympic goaltender Jim Craig, 2002 Stanley Cup member Bates Battaglia and N.C. State men's basketball coach Sidney Lowe - who have cranked the siren have close ties to North Carolina.

Cowher, though, is a relatively new to the area, aside from his stint at N.C. State.

"We've met him," Carolina forward Scott Walker said. "I guess it's different to see him smile and talk to you normally out on the side of the street without kind of spittin' and growlin' at ya. He's a good man. We like it, because the fans here are passionate about their football, and they love Bill Cowher. Anything he can do to help us is great."

Cowher didn't enhance his once-supportive fanbase in Pittsburgh. He rubbed many of them the wrong way with his new hockey alliance.

"I don't like it," said Penguins fan Kyle Patton, of Johnstown. "We love Bill Cowher, but when you look at him, you think black and gold, not red."

Carolina coach Paul Maurice said before last night's game that he hoped Cowher would improve upon his previous record of 1-1 as the "siren sounder."

"(Cowher) was sour after his first effort because we lost," Maurice said. "Clearly he felt a lot better about his second, so we got him going, too. We're expecting (a win). It's all on him."