House Speaker Paul Ryan might have offended Cleveland Browns fans at the RNC. (AP)

Following the GOP script during the pre-election cycle the past year or so has been an interesting ride of the unexpected. So there shouldn’t be a shock by what others might view as a horrific faux pas.

Paul Ryan, the House Speaker and leader of the Republican Party — a fierce Green Bay Packers fan, mind you — stepped out at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland an interesting way: by waving the famous Terrible Towel of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Proof it happened:

Look at Paul Ryan waving a Terrible Towel….. in Cleveland… pic.twitter.com/vdsDYHY71I — LizzLocker (@Lizzs_Lockeroom) July 18, 2016

Even more proof:

So savage! My goodness. Coming out in a Johnny Manziel jersey might have been the only worse option.

The crowd appears completely paralyzed by the move. It’s a natural response to almost anything that happens involving politicians these days. Cleveland Browns fans might still be a bit anesthetic following the Cavs’ NBA title run. But the locals seeing their hated rival team’s most hated symbol waved in their faces might be a bit much, eh?

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Once more Steelers fans have to be laughing at their little brother rivals at the sight of this. The Browns face the Steelers twice a season, and yet they’ve managed only three head-to-head victories since November 2003 (that’s a span of 25 games) against Pittsburgh. Just … ouch.

Look, no one saw Donald Trump getting this far, so who are we to judge on unorthodox political strategy? But even this just feels wrong.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!