Franco Harris is gone, but he will never be forgotten by the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans.
The Steelers hosted the Las Vegas Raiders Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium. The game, televised by the NFL Network, was originally promoted to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Harris’ “Immaculate Reception” in a playoff game against the Raiders on Dec. 23, 1972.
But the legendary Steelers running back died unexpectedly in his sleep on Dec. 20, at age 72. So the Raiders-Steelers game instead became a tribute to the man who meant so much to Steelers history, and remained a fan favorite almost 40 years after his retirement.
The tributes to Harris and his No. 32 were everywhere. Pittsburgh players and coaches entered the stadium wearing No. 32 Harris jerseys. They went through pregame warmups with the jerseys.
Defensive star Cam Heyward charged out of the tunnel before the game carrying a huge No. 32 flag. The crowd loved it. There were cheers. And tears.
.@CamHeyward running out with the #32 flag for Franco. 🙌
📺: #LVvsPIT on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/6T9OLhoI3l— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2022
The pregame ceremonies featured a moment of silence for Harris.
A moment of silence for the late, great Franco Harris. 💛🖤 @steelers | #Immaculate50 pic.twitter.com/CiSxICBX7P
— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2022
No. 32 jerseys were everywhere. Kudos to the NFL Network for a skillful pivot in their coverage. Plenty of planning went into what was originally supposed to be a celebration of the “Immaculate Reception,” but instead turned into a tribute to Harris in a matter of days. (The network did catch some flak from fans for cutting to commercial just as the stadium aired a highlight tribute to Harris.)
In the halftime ceremony, Steelers owner Art Rooney II spoke for everyone.
“Steelers fans, it wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Rooney said (H/T Dejan Kovacevic, DK Pittsburgh Sports.) “The big man was supposed to be here standing right beside me.”
