Immaculate Reception Memorial

Being the young girl that I am, I am clearly way too young to remember all this hoopla concerning Franco Harris and the Immaculate whateva yinz call it. Oh, okay. Ha ha. I was barely a teenager at the time. But the play has been replayed about a million times since that great day. Plus, every time I fly, I come face to face with the Franco statue in the airport striking the famous pose. So today, I am feeling it. And feeling it even more after visiting the memorial.
The memorial is behind Stage AE. Along the sidewalk. Just minding it’s own business. The day we were their, we had Franco all to ourselves. We did the usual stupid tourist photos. Read the plaque. And we were transported back to the day. Can you imagine the pride and the excitement the city felt that day? The cheers of disbelief. The crowd going crazy. The very upset people that had already left the game or fled to the locker room. And Franco is still a beloved hero to this day. History is a great thing. And it’s nice that we finally have a memorial for commemorate this event.

A monument for perhaps the most famous moment in the NFL. With 20 seconds to go, the Steelers were down 7 – 6 to the hated Oakland Raiders. Terry Bradshaw took the snap and ducked out of the pocket, threw a pass to Frenchy Fuqua. The ball, Frenchy Fuqua, and Jack Tatum collided, the ball bouncing back towards Franco Harris, who made a shoestring catch and scrambled up the sideline to give the Steelers the victory! The play, very controversial, propelled the Steelers to be one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the NFL. This monument sits on the very spot Franco Harris caught the ball, the monument was dedicated on the 40^th anniversary of the greatest play in NFL history. Another great moment in Pittsburgh sports history immortalized.