It was halftime, and it wasn’t going to be a typical one. The temporary stage was assembled. The former players who wanted to be there in person to honor their teammate and friend even though it was bitterly cold and Christmas Eve at that, were seated in the folding chairs adjacent to the stage with their Terrible Towels at the ready. It was time. Time to do what everyone came to see, what was the highlight of the Steelers 2022 regular season schedule, what had been planned for months.
Steelers President Art Rooney II stood on the stage behind the microphone and began. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Rooney said. “The big man was supposed to be with us tonight.”
“The big man” to whom Rooney referred was Franco Harris, and by the time this game was over it felt like Harris was there with them, doing what he had done so many times for the Steelers – help them win a football game.
Back in
