NFL world reacts to Steelers players arriving to stadium wearing Franco Harris' No. 32 jersey: 'Awesome tribute'

Jacob Camenker

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NFL world reacts to Steelers players arriving to stadium wearing Franco Harris' No. 32 jersey: 'Awesome tribute' image

The Steelers found a unique way to honor the late, great Franco Harris on Christmas Eve just days after his death at 72.

The entire Pittsburgh team wore Harris' jersey ahead of their Saturday night game against the Raiders.

The Steelers released a video that showed many of their stars — including Mike Tomlin, T.J. Watt and Kenny Pickett — arriving at Acrisure Stadium. All of them were clad in the iconic No. 32 jersey.

TSN ARCHIVES: 'The Immaculate Reception' as The Sporting News covered it (Jan. 6, 1973, issue)

The Steelers were praised universally for their decision to honor Harris in such a fashion. Many NFL fans and media personalities voiced their support of the move on Twitter.

The Steelers are set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the "Immaculate Reception" during Saturday's game. The play — which saw Harris catch a deflected pass and take it to the end-zone for a game-winning touchdown — is regarded as one of the greatest plays in NFL history and the best of his career.

The Steelers are also set to retire Harris' jersey at Saturday night's game. That will make him just the third player in team history to have his jersey retired, joining defensive lineman Ernie Stautner (No. 75) and Hall of Famer "Mean" Joe Greene (No. 70).

Harris was originally expected to attend the game before his unexpected death. He may not be in attendance, but the Steelers are doing everything they can to make sure that his presence is felt on Saturday night.

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.