As the Pittsburgh Steelers faced the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 16, Franco Harris had his number retired at halftime. NFL Network aired the ceremonies, but it wasn’t as prestigious as many Steelers’ fans had hoped.
Harris passed away on Dec. 20. As his jersey was being retired, his widow stood on the field as fans around the stadium chanted his name. But just as the Steelers were going to show a video tribute, NFL Network cut away from it improperly timed Intel commercial.
Viewers saw the Franco Harris jersey retirement ceremony. But when a video tribute was played at Acrisure Stadium, NFL Network went commercial. pic.twitter.com/lqHGwRteLm
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 25, 2022
After Steelers’ fans saw the NFL Network cut away from Harris’ ceremony, many took to Twitter to express their frustrations.
Jeff Vagell (@JeffVagle) wrote, “Superb Hall of Fame Steeler, but the NFL thought it best to get something more important than recognizing a great athlete, pathetic commentary on where the media is at and the NFL.”
Chris Harris (@8realestate) added, “Screwing up someone’s celebration of life is pretty low end for a large media organization. Unacceptable.”
Diana Kim (@k12d) chimed in with, “That was upsetting, I was looking forward to it – they even announced they were going to show it – what a lousy network.”
While these are just three opinions, the sentiment around Steelers’ fans remains the same. Alongside his ‘Immaculate Reception,’ Franco Harris was a beloved member of Pittsburgh’s organization. His jersey retirement was meant to be a way to honor his life and legacy.
The NFL Network decided that at that moment, an ad for Intel was more important.
Despite the NFL Network’s embarrassing decision, Steelers’ fans still showed their respect for Harris and everything he did for Pittsburgh. No matter what the NFL Network decided to do, Pittsburgh was sure to never let Harris’ No. 32 be forgotten.
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