'He was with us:' Steelers retire Harris' No. 32, honor him in fitting way

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. The big man was supposed to be standing right here next to me."

That's how Art Rooney II opened the halftime ceremony to retire Franco Harris' No. 32 on a night in which the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception was celebrated. 

The Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh were dealt a devastating blow when the news broke early Wednesday morning of Mr. Harris' death. And throughout the week, everyone in the organization wanted to find the right way to honor his legacy as a player and, more important, as a person.

They wound up honoring Mr. Harris in the most fitting way they could, defeating the Raiders, 13-10, on Christmas Eve at Acrisure Stadium.

"I'm just so thankful of the effort of the guys," Mike Tomlin said after the game. "We had a chance to be a part of Steeler history tonight and, man, we don't take that lightly. We're just so appreciative of the ground that's been laid by those that have come before us, the men like this man's jersey that I'm wearing right here.

"We get to enjoy the fruit of their labor daily, just in terms of the standard of the expectation here in Pittsburgh, the relationship that we have with our fan base. We just want to honor him, his teammates, and all the men that have come before us, man, that's made the black-and-gold what it is. So, we're just thankful to get the victory."

Tomlin wore Mr. Harris' jersey to the game, and wore it afterward, as well. But he wasn't the only one. Pat Freiermuth came up with the idea earlier this week for the players and coaches to honor Mr. Harris by wearing his No. 32 jersey. The idea caught fire, even general manager Omar Kahn took part in it.

But that was just one part of a truly special night in Pittsburgh. While the actual attendance was well short of the announced paid attendance of 64,761, more fans than expected braved the sub-zero wind chill and made their way into the stadium. And every single one of them cheered loudly in unison when Cam Heyward wrapped up the introduction of the defense by running out of the tunnel waving a flag bearing Mr. Harris' No. 32, then came to a quiet hush during a moment of silence prior to kickoff to honor his memory.

After a disappointing opening 30 minutes of the game that had the Steelers trailing, 10-3, the attitude quickly shifted in anticipation of the halftime ceremony to retire Mr. Harris' No. 32, joining Ernie Stautner's No. 70 and Joe Greene's No. 75 as the third number officially retired by the franchise.

In honor of Mr. Harris and the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception, several members of the 1972 Steelers were in attendance, including Greene, Mel Blount, Frenchy Fuqua, Mike Wagner and Roy Gerela.

In Mr. Harris' place next to Rooney were his wife, Dana Dokmanovich, and son, Dok. Rooney followed his opening statement with short but heartfelt words to make the retirement of his number official.

"I want to thank Dana and Dok for being here tonight, and for sharing Franco with us for the last 50 years," Rooney said. "It's been said life will bring you sorrow, but it's up to us to bring the joy. Franco brought us joy for 50 years. So, in recognition of his many contributions both on and off the field, it's my honor to declare No. 32 is officially retired."

At that moment, Mr. Harris' 1972 teammates stood up and began waving their Terrible Towels as the crowd began chanting, "FRANCO, FRANCO, FRANCO!"

In contrast to the lackluster moments we've witnessed during the 2022 season, this was one of the highlights in this stadium's history.

Then, the Steelers played a video tribute to the life and legacy of Mr. Harris (6:50 mark of the video):

The Steelers ended up finishing a game in a way that honors the standard set by Mr. Harris and the great teams of the 1970s. It wasn't pretty. It definitely wasn't perfect. But in the end, the Steelers did what they needed to do in order to win.

Trailing, 10-6, in the final minute of the game, Kenny Pickett helped lead the offense down the field to try and do something they had failed to do throughout the night: Get the ball in the end zone. And with the ball on the Raiders' 14-yard line with no timeouts remaining, Pickett found George Pickens over the middle for a touchdown to take the lead with :46 left on the clock.

The defense would force their third interception of the game on the Raiders' attempt to come back, clinching a must-needed victory to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Even with all the emotions of the week, that was ultimately their main focus: Taking care of business and winning the football game.

"We're professionals. Football is our game; our business is winning," Tomlin said. "We're going to be in an emotionally charged environment from time to time, ceremonially or just weight of the game. I just think that's part of professional football. We’ve got to find ways to compartmentalize that and do what's required, which is play winning football. Make no mistake about it, it was a significant game, but it's probably just a significant game because so many of our guys are young and they stood up tonight, and it was a growth outing probably more than anything."

There couldn't be a more appropriate way to honor Mr. Harris. His Immaculate Reception was the catalyst for the Steelers' rise to excellence in the 1970s, forever changing the franchise. The players didn't lose sight of that. In his postgame interview with NFL Network, Pickett beautifully said, "I felt like he was with us tonight."

However, Heyward's words after the game perfectly encapsulated the importance of the night -- what it meant for this season, the franchise and its future, the city and the fans.

"I think for us it was just a tip of a cap to not only just a Steeler legend, but a great man, a person in this community who you could always count on, a guy that even when he retired, he still wanted to be your teammate," Heyward said. "I can say from my time being here, Franco was welcoming me with open arms. With everything building up to this and getting the chance to talk to Franco, I think there are so many joyous moments we've had with him, and it hurt so many in this community to lose a guy like that. But you knew he lived a full life, and you knew he was loved by so many people. There are so many outstanding men that love him, Mean Joe [Greene], Mel Blount, countless others, Terry Bradshaw, they talk to Mike T, myself, Najee Harris. Decades and decades go on, but we still cared for a man that brought so much to us. To just say that we loved him, we'll continue to love him, and we appreciate all that's done for us."

Barring a miracle comeback, the Steelers will likely fail to make the playoffs this season. And even if they do happen to make it, they'll have a very tough hill to climb to chase a seventh Lombardi Trophy.

But, the 2022 Steelers did find a way to deliver a memorable and beautiful night -- one that Mr. Harris deserved.

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