Sometimes the Lazy Grasshopper Makes Out Okay…
SPORTS LEGEND: Franco Harris was in position to make the “Immaculate Reception” because he was being “lazy” on the play.
I think the alternate legend here should be “Can Brian seriously get three legends out of one play?”
And the answer is a resounding yes!
Hey, it’s not my fault that there are a lot of legends about this play! It’s one of the most famous plays in NFL history, after all!
In any event, as I’ve been telling you (both here and here), the “Immaculate Reception” is one of the most dramatic, unlikely and controversial plays in National Football League history.
Once again, here is the play…
Now, an interesting legend has arisen surrounding Franco Harris on the play, specifically that the only reason Harris was in position to catch the ball after it bounced off of defender Jack Tatum (or, as Tatum and many Raider fans believe, off of Tight End John Fuqua) was because Harris was slacking off on the play.
According to Raider linebacker Phil Villipiano (who is the guy who fails to take down Harris on the play), the only reason Harris was in the position to make the play is because he was not running as hard as he could from the get go, under the theory that it he was running hard from the start he would be much further than just the Raider 42 yard line (just 18 yards from where the Steelers just had the ball).
However, the fact of the matter is that on the play, Harris was meant to be a blocker on the passing play, in case that the Raiders blitzed (commit extra defenders to attacking the quarterback so that he cannot even get a play off, or at least not a good play). When it became apparent that they were NOT blitzing and that he had no one to block, THEN Harris ran down field in case his quarterback needed another option to throw to.
So, if your theory is that Franco Harris was only there to catch the “Immaculate Reception” because he was lazy, your theory would be…
STATUS: False
Thanks once again to bret3d for the clip!
Feel free (heck, I implore you!) to write in with your suggestions for future installments! My e-mail address is bcronin@legendsrevealed.com
Yeah, I’d never heard the “lazy” story – Harris’ version, which I first read in “the 30 greatest moments of the first 30 years of the NFL” that my mom got me from a used book store – always has been that when he realised Bradshaw couldn’t find anyone, he leaked out of the backfield (which you can clearly see), was picked up by a Raiders LB, and then happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Speaking of which… Tatum touched the ball. Although the goalpost makes it tough to tell for sure on the replay, you can make it out. He gets there first, Fuqua gets there a split-second later and causes the deflection, and the rest is history.
And this is coming from a Dolphins fan who hates both equally, so I think I’m a neutral observer.