Part of the reason why some Pittsburgh Steelers fans are convinced that their team has had so much trouble with the Raiders in recent years — five losses in seven tries since 2006 — is that the Steelers haven’t been emotionally prepared for the Raiders.
The theory being that the Steelers overlooked the Raiders or didn’t take them seriously because of their place in the standings or their mediocre reputation in recent years. The franchise has just one playoff appearance since 2002.
Perhaps this year will be different. It’ll be tough for the Steelers to take Las Vegas lightly in the home opener after the Raiders won an exciting overtime contest against the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens.
And if a recent on-field result from last Monday isn’t enough to grab the team’s attention, maybe a little trash talk over a game from almost half a century ago will light a fire.
That’s because this week Vegas quarterback Derek Carr committed what is deemed to be a mortal sin in Western Pennsylvania. He questioned the legitimacy of Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception touchdown to beat the Raiders during the 1972 playoffs at Three Rivers Stadium.
Born in Fresno and raised in Bakersfield, Carr grew up in a Raiders fan household and rooted for the team he now quarterbacks. So even though Carr was born 19 years after Harris’ legendary play, Carr has a particular sensitivity to the topic.
That was evident during a Wednesday press conference when a reporter asked Carr about his personal connection to the history of the Steelers-Raiders rivalry. The reporter mentioned the Immaculate Reception and Carr jumped in mid-question.
“That ball touched the ground,” Carr said with a smile at about 8:50 of this video.
First of all, Derek, no, it didn’t.
We tend to agree with this one ????
The #️⃣1️⃣ play in the #NFL100 Greatest Plays countdown is @francoharrishof‘s Immaculate Reception! pic.twitter.com/GHfennVlaO
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 21, 2019
No camera angle even makes it look close. The only reason Raiders fans can manufacture that case is that, in 1972, the cameras weren’t as clear as they are today.
Secondly (and it feels like we have to rehash this for fans in Las Vegas or Oakland or Los Angeles or wherever that franchise is calling home every year or two), the controversy over the Immaculate Reception at the time wasn’t about the ball hitting the ground.
It was about if Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum or Terry Bradshaw’s intended receiver John “Frenchy” Fuqua touched the pass first. Because back then, the rules stated the first offensive player who touches a forward pass had to be the player to end up catching it, unless “a [defensive] player touches [the] pass first, or simultaneously with or subsequent to its having been touched by only one [offensive] player, then all [offensive] players become and remain eligible.”
The debate was — and always has been — if Fuqua or Tatum touched it before Harris. Again, with the way the ball rockets back toward Harris, the most likely conclusion is that Tatum hit it. But at least that’s debatable.
If any Raiders fan (or quarterback, apparently) chooses to remember the debate accurately.
“Everyone likes to talk like Franco didn’t catch the ball,” defensive end Cameron Heyward said Thursday. “Let’s just be honest. Raiders-Steelers are always full of shenanigans.”
To be fair to Carr, he then went on to gush about the history of the rivalry and tradition of the Steelers franchise. So, this likely won’t rise to the level of bulletin board material in the Steelers locker room, unless Harris, Fuqua or Bradshaw happen to be walking through it.
Check that. “Mean” Joe Greene still is around the team a bit. If he says Carr’s comment is something you should be mad about, you best get mad quick.
But seeing as how fans and media tend to take this stuff far more seriously than the players — especially those born 25 years after it happened — they’ll likely need no such inspiration from Greene to let Carr hear their frustrations from Section 502.
Specifically those who are old enough to remember the play from when it actually happened.
After all, what was it that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said this week? “You go to college environments, the home team (fans) root for their team. You go to a professional environment, they root against the visitor.”
Well, Carr made himself the easiest target on the field for Steelers fans at Heinz Field to root against Sunday.
The ones who are, you know, about 60 or older anyway.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
