New Footage! Immaculate Reception - Catch and End of Game including Referee's Phone Call

Comments · 2.1K

• KA

  @kayanncee8291 · 3 years ago

  Can we take a moment to remember Franco Harris, who passed away today, December 21, 2022 at the age of 72.  The Steelers had a celebration planned for this Saturday where they were set to retire his jersey.

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• ST

  @stevegold7307 · 8 months ago

  When the NFL was actually watchable...

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• BR

  @brucechelemer328 · 9 months ago

  The play that changed a city forever, an entire region of the country.

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• GH

  @ghs5216 · 3 years ago (edited)

  Was there with both my brothers, may they rest in peace, my dad and best friend, and yes we ran into the end zone after Franco scored.

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• LE

  @leogetz3570 · 3 years ago

  Something I've always noticed about this....  If you closely watch Franco from the start of the play, you see him staying in the backfield as a blocker.  When he has no one to block, he looks back and sees Bradshaw scrambling, then he takes off downfield to become an emergency check down receiver just in case.  That's why he was in the right place at the right time

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• ST

  @stephenhanft1226 · 3 years ago (edited)

  I grew up a die-hard Raiders fan. In 1972, I was 7 years old. The 1972 season was my first NFL season watching football and this was the very first playoff game I watched. After Stabler engineered a terrific 80 yard touchdown drive to take the lead capped off by his great 30 yard touchdown run, I was so happy. I surely thought the Raiders had this game won. The Immaculate Reception broke my heart. It was the luckiest play in NFL history. That play was like winning the lottery. The odds of a play like that happening are at least one million to one (probably more). While everyone was watching the Steelers and their fans celebrating in jubilation, I focused on the Raiders reactions. To see the look on the faces of Madden, Stabler, etc., My heart broke for them. To lose a postseason game on a fluke play like that must have been the most devastating loss possible. However, from that game came 2 positives for me. First, it started what I consider the greatest rivalry in NFL history. Second, from the heartbreak of that loss, I became a life-long Raiders fan.<br><br>Now, as far as the play is concerned and the controversy surrounding it. Franco caught that ball. It never hit the ground nor was it trapped. I think that is very clear. Villipiano was not clipped. In order for a block to be a clip, he had to have been blocked from behind. He wasn&apos;t. The Tight End clearly came in from the side to throw the block. That&apos;s not clipping. Finally, the biggest controversy of all. Who touched the ball that was deflected to Franco. The rules at the time stated that one offensive receiver could not be the only one to touch the ball deflected to another offensive receiver catching it. A defensive player has to also touch the ball, at some point, to make that play legal. Tatum touched the ball. From every replay, it clearly shows the ball bouncing off Tatum&apos;s shoulder/chest. Now, the ball might&apos;ve also touched Frenchy&apos;s hand. While that&apos;s not clear from the video, it is a possibility. However, since Tatum touched the ball, it doesn&apos;t matter whether or not Frenchy touched it. Just by Tatum touching it made the play legal and legitimate. Also, it doesn&apos;t matter if Frenchy touched it first or last. As long as Tatum touched the ball, the play was legal. For it to be illegal, Frenchy had to be the only one touch it while Tatum never touched it. That&apos;s what biased Raiders fans who can&apos;t be objective want to believe. However, that&apos;s just not realistic nor the truth as to what happened based on all video evidence. It was a legal play. The ultimate lucky plat but legal. This analysis is coming from a Raiders fan who absolutely loved the old Raiders teams of the 70&apos;s and wished they had won this game and won more Super Bowls than they did. I&apos;m just not going to lie about this play. I have to be honest.

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• JA

  @jamesparker7729 · 3 years ago

  The late Great Curt Gowdy on the call. One of the greatest announcers, baseball or football, of that era and of all time. Every game he called kept you in suspense and on the edge of your seat.

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• GE

  @georgeclark7208 · 9 months ago

  My family all watched this game because Franco was from our local high school. It was very exciting to watch a local guy do good.

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• JI

  @jimnasium452 · 2 years ago

  Jack Tatum arguing all those years that he never touched the ball is professional level gaslighting.

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• EM

  @emsteph · 9 months ago

  Love how, during the extra point, a Raiders player is standing in the end zone with his helmet off just watching.

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• ST

  @stevemaraccini3062 · 3 years ago

  As a lifetime Raiders fan, this is still painful to watch. I was a sophomore in high school in the Bay Area at the time and was still celebrating what I thought was Kenny Stabler&apos;s game winning touchdown when Franco stole it. For years, I hated Franco and the Steelers, and bought into the controversy surrounding the play. Later, I realized what a brilliant effort it was by Franco to go to the ball and legally make a great catch, then head to the end zone. In retrospect, there is no question that Jack Tatum touched the ball. I just never wanted to believe it. Franco was a class act, and I was very saddened by his passing. RIP #32.🙏 It still hurts to see the play, but I&apos;ve learned to appreciate it. It&apos;s always a pure pleasure to hear the great Curt Gowdy and big Al DeRogatis. IMO, the best team I&apos;ve ever heard. I sure miss those AFL/AFC games on NBC with greats like Charlie Jones and Jim Simpson. They all knew how to let the action do the talking instead of the incessant rambling that we hear now.

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• TO

  @tomschoenke5052 · 3 years ago

  When Curt Gowdy says he&apos;s never seen anything like this, &nbsp;you know this is the beginning of crazy, improbable plays. &nbsp;The next level up is 10 years later when the Cal-Stanford play with the &quot;band on the field.&quot; &nbsp;Gowdy was the unofficial sports historian of his time.

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