Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

The revolution will be supervised.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

“More of this”, i said to the dog.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Make The World A Better Place / Acts of Kindness: Franco Harris, RIP

Acts of Kindness: Franco Harris, RIP

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As I said this morning to geg6, even this non-football fan knew who Franco was. The President weighs in:

Franco Harris

 

President Joe Biden
31m •
Say the name Franco Harris and most everyone talks about the catch, the Super Bowls, and the glory he brought to the game of football. But in the fifty years we bonded as friends, I always talked about his character and compassion.

Fifty years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers had just finished a dominant regular season with their first division title. They celebrated Christmas just days after beating the Oakland Raiders on one of the most famous plays in NFL history – the last-second Immaculate Reception by their rookie running back, Franco Harris. While the Steelers would barely lose the conference championship game to the undefeated Miami Dolphins, Franco went on to a Hall of Fame career that led the Steelers to four Super Bowl titles in six years as the dominant team of the 1970’s.

But that’s not why the Pittsburgh Steelers – and Franco – are close to my heart.

It was this week fifty years ago when my first wife and infant daughter were killed and my two young sons were badly injured in a car accident while they were out getting a Christmas tree. I had just been elected to the U.S. Senate and I was in Washington when I got the call and rushed home to Delaware.

I rarely left my boys’ bedside until they got better. But one day I did to go shopping for them. When I returned, they were smiling for the first time since the accident. Art Rooney, the generous and honorable owner of the Steelers, had flown out with a couple of players, including Franco, and the tough as nails Rocky Bleier. Busy with their own lives, they took the time to be with my boys, sign footballs, and then left with no publicity. A small act of kindness that meant the world to us.

Sports have a powerful way of bringing people together. As families gather for Christmas this weekend, there will be countless Pittsburgh Steeler and Penn State fans sharing stories of Franco with their children and grandchildren who will discover his greatness on the field. But I know there will also be countless families like mine that will remember him for all that he did to lift our spirits when we needed it – in the most quiet, personal, and American of ways. We don’t have to ask. We show up. We reach out. We share a compassion that is a source of our enduring strength as a nation.

The last few times I saw Franco were in September and November of 2020 on the campaign trail in Latrobe and Pittsburgh. This week of all weeks, my family remembers him and keeps him close to our hearts.
May God bless, Franco Harris – a dear friend, a good man, and a great American.
May God bless the love of his life Dana, their family, and all of Steeler Nation.

 

And for his true fans, here’s his interview yesterday.

Can I just say, I did not realize that horrible car accident happened on the way to get a Christmas tree. I don’t know why but that makes it even more awful in my mind.

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39Comments

  5. 5.

    SpaceUnit

    Also, this New Years Eve will mark 50 years since Roberto Clemente lost his life flying relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

    So pour one out for a legend.

  6. 6.

    David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch

    I cried when I heard the news. Something I rarely do.

    He was such a great guy. My mom had the biggest crush on him. And he campaigned hard for President Obama.

    I know he was 72, but his passing seems too soon. Perhaps because of the Immaculate Reception he’s seems forever young.

  8. 8.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Almost every Christmas we drove from Boston to Pittsburgh to be with my Dad’s family.  The Steelers, Steel Curtain,  and especially Franco Harris, forever loomed over everything in that world.  We’d curse Bubby (f***ing) Brister and wonder if the Stillerz would ever be good again.  Sad day to lose such an icon and an apparently good guy.

  11. 11.

    JPL

    Biden’s message was from the heart and that is only one of the reasons he is such a great man.

    Harris’ was a great player and a great man.

  12. 12.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @raven: Legendary.  Though I think, stats-wise, there have been even better D-lines since.  But the Steel Curtain was one of the first to get such widespread popularity and star power.

  16. 16.

    The Moar You Know

    Still trying to get used to a president who doesn’t try to glom onto a winner and steal their glory.

  18. 18.

    Brachiator

    The last few times I saw Franco were in September and November of 2020 on the campaign trail in Latrobe and Pittsburgh. This week of all weeks, my family remembers him and keeps him close to our hearts.

    May God bless, Franco Harris – a dear friend, a good man, and a great American.
    May God bless the love of his life Dana, their family, and all of Steeler Nation.

    I didn’t know much about Harris’ life off the field. This is a wonderful tribute. It says much about Franco Harris. May he rest in peace.

    And this tribute says so much about our wonderful president. Such a well-grounded, decent human being.

  23. 23.

    kindness

    Yea, stuff like this is why I consider him President Uncle Joe.

    Genuine niceness isn’t an easy thing to come by in politicians.

  25. 25.

    BigJimSlade

    Aw, dang. He was my favorite player in the 70s. When my friends and I would play cremation, I would always be Franco Harris when I had the ball.
    (Rules of cremation: get a few kids on a lawn, through a football up in the air. Whoever catches it runs around like a chicken with its head cut off until the others make the tackle. Repeat until you hit your knee on a sprinkler.)
    For the record, when I didn’t have the ball I was Mean Joe Greene.

  31. 31.

    Nancy

    @BigJimSlade:

    I remember them and Roberto Clemente. In north western PA, Pittsburgh was the big city and the games were always on the radio. Background of my young life.

  32. 32.

    Cacti

    Seemed like a decent fellow off the field. The Steelers dynasty was winding down right about the time I was becoming aware of pro sports, so no memories of him as a player. Just the old highlight reels.

    Can’t help but wonder about whether he had CTE.

  33. 33.

    Tinare

    So sad that this happened days before the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception as he was due to be feted for that. I’m a native yinzer and PSU grad and saw him over the years at events in the city and on campus when I was a student. He always seemed to be a genuine good guy.

  35. 35.

    gratuitous

    What the hell kind of tribute is that, Mr. Biden? Aren’t you going to tell us the story about how you tackled Franco Harris with one hand, and how he got up, with tears in his eyes (And you know that Harris isn’t the kind of guy who cries very often), and said, “Sir, that was the greatest tackle I’ve ever seen!” Nobody could believe it.

    See, that’s how you give a tribute: Make it all about yourself!

  37. 37.

    Lehrjet

    Long time Steelers fan, really beautiful tribute by Uncle Joe. Yeah this one hurts, Franco was , on or off the field,one of the best.

  38. 38.

    geg6

    @Cacti:

    Very doubtful.  I knew him slightly and went to high school with his wife.  He was out campaigning for Fetterman this fall.  Nothing seemed wrong with him except natural aging.

  39. 39.

    Paul in KY

    @SpaceUnit: Roberto was my favorite non-Reds player back when I was a kid. I was so sad when he lost his life trying to help a nation recover from a horrible earthquake.

    That’s the kind of dude he was. On my personal all star team, he’ll always be patrolling right field.

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