This particular episode of this series appeared on Sky's NFL channel recently, both as the 50th anniversary arrived and as a tribute to Franco Harris, who passed away. Though the documentary was fine, it does perhaps promise a little more than it delivers.
In the 1972 AFC divisional game, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the (then) Oakland Raiders. The Raiders were the more successful team, with the teams that defeated them regularly going on winning the Super Bowl. Losing, on a fourth down, and with only 22 seconds left to play, Pittsburgh QB Terry Bradshaw threw a pass that rebounded off the helmet of Raiders player Jack Tatum and to Franco Harris, who ran in a game winning touchdown for the Steelers. The play is controversial for a number of reasons and established a bitter rivalry between the teams.
It's a controversy that endures because there's not footage that establishes exactly what happens. There is another Steelers player, John Fuqua, next to Tatum who was the intended target of the pass and if he touches the ball - which he is very close to - it should have been an incomplete pass and the ball should have passed to Oakland. In additional, the ball is very close to the ground as Harris catches it. No footage exists that proves conclusively either of these arguments and the players involved, even to this documentary, refuse to budge on the idea that they were right.
There are some interesting aspects, such as seeing the game ball that is in the locked vault of Jim Baker, a man who was at the game. There are some less interesting aspects, such as the CIA guy, whose watched the footage intensively but isn't able to provide any more insight than what you would gather from seeing it yourself.
The interviews with the players are quite good, and its clear that some of the bitterness about the situation still hasn't dissipated.
In the 1972 AFC divisional game, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the (then) Oakland Raiders. The Raiders were the more successful team, with the teams that defeated them regularly going on winning the Super Bowl. Losing, on a fourth down, and with only 22 seconds left to play, Pittsburgh QB Terry Bradshaw threw a pass that rebounded off the helmet of Raiders player Jack Tatum and to Franco Harris, who ran in a game winning touchdown for the Steelers. The play is controversial for a number of reasons and established a bitter rivalry between the teams.
It's a controversy that endures because there's not footage that establishes exactly what happens. There is another Steelers player, John Fuqua, next to Tatum who was the intended target of the pass and if he touches the ball - which he is very close to - it should have been an incomplete pass and the ball should have passed to Oakland. In additional, the ball is very close to the ground as Harris catches it. No footage exists that proves conclusively either of these arguments and the players involved, even to this documentary, refuse to budge on the idea that they were right.
There are some interesting aspects, such as seeing the game ball that is in the locked vault of Jim Baker, a man who was at the game. There are some less interesting aspects, such as the CIA guy, whose watched the footage intensively but isn't able to provide any more insight than what you would gather from seeing it yourself.
The interviews with the players are quite good, and its clear that some of the bitterness about the situation still hasn't dissipated.
