For those of you who are not fortunate enough to be Pittsburgh born and bred, the above photo shows what greets your arrival at the Pittsburgh airport, right before you descend to baggage claim — side-by-side statues of George Washington and Franco Harris.
(If you’re unfamiliar with Franco, he’s probably best known for his “Immaculate Reception“.)
UPDATE: Note that this opinion is now officially endorsed by the current administration. Take that Arizona!
Cosmic Variance is a group blog by people who, coincidentally or not, all happen to be physicists and astrophysicists:
Our day (and night) jobs notwithstanding, the blog is about whatever we find interesting — science, to be sure, but also arts, politics, culture, technology, academia, and miscellaneous trivia. We have similar outlooks on many things, widely disparate opinions about others, and will do our best to keep the discourse reasonably elevated.
February 1st, 2009 at 8:38 am
The funniest thing about this is that the “Immaculate Reception” was blatantly illegal (at the time), but the referees were scared of what the Steelers’ fans would do if they reversed the call and so let it stand; thereby screwing over the Raiders one more time. It is funny that the chosen statue to salute the Steelers was of a man in a pose breaking the rules (the pose is the catch by Franco of a reflected pass, at the time only the first person to touch the ball could legally catch it). But, I am still rooting for the Steelers because my Bears turned out to be who we thought they were.
February 1st, 2009 at 10:37 am
Every time I fly back into the city I see this statue and laugh at how purely awesome this city is. Let’s all hope for a blowout.
February 1st, 2009 at 11:14 am
Anyone, especially scientists, who knows about force and vectors must realize that for the ball to go back in the direction of qb Bradshaw it had to be hit first by the Oakland Raider defender (Jack Tatum). In no way would the ball have gone backwards if it had been hit by the Steeler receiver (Frency Fuqua) who was moving in the direction of the pass. For the first commenter to assume that the refs were dishonest, frightened, and utterly inept is an old canard put forth by Raider fans who cannot and will not accept the fact that they were defeated by a team that they still believe was inferior.
February 1st, 2009 at 11:28 am
As a die-hard San Francisco fan I do not want the Steelers to get that sixth Superbowl Ring. Go Arizona!!!!!
February 1st, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Thanks Dad!
February 1st, 2009 at 4:55 pm
In the picture, the statue of Harris looks rather embarrassed. Perhaps this is a tacit
Anyone care to wager whether
admission of the controversy surrounding his catch
a raiders fan was actually commissioned to do the statue…
February 1st, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Wow, what a game. Sorry we didn’t get to see an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl, but congrats to the Stillers.
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:39 am
Sure, root for the team that already had 5 Super Bowl wins and going for a record 6th – instead of for one of the oldest NFL franchises to have never won a Super Bowl. Please don’t be who I thought you weren’t.
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:11 am
In response to Tomkow: i actually didn’t watch the game (too busy removing psf’s from DES 62-chip simulations etc. .. in fact, to be honest, don’t think i’ve watched a football game since junior high), but i for one am *glad* that the CV authors post whatever they want, here (and a large fraction of it *is* science still) .
In a typical day, i don’t have time to visit many blogs, CV and Tommaso Dorigo’s (http://dorigo.wordpress.com/, more heavily particle physics), may be the only ones, and i’m glad to be made aware at least a teeny bit of things outside of the science world, through at least whatever interests the CV authors have.. :->
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Kevin — I can totally recognize the “fairness doctrine” issues, but I spent the first couple decades of my life in Pittsburgh, and I just can’t give it up. Throughout the 70’s, the Steelers gave Pittsburgh something to be proud of, in the midst of the fall of the US steel industry, the closure of local mines, and the subsequent economic fallout. It’s still the same. Last time the Steelers were in the Super Bowl, they held a rally in Pittsburgh the week before, and thirty-frakkin-thousand people showed up. That is the sign of a town that loves its team. (The Seahawks were in the same game, and a large fraction of the city didn’t seem to even notice).
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I’ve flown into Pittsburgh at least six or seven times in the last ten years, but I’ve never seen those statues. The Fred Rogers display and the dinosaur skeleton, yes, but not those guys.
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Sounds similar to the magic bullet controversy… I watched the game at a party hosted by a Steelers fan who wore a “lucky helmet” on a chain around his neck. I for one was sure glad the Steelers won…
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:35 am
It is as widely debated as the single bullet theory, particularly in Pgh and Oakland. The debate’s been raging for years. Recently I found a clip on YouTube done by NFL Films which pretty clearly shows that the correct call was made. Nice to have proof after all this time.
February 8th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Football officials make very unpopular calls all the time. To claim that they were afraid to reverse the call is ludicrous. The situation was like the current play review policy – if there’s not indisputable evidence that the wrong call was made, the ruling on the field stands.
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:39 pm
[...] just got back from Pittsburgh, a city famous for honoring football players along with Fathers of our country. Apparently they recently won some sort of sporting contest, so [...]