Editing Immaculate Reception (section)

== Aftermath ==
The week after this playoff victory, the Steelers lost the AFC Championship Game, 21–17, to the Miami Dolphins,<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1972.htm| title= 1972 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics | work= Pro-Football-Reference.com| publisher= Sports Reference LLC| access-date= December 28, 2017}}</ref> who went on to win [[Super Bowl VII]] in their landmark [[undefeated season]]. Had the Raiders advanced to the AFC Championship Game instead, they would have entered that contest with an all-time record (including playoffs) of 6–1–1 against the Dolphins.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/game_query.cgi?tm1=rai&tm2=mia&yr=all| title= All Matchups, Raiders vs. Dolphins | work= Pro-Football-Reference.com| publisher= Sports Reference LLC| access-date= January 13, 2019}}</ref>

Despite the loss to the Dolphins, the Steelers started to reverse four decades of futility and went on to become a dominant force in the NFL for the rest of the 1970s, winning four Super Bowls in six years with such stars as Bradshaw, Harris, [[John Stallworth]] and [[Lynn Swann]] along with the [[Steel Curtain]] defense led by [[Jack Ham]], [[Jack Lambert (American football)|Jack Lambert]], [[Joe Greene|"Mean Joe" Greene]], [[Mel Blount]], and [[Dwight White]].

The year 1972 was one year before the Steelers' fortieth year in the NFL, during which they had finished above .500 only nine times, and until then had never won a playoff game. In fact, before this game, the only playoff game the team had ever played was a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1947 after the two teams finished tied for the [[Eastern and Western Conferences (NFL) 1933–1969|Eastern Division]] championship. The Immaculate Reception was actually the first touchdown the Steelers ever scored in the postseason (they were shut out against the Eagles in the 1947 playoff game). They had long been regarded as one of the league's doormats (as the [[Card-Pitt|1944 Card-Pitt merger]] was 0–10 and was ridiculed as the "Carpitts," a play on the word "carpet"). [[List of Pittsburgh Steelers seasons|Between 1950 and 1970]], the Steelers finished as high as second place once, doing so in 1962, which garnered them an [[exhibition game]] called the "[[Playoff Bowl]]". As recently as 1969, the team had posted a 1–13 record, thus securing the first draft choice in the subsequent NFL draft, in which the Steelers chose Bradshaw that seeded their remarkable turnaround. Since the AFL–NFL merger, the Steelers have the league's best record (surpassing Miami in [[2007 Pittsburgh Steelers season|2007]] because of the Dolphins' recent struggles), have had a league-low three head coaches, and have had only nine losing seasons, [[1988 Pittsburgh Steelers season|none worse than 5–11]]. Only twice since the Immaculate Reception has the team had losing seasons two years in a row and none three years in a row.

The Immaculate Reception spawned a heated rivalry between the Steelers and the Raiders, a rivalry that was at its peak during the 1970s, when both teams were among the best in the league and both were known for their hard-hitting, physical play. The teams met in the playoffs in each of the next four seasons, starting with the Raiders' 33–14 victory in the 1973 divisional playoffs. Pittsburgh used the AFC Championship Game victories over Oakland (24–13 at Oakland in [[1974 AFC Championship Game|1974]] and 16–10 at Pittsburgh in [[1975 AFC Championship Game|1975]]) as a springboard to victories in [[Super Bowl IX]] and [[Super Bowl X]], before the Raiders notched a 24–7 victory at home in 1976 on their way to winning [[Super Bowl XI]]. To date, the two last met in the playoffs [[1983–84 NFL playoffs|in 1983]] when the eventual [[Super Bowl XVIII|Super Bowl champion]] Raiders, playing in [[Los Angeles]] at the time, crushed the Steelers, 38–10. The rivalry has somewhat died off in the years since, mainly due to the Raiders' on-field struggles since appearing in [[Super Bowl XXXVII]].

The play itself started another rivalry between the Raiders and the rest of the league, as Raider fans have long thought that the league has wanted to shortchange the team and specifically owner [[Al Davis]]. In 2007, NFL Network ranked the "Raiders versus the World" as the biggest feud in NFL history.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-top-ten/09000d5d807434d4/Top-Ten-Feuds-Raiders-vs-the-world| title= Biggest Feuds| website= NFL.com}}</ref>

More positively, the play ironically led to the lifelong friendship between Harris and Villapiano due to their shared [[Italian American]] heritage, despite their difference of opinions on the events of the play. A year after the play, Harris had discovered that both his mother and Villapiano's father, both Italian immigrants, hailed from the same area of the [[Italian Peninsula]] after Villapiano's father helped Harris' mother (who still wasn't fluent in [[English language|English]] at the time) speak for her son at a banquet in their native [[New Jersey]]. This led to the two becoming friendlier away from the football field with Harris becoming an "honorary Raider" while Villapiano has accepted the events of the play over time.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35306819/harris-villapiano-immaculate-reception-1972 | title=Harris, Villapiano and the Immaculate Reception of 1972 | first=Sam | last=Borden | date=December 23, 2022 | work=ESPN}}</ref>

For the [[1978 NFL season]], the NFL passed two rule changes that would have affected the Immaculate Reception had it happened today. The first one, regarding the forward pass touching an offensive player but being caught by another without touching a defender, was repealed. There are no longer any restrictions on any deflections of passes, and a future play that mirrored the Immaculate Reception would simply be an extraordinary but legal reception. Second, the NFL also passed tougher [[pass interference]] rules (ironically as a result of the Steelers' own Mel Blount, among others), which if in effect in 1972 would have [[Penalty (gridiron football)|penalized]] the Raiders regardless of the result of the play due to Tatum's hit on Fuqua; as the [[goal post]] would be at the goal line until [[1974 NFL season|1974]] when they were moved back to the end line, such a penalty would have placed the Steelers in relatively short field goal range for Gerela to try a game-winning field goal from 42 yards out. Whether a future Franco Harris would have been ruled as catching such a deflected football before it struck the turf is a different matter, thanks to myriad cameras and use of instant replay that is part of the present-day NFL.

As 1972 was the last year that the NFL forbade any local telecasts of home games, the game itself was not shown live on Pittsburgh NBC affiliate [[WPXI|WIIC-TV]] (now WPXI), nor was it shown on nearby NBC affiliates [[WJAC-TV]] in [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania]], [[WFMJ-TV]] in [[Youngstown, Ohio|Youngstown]], [[Ohio]]; [[WBOY-TV]] in [[Clarksburg, West Virginia|Clarksburg]], [[West Virginia]]; and then-NBC affiliate [[WTRF-TV]] in [[Wheeling, West Virginia]], all of which are secondary markets to the Steelers. [[WICU-TV]] in [[Erie, Pennsylvania]] and then-NBC [[Owned-and-operated station|O&O]] [[WKYC|WKYC-TV]] in [[Cleveland]] were the closest stations to air the game (although WIIC-TV showed the game on [[broadcast delay|tape delay]] the following day). Starting the next year, any home games that sold out 72 hours before kick-off could be televised locally. As the Steelers began their home sell-out streak in 1972, [[National Football League television blackout policies|blackouts]] have never been needed in the Pittsburgh area.

===Game ball===
The actual ball ended up in the hands of fan Jim Baker, who attended the game with his young nephew, Bobby. Baker managed to scoop up the ball during the ensuing melee after the extra point kick, grabbed his nephew, and ran off the field. He had offered to give the ball back to the Steelers in return for lifetime [[season ticket]]s but was rebuffed. He has since declined any offer to sell it, including the highest offer of $150,000 from heavy equipment provider Ray Anthony International. Baker has instead kept this coveted piece of NFL memorabilia in a guarded bank vault in [[West Mifflin, Pennsylvania]], occasionally bringing it out for public appearances involving the Steelers, including one with Franco Harris in 1997 to commemorate the play's 25th anniversary.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://grantland.com/features/the-immaculate-reception-franco-harris-pittsburgh-steelers-owners-ball-play/ | title=How one man nabbed the most coveted piece of NFL memorabilia from the clutches of history | first=Kim | last=Gamble | publisher=Grantland | date=December 12, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://triblive.com/aande/moreaande/10296559-74/barrows-says-baker | title='Sports Detectives' investigates Immaculate Reception ball | first=Bob | last=Karlovits | publisher=Trib Total Media | date=April 30, 2016}}</ref>

===Legacy===
The Steelers organization still considers the Immaculate Reception the greatest moment in team history. The play was documented by NFL Network's ''[[A Football Life]]'' in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tennesseetitans.com/news/nfl-network-s-a-football-life-explores-life-legacy-of-steve-mcnair-oct-1-8538505 |title=NFL Network's A Football Life Explores Life, Legacy of Steve McNair Oct. 17 |website=Tennessee Titans |date=2012-10-12 |access-date=2022-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018094542/http://www.titansonline.com/news/article-1/NFL-Networks-A-Football-Life-Explores-Life-Legacy-of-Steve-McNair-Oct-17/4e26d98d-f795-4283-8a4a-06de48da5d90 |archive-date=2012-10-18 }}</ref>

On December 23, 2012, on the fortieth anniversary of the play just hours before the [[2012 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Steelers]] hosted the [[2012 Cincinnati Bengals season|Cincinnati Bengals]], the Steelers unveiled a monument at the exact spot where Harris made the reception at a parking lot just outside [[Heinz Field]], where Three Rivers Stadium formerly stood. This is the third such monument that commemorates the play in the city (the others are located at the [[Pittsburgh International Airport]] and the [[Heinz History Center]]).<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/8773581/pittsburgh-steelers-unveil-immaculate-reception-monument| title= Immaculate Reception honored| date= December 22, 2012| agency= Associated Press | website= ESPN| access-date= December 28, 2017}}</ref>

In the [[2013–14 NFL playoffs]], [[2013 Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle Seahawks]]' [[Richard Sherman (American football)|Richard Sherman]] [[The Tip (American football)|deflected a pass]] by [[2013 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]] quarterback [[Colin Kaepernick]], that was intended for [[Michael Crabtree]], which was caught by teammate [[Malcolm Smith (American football)|Malcolm Smith]] to seal the Seahawks' 23–17 victory in the NFC Championship Game.<ref name="CBS_Jan14">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/seahawks-cb-richard-sherman-fined-7875-for-nfc-title-game-taunting/|title=Seahawks CB Richard Sherman fined $7,875 for NFC title game taunting|work=CBS Sports|date=January 14, 2014|access-date=May 14, 2022}}</ref><ref name="HuffPo_Jan14">{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/richard-sherman-rant-erin-andrews_n_4629510|title= Richard Sherman's Rant May Have 'Scared Erin Andrews,' Definitely Bothered Some On Twitter (VIDEOS)|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=January 20, 2014|author=Chris Greenberg|access-date=May 14, 2022}}</ref><ref name="CNN_Jan14">{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/21/us/richard-sherman-response/ |title=Richard Sherman stunned by reaction to his victory rant |publisher=CNN|date=November 14, 2011 |access-date=January 24, 2014}}</ref><ref name="NFL_Jan14">{{cite web|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/richard-sherman-fined-7-875-for-on-field-celebration-0ap2000000317613|date=January 24, 2014|title=Richard Sherman fined $7,875 for on-field celebration|work=NFL|access-date=May 14, 2022}}</ref> The play was later dubbed "the Immaculate Deflection" (as an homage to the Immaculate Reception), and would later be voted by Seahawks fans to be the most significant play in franchise history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.seahawks.com/news/2014/05/05/richard-sherman-gives-new-meaning-cover-corner|title=Richard Sherman gives new meaning to cover corner|access-date=2022-05-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121071340/http://www.seahawks.com/news/2014/05/05/richard-sherman-gives-new-meaning-cover-corner|archive-date=2018-01-21|url-status=dead}}</ref>

For [[Super Bowl XLIX]], [[Wix.com]] ran an ad featuring retired football players using its tools to build websites for their new businesses, including Harris who creates a fictional wedding planning website called "Immaculate Receptions" named after the famous play.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.wix.com/blog/2015/01/5-beautiful-wix-websites-that-almost-broke-the-internet/ | title=5 Beautiful Wix Websites That (Almost) Broke the Internet | date=29 January 2015 }}</ref>

"The 100-Year Game", a short film created by the league for [[Super Bowl LIII]], featured many current and former football stars. In it, Bradshaw is seen throwing a football across the room towards such contemporary star receivers as [[Larry Fitzgerald]] and [[Odell Beckham Jr.]] — only to see the ball tipped, and snatched by Harris just before it hits the floor.

A 2019 poll of media members by the NFL named the Immaculate Reception as the greatest NFL play in its history.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://deadline.com/2019/09/the-immaculate-reception-is-voted-greatest-play-in-nfl-history-1202740366/ | title = 'The Immaculate Reception' Is Voted Greatest Play In NFL History | first =Bruce | last = Haring | date=  September 21, 2019 | access-date = September 21, 2019 | work = [[Deadline Hollywood]] }}</ref>

On December 24, 2022, while hosting the present-day [[Las Vegas Raiders]] to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Immaculate Reception, Harris became only the third player in Steelers history to have his jersey retired.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 24, 2022 |title=Steelers retire Franco Harris' No. 32 during emotional halftime ceremony days after Hall of Famer's death |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/steelers-retire-franco-harris-no-32-emotional-halftime-ceremony-raiders#:~:text=%22It's%20been%20said%2C%20'Life,.%2032%20as%20officially%20retired.%22/ |website=[[NFL.com]]}}</ref> Harris had died four days earlier on December 20, and was originally scheduled to appear during the ceremony.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last1=Sandomir |first1=Richard |last2=Victor |first2=Daniel |date=December 21, 2022 |title=Franco Harris, Steeler Who Caught 'Immaculate Reception,' Dies at 72 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/21/sports/football/franco-harris-dead-steelers.html |url-access=limited |accessdate=December 21, 2022}}</ref>