On the eve of Super Bowl LVIII, the Pittsburgh Steelers faithful have been reliving a magical moment from 15 seasons prior when the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals to win Super Bowl XLIII.
There are two major plays that stand out. There’s the game-winning touchdown pass from QB Ben Roethlisberger to WR Santonio Holmes for the iconic, toe-tapping touchdown. Then there’s the last play of the first half, the 100-yard interception returned for a touchdown by LB James Harrison, a man known more for putting a hurting on quarterbacks than snagging their pass attempts.
Harrison joined the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday in Las Vegas, the site of this year’s Super Bowl and was asked about the current state of the Steelers. But the conversation was capped by the discussion of the Super Bowl pick-six. The biggest question he got: Where is the ball now?
“The ball is actually with Thomas Tull,” Harrison said. “The minority owner of the Steelers. He got it at auction… I auctioned it. This is what you need to realize. It’s only a couple of things I’m gonna hold on to, and that’s my Super Bowl rings. Other than that, I did it all. So what do I need to hold on to the merchandise for? I’ve got the memories, no question. Can’t take that away.”
Harrison was one of the most intimidating guys in a world of intimidating football players. Even former NFL OT Andrew Whitworth called Harrison one of the fiercest competitors he ever faced. He finished his 14 years in Pittsburgh with 80.5 regular-season sacks, a record that stood until current Steelers OLB T.J. Watt broke it. Yet one of the enduring moments will always be him grabbing Cardinals QB Kurt Warner’s pass and rumbling down the sideline toward the end zone.
So to hear that Harrison doesn’t have time for memorabilia cluttering up his world shouldn’t be a surprise. It is a pretty good story that he himself auctioned off the ball and a minority owner of the team snapped it up. For those who don’t know, Tull is a film producer and former CEO of Legendary Entertainment who first bought shares in the Steelers in 2009 after being a fan for most of his life.
So rest assured, Steelers fans. The ball from one of the most important Super Bowl and Steelers plays in recent history may not be in Harrison’s hands like it was for that 100-yard return. It is in the hands of a Steelers fan and not just a private collector, though.
