Even when you’re a monster among men like James Harrison, you’re still not guaranteed a chance at gridiron glory. Despite the fact that he sported a 6-foot-tall, 240-pound frame, Harrison was initially cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers on three separate occasions after participating in just one game his rookie year in 2002.
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Nevertheless, he found a way to stick around and ultimately earned himself a spot on the roster in 2004. According to Peyton Manning himself, however, the franchise “saw him as a special teams player at best.”
After anchoring his depth spot for the first two months of the season, Harrison finally saw his first career start after Pittsburgh’s All-Pro linebacker, Joey Porter, got into a pregame scuffle with the Cleveland Browns’ running back, William Green, that saw both men be ejected before playing a single down.
Harrison would go on to record two tackles for a loss, a sack, and six combined tackles, proving to the Steelers that he was, in fact, the guy that they had been looking for. “He was a game wrecker from game one,” Manning noted.
His most notable hit on the day came during an interaction with a fan, rather than a player. A drunken member of the Dawg Pound had somehow made his way onto the field, and while he seemed to be mostly benign, he also found himself standing right next to Harrison, who was clearly in the middle of trying to make a name for himself.
Harrison promptly introduced him to the concept of grown-man strength, scooping the fan up into the air before laying him down on the ground. “You welcomed him to the game,” Manning cracked. “It was just a quick pickup, lay him down. I was going to put his arm behind his back, but I didn’t want to hurt him,” Harrison explained.
Prior to finding Harrison, the fan was somehow able to get away from another member of the Steelers, “so I was just trying to get back some of our street credit,” Harrison joked before slyly suggesting that “Plus, I wanted to make sure that my teammates were safe.”
Unfortunately for the rest of the NFL, Harrison wasn’t quite as kind when dishing out hits. In addition to being regarded as one of the strongest and most intimidating linebackers to ever play the game of football, Harrison managed to secure the hardware to back things up.
With a pair of Super Bowl wins and All-Pro titles, as well as five Pro Bowl appearances and a Defensive Player of the Year award all lining his resume, there’s no denying that he’s one of the last human beings that you’d want to cross on the football field. Of course, his greatest contribution to the game will always be in setting the example for why fans should always remain in the stands.
