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Jerome Bettis never thought he would cross paths with legendary Pittsburgh Steelers running Franco Harris one day. Bettis was a staunch Dallas Cowboys fan growing up in Detroit, MI.
Although Jerome Bettis disliked Franco Harris during his formative years, that changed completely when the former first wore Steelers Black and Gold in 1996. Harris became a role model to Bettis from that point onward, per The Spun's Daniel Bates.
“I had an unbelievable relationship with Franco and I'll never forget the first opportunity we had to really spend some time together. He took me to lunch,” Jerome Bettis said.
“I said, ‘Franco, I want to be honest with you. I was a Dallas Cowboy fan growing up and I hated you!' (chuckles) And he just laughed and laughed and I said, ‘No, no Franco, I hated you!' And he said, ‘Well, now you have to love me because we're part of the same family now!'” Bettis shared.
“So I'll never forget him having a big laugh with me about that because although I hated him then (smiles), I fell in love with him. He was an incredible human being, a great man, and one who I really modeled myself after in terms of off the field and the things that I did,” Bettis concluded.
Sadly, Franco Harris passed away in December 2022. Harris entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He made a profound impact on Jerome Bettis, who became one of the greatest running backs in franchise history. Bettis eventually earned his gold jacket and bust in Canton, OH in 2015.
It's all about paying it forward. That's exactly what Franco Harris did for Jerome “The Bus” Bettis.
