So even Jim Harbaugh’s son was wearing purple. Strange days, indeed, for anyone associated with the Harbaugh family.
It was a blessing during the week and a curse once the ball was kicked off.
During the week, Jack and Jackie held an emotional press conference full of humor, philosophy, and memories of young John and Jim Harbaugh. The boys agreed to a joint press conference on the Friday before the game, the first of its kind at a Super Bowl.
The Harbaughs had a family rule that was a golden rule: “Never lie, never cheat, never steal…if you’re honest and forthright, we can work our way through.”
These brothers, who had come from the same bedroom watching the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s on TV and fighting for space to watch Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football, were now at the pinnacle of their careers, and they were in each other’s way for the ultimate prize – a Super Bowl ring.
Jim Harbaugh had a near-miss as quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts in 1996 when a last-second AFC Championship Game pass to wide receiver Aaron Bailey fell short on the last play of the game in Pittsburgh. “The ball landed on his chest, it stayed a while and it rolled off,” Jack said. “To this day, despite all of the visual evidence in the world, Jackie believes it still didn’t touch the ground.”
Both had coached in one previous Super Bowl – Jim on the staff of the 2002 Oakland Raiders and John in Philadelphia in 2005. Both were on the losing side. The only major championship of note in the Harbaugh family was that of father Jack, whose 2002 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers won the Division I-AA National Championship.
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“I don’t know if we had a dream this big,” John said. “We had a few dreams, a few fights. We had a few arguments. Just like all brothers. We’ll try to stay out of that business; we’ll let the two teams duke it out as much as possible. But [I] couldn’t be more proud of Jim [Harbaugh]. Watching that team play, they do reflect his personality. They have a great staff. They’re physical players, man. They run the ball, they throw the ball, and they have a quarterback that’s throwing the ball all over the place. They’ve got a roughhouse defense. There’s a reason they are in the Super Bowl. Love the way they play. I’d like to think that our two teams are very similar. I’d like to think when you look at these two teams that you are looking at mirror images of two football teams. I’d like to think that. It’s going to be a great football game. He’s a great football coach.”
Both men, who never like to show emotion on a podium or in a media setting, had a hard time answering questions about their emotions. It’s just not their style. “It’s probably a little tougher emotionally,” John admitted. “It’s a little tougher just from the sense of – I don’t think you think about it when you’re coaching against somebody else. It’s more about the scheme and the strategy. There’s a little bit of a relationship element that’s more strong than maybe coaching against someone else. I’ll have a better answer for you after the game. I’ve never been through this before, this is all new.”
The brothers have a long history of pranks, stunts, and practical jokes. Early in the week when Jack and Jackie’s first press conference was set up on a phone call with reporters, “John from Baltimore” chimed in with a leading question: “Is it true that both of you like Jim like better than John?”
Both Jack and Jackie burred up, until Joani ribbed them that it was John Harbaugh who was setting them up.
“I thought Jackie was going to bust through the phone,” Jack said with a laugh. “It’s a good thing Joani recognized your voice.”
“Good to see you’ve got that fighting spirit up, Mom,” John cackled.
The Harbaughs are fighters. They knew adversity and struggle. Dad had been fired. Jim had been benched. John had been told he wasn’t good enough to be a head coach at UCLA and Boston College. And now they were both one rung from the top of the football ladder. They’ve broken balls for years. They’ve fought. They’ve competed. And this was their toughest assignment. Two brothers. One winner. One loser. One family. One Super Bowl ring.
