When John Harbaugh was hired by Steve Bisciotti, his new boss had some advice. “Approach every day at work like it’s your first day at work, with that same kind of enthusiasm,” Bisciotti told Harbaugh the day he hired him in January 2008. “And approach every day with your family like it may be your last with your family. And if you do that every single day, you’re going to be OK.”
Little did Bisciotti know that Jack Harbaugh had been telling his kids every morning: “Attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind!”
Trouble was, John and Jim were both getting the exact same advice and wisdom all of these years.
Something had to give on Super Sunday.
Not only were the men tied by their father, Bo Schembechler, Doyt Perry, Cam Cameron, their cousin Mike Gottfried, and caught in a myriad of mutual NFL crosshairs, coaches, and friendships, but they also each shared a bond with Ray Lewis.
Lewis registered the first sack of his career against Jim Harbaugh on October 13, 1996 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis on a Sunday night game. Two seasons later, Jim joined Ray in Baltimore as a member of Ted Marchibroda’s last team with the Ravens in 1998. “And I’m still here standing,” Lewis laughed.
But the Harbaughs were not the only ones with excited families around the Ravens. As much as it was the first time to a Super Bowl for many players, it wasn’t for the Ravens organization or most in the front office. Because there’s been so little turnover in the rank and file of the organization, many had experience from a dozen years earlier regarding the incredible demands of having 14 days to fill with the astonishing range of details and much to accomplish in a very short time.
Many Baltimore PSL owners won the local lottery, and M&T Bank Stadium became a depot for Super Bowl tickets that began at $950 each and were selling for three times that amount on the street.
The players had logistical issues for family and friends, and the first few days helped get all of that out of the way while the Ravens coaches game planned and practiced in Baltimore as if the game were being held a week earlier. All parts of the game plan were installed long before the team was leaving the Inner Harbor, where the city came together the Monday before the game to wish them farewell and good luck on their way to BWI for the flight to New Orleans.
Fans had their own issues finding their way to New Orleans for the game. It had been 12 years since Super Bowl XXXV and many Ravens fans viewed it as a “once in a lifetime” chance to see their team win the NFL crown. They spared no vacation time or expense in finding planes, trains, buses, and automobiles to get to Louisiana. Many made the 18-hour drive. Some took shifts. Some flew into neighboring cities and states and many found hotels as far as 150 miles outside New Orleans.
Even though the Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh matchup became the biggest human interest story in New Orleans – along with Ray Lewis’ Last Dance – the game didn’t lack for strategic storylines, questions, and anticipation for the actual 60 minutes of football.
Everyone had a theory in New Orleans about how the game would unfold? Was the Ravens’ defense up to stopping the upstart, shifty Kaepernick and his ability to run in ‘The Pistol’? Was Joe Flacco the “elite” quarterback who was finally going to win a Super Bowl? How was the Ravens’ offensive line going to hold up to the pressure of the 49ers pass rush? Would special teams be a factor in this game? Would it come down to a last-second field goal? Which Harbaugh would have the better strategy?
For some, like Kaepernick, it all seemed so easy, getting to the Super Bowl in his first year after not being inserted as a starter until Week 10. For Flacco and Ray Rice, it had been five years of knocking on the door with four late January exits. For Ravens like Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Sam Koch, and Haloti Ngata it felt like they had been listening to Ray Lewis tell confetti stories all of their lives.
