By: Ryan Welte
THE ULTIMATE SIBLING RIVALRY
In last week's Sports Circus
Edition I said "What a storyline that
would be!" in discussing the
possibility of a Jim vs. John
Harbaugh Super Bowl. While I
didn't predict it, that's what we
will see!
Jim Harbaugh discussed the
upcoming Harbowl and said, "Well,
I think it's a blessing and a curse."
I think he nailed it on the head with
that statement. While one of them
is guaranteed to win, the other is
guaranteed to lose. Jim also said,
"And every moment that you're
talking about myself or John that's
less time that the players are going
to be talked about." I guess that's true but this happens to be the biggest story line of the Super Bowl along with Ray Lewis, so I guess the players will just have to deal with it.
I want to look at this story from Jack and Jackie Harbaugh's standpoint (Jim and John's parents). They are in the hardest position of all as either way they are guaranteed to feel good, and then bad, and then good, and then bad again. As for the gameday attire for the family, Jackie Harbaugh will wear a neutral-colored outfit, still to be determined. Her daughter, Joani Crean, little sister to Jim and John Harbaugh, plans to sport all black at the Super Bowl to show no allegiances whatsoever.
“We are neutral in the Super Bowl, and we are just excited that they have brought their teams to the pinnacle of sports,” Jackie Harbaugh said Thursday. “The Super Bowl is the ultimate accomplishment for them and for their teams and for all of the extended football family and all of the teams who have participated in this great game. We are excited for that type of thing.”
Thankfully, the family has had a practice run of this when the Ravens and 49ers faced off on Thanksgiving day last year when the Ravens won 16-6 in the 1st Edition of the "Harbowl." After that game, Jack visited each locker room and observed the “smile on John’s face,” then headed over to see how Jim was handling it.
“It was quiet and somber, and finally I saw Jim, all by himself, no one around him,” Jack said.