Harbaugh Brothers: Parents Plan to Visit Losing Head Coach First
By Josh Sanchez
Jim and John Harbaugh have their Super Bowl XLVII showdown later today and it will be filled with mixed emotions. While the emotions will be running high for both brothers, nothing can compare to the feelings that their parents, Jack and Jackie, will be feeling during the game as they watch their sons battle it out.
While Jack and Jackie Harbaugh will be happy for whichever son wins the Super Bowl, they say that their top priority will be to visit the losing brother and give him their sympathy.
“The one thing that I do think about is after the game. There is going to be one winner and there is going to be one that is going to be totally disappointed. My thoughts go to that one that will not experience the thrill of victory,” Jack Harbaugh said. “That’s where our thoughts will be.
“We’ve all experienced that excitement of victory-guys jumping up and down, the smile on John’s face. They were just ecstatic. … Then you realize that you’re not needed here. You walk across the hall, and you went into the 49ers locker room and you walked and you saw the players walking about — that look in their eyes, that look of not being successful and coming up short. We opened up a couple doors and finally saw Jim all by himself in this room, just a table and a chair. He was still in his coaching outfit. His head down in his hands and you looked into his eyes and you realized that this where you’re needed as a parent.
“Every single parent can identify with that. On Sunday night, we’re going to experience both of those great emotions. Our thoughts will be with the one that comes up a little short.”
It will be an emotional roller coaster throughout the night and, while the Harbaugh brothers will have different feelings after the game, it is something that they will treasure.
There aren’t too many opportunities to do what you love with the people you love the most, so the Harbaughs will enjoy this experience for everything it is worth win or lose.