Paly alum Jim Harbaugh (’82) has been slowly and steadily building a name for himself over the last decade. Harbaugh’s crowning achievement occurred last Sunday when his San Francisco 49ers won the NFC Championship in dramatic fashion over the Atlanta Falcons.
Harbaugh’s coaching exploits have taken him from Western Kentucky, back to Palo Alto and finally to San Francisco. Now Harbaugh’s victory in the NFC Championship will place him against his brother, John and his Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are currently riding a wave of emotions resulting from the announced retirement of team captain Ray Lewis.
This brother v. brother conflict has certainly been seen before in sports with duos like Jeff and Stan Van Gundy, but never at the level of the Super Bowl. John currently currently holds the edge after the Ravens beat the 49ers last year on Thanksgiving Day. However, Jim would more than erase the bad taste that loss left in his mouth with a Super Bowl victory.
You’re all thinking, who’ll come out on top this time?
Vegas currently favors San Francisco by four points, but many experts and gamblers are saying this is far too high, as betters are heavily backing Baltimore at the four point spread. Both Harbaughs boast a hard nosed, run-first pro-style offense. Each team has big play potential with San Francisco’s read option and Baltimore’s combo of Torrey Smith and Joe Flacco.
Each are riding emotional highs and each will undoubtedly be motivated by their very animated head coaches. Neither quarterback Colin Kaepernick (49ers) or Joe Flacco (Ravens) have ever been to the big game before so it is hard to predict how each will perform. Both have had impeccable 2013 post seasons and are coming into the game with tons of momentum.
So how will it all go down in New Orleans? If the Niners can get Kaepernick out of the pocket, utilizing both his arm and legs, it’ll be hard to not like the Niners. But on the other hand, if the Niners secondary was as porous as they were during the first half against Atlanta, Torrey Smith and Joe Flacco will have a field day.
Although the Harbaugh parents have two sons competing in the Super Bowl, the only true winner will be the coach going home drenched in Gatorade with a ring on his finger.
