NEW ORLEANS — They sat on a stage yesterday as brothers, Big Brother John to the right of a Ravens helmet, Little Brother Jim to the left of a 49ers helmet.
But they both understand the next time they are together, across the field from each other tomorrow inside the Superdome, there will be no time for Brotherly Love until the HarBowl is over.
“The band of brothers will be the brothers on the sideline — it’ll be the Ravens sideline and it’ll be the 49ers sideline — that’ll be the band of brothers in this competition,” said John Harbaugh, the Baltimore coach.
When two brothers meet with the Lombardi Trophy on the line, it can only end as the Super Bowl of Bittersweet.
“It’s not really about how we’re going to feel, you know?” John said at the first joint Friday press conference of head coaches before the first Super Bowl pitting two brothers coaching against one another. “Every coach, every player, everybody in the organization, when you win, it’s jubilation. And when you lose, it’s just bitter disappointment, because so much goes into it, and it’ll be no different in this game. It’ll probably be on a greater scale because of the opportunity to win the championship.
“A lot of hard work has gone into this, a lot of plays have been made, a lot of sacrifices have been made. Great competitions have been won, and adversity has been battled through by both teams. For the side that comes up short, it’s going to be a bitter disappointment, that’s just the way it works, that’s how football is, that’s how life is, and we understand that.”
This is so much a family affair that Jim Harbaugh’s son, Jay, works for John.
“I’m real thankful and proud at the same time, that Jay is doing what he loves to do,” Jim said. “That is a real blessing, and he’s doing it with a tremendous organization, great coaches around to mentor him and to teach him, and especially John being there and hiring him. I hear he’s doing a phenomenal job, which I’m really, really proud of. And then this week, it’s been tough. I haven’t been talking to him or calling him or anything. Sent him a few texts, just letting him know how I feel about him.”
John: “I’m appreciative that Jim allowed Jay to come out. He’s far better than even anticipated, and I knew he would be great at what he does. Maybe that will tip the scale. Maybe that will be our edge. I guarantee he’s excited about the game and competing and all those things just like he should be.”
The brothers’ parents, Jack the forever football coach and Jackie the forever football wife, sat to their left, with Grandpa Joe Cipiti, their 97-year-old maternal grandfather who was wearing a half-Niners, half-Ravens hat. Someone wanted to know what the boys had learned from their mother that has applied to their careers.
“Well, there’s nobody in the family that has more competitive fire than my mother,” Jim said. “She competes like a maniac. And she’s just always believed in us. And I think that’s the most important thing to me, that she believed in me and John and [young sisterer] Joani. And took us to games and played catch with us, and shot baskets with us. And just … believed in us.”
John added: “She was not happy when we built a hockey goal out of chicken wire when we were about 13 years old, and we shot all the windows out of the garage door. They were glass. She called Dad in on that one. Just all the things Jim said are absolutely true. No one would fight more for us than our mom, no matter what the situation was. Or teach us, really, to have each other’s back and how to be there for one another, whether there was a little scrape in the neighborhood or something like that.”
Jack Harbaugh squeezed his beaming wife’s hand.
“I was very touched,” Jackie said in a hallway afterward.
“That’s one of those magic moments that you’ll remember always, to see the two stand there and to be on this great stage,” Jack said. “For Jackie and myself, it’s just the way they handled it. They really are handling it in the name of a great game and a great profession, so we’re so proud.”