Jim and John Harbaugh are destined for battle Thanksgiving night when the San Francisco 49ers take on the Baltimore Ravens. For once though, I doubt the 49er head coach really wants to play this one. Jim has always spoken about how fond he is of his brother, and he probably doesn't want to go head-to-head against him.
He expressed those sentiments to Murph and Mac on KNBR radio. Listen to the audio by clicking here.
What it is like to have John as his brother:
"Great. He is a great big brother. Next to my wife, my dad and my brother are my best friend. We’ve always been in each other’s corner and this is one of those things where you’re gonna meet as bitter enemies in this game. Neither one of us will be playing in this game. We will be on the sidelines, but I’d rather not be going against my brother, opposing my brother, but in this case I’m gonna discharge my duties for our cause which is the San Francisco 49ers and winning this football game. I expect him to do the same thing. We’ll strive to do our jobs and go out there and get a win for our team. That’s about really all there is to it. There’s so many other people that are involved in this game and it means so much to them. Players, coaches, staff, and everybody has so much at stake here in this football game that just to keep talking about me and my brother like we are the only ones involved in this game I’m not comfortable with that."
How much knowing his brother may help on the sidelines:
"Very little. There’s no stare down or any kind of interaction during the game other than to look over at a key moment to figure out whether or not they are going to kick a field goal, punt, or go for it. A substitution. You can count them on one hand maybe the times that you really note what they’re doing over there."
It can't be easy for Harbaugh to be going up against his brother, but I'm sure like many challenges, he'll just have to embrace it as a football game, and make sure it's one his team can win. The 49ers need to keep on moving forward and wrap up the NFC West plus homefield advantage, and Harbaugh needs to think of that first. He probably is too.
To talk about the 49ers, go to Niners Nation. To talk about the Ravens, head to Baltimore Beatdown.