Harbaugh parents remaining neutral
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jackie Harbaugh will wear a neutral-colored outfit, still to be determined. Her daughter, Joani Crean, little sister to coaching brothers John and Jim Harbaugh, plans to sport all black at the Super Bowl to show no allegiances whatsoever.
“I am wearing whatever fits that day,” Crean quipped.
The entire Harbaugh family — a close-knit, hyper-competitive crew that also includes Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean — realizes it has already won big. They got their Super Bowl victory on Sunday, when each coach did his part to ensure a family reunion in New Orleans next week, with John’s Baltimore Ravens facing off against Jim’s San Francisco 49ers in the first Super Bowl with sibling coaches on opposite sidelines.
One Harbaugh will haul home the Lombardi Trophy from the Big Easy.
And, no, the family members haven’t decided where to sit for the Feb. 3 NFL title game at the Superdome — or at least they aren’t revealing it if they have.
“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.”
Her sons, all of 15 months apart, have tried to downplay this matchup from the moment it developed — each wanting to keep the focus on the players, on the field.
