Jim Harbaugh, the San Francisco 49ers' head coach, proved that this match is about brains as he sets off to face his brother John Harbaugh in Super Bowl XLVII. During Media Day at the Super Dome in New Orleans, Harbaugh answered tough questions even those regarding facing his brother and resorted to quoting William Shakespeare.
The quote derives from King V, "He today that sheds blood with me shall be my brother."
Harbaugh used the caught to reduce the literalness behind having th face his brother John. Instead, he used the quote to interpret the meaning of brotherhood figuratively in a manner many teammates and even military men might define their relationships with one another.
"That's my brother on the other sideline. I love him and care about him very much. He's a tremendous competitor. And it's a great challenge and a task to play his team. Also my brothers are at our sideline For he who sheds his blood with me today shall be my brother. That's the way I feel about our playersand our coaches," said Harbaugh in Media Day.
All the focus seemed to be directed at the head coach matchup as it's the first time in Super Bowl history where two brothers face each other. They respect each other and Jim will not go out there and try to intimidate his brother John (something Rex Ryan probably wouldn't be able to do if he ever met his brother at the Super Bowl).
Harbaugh also faced tough questions regarding Colin Kaepernick getting the starting job over eight-year veteran Alex Smith. For now, Harbaugh looks like a genius since his decision proved to be the right one. If he wins today, that'll probably be considered the best move of the year.
The Harbaughs are about respect and one thing Jim can't deny are the numbers. In reference to his brother John, Jim had this to say, "He's a great coach. He's talented. I've said it many times, I think I'm half the coach that he is. I have less than half the experience that he does, less than half the playoff appearances, wins, etc."
Jim has two seasons in the NFL as the head coach of the 49ers. He's made the playoffs both times and boasts a 24-8 record. John has five years coaching in the league making the playoffs every year and has a career record of 54-28.
Super Bowl XLVII will be played on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
