The fact that the Ravens and 49ers are coached by the Harbaugh brothers promises to be one of the most discussed angles to Super Bowl XLVII and 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh had his first chance to address the topic on Monday.
Harbaugh said that he hopes to answer as few questions as possible on the topic of his brother, emphasizing that the 49ers are going to prepare to face the Ravens exactly the same way that they prepare to face teams not coached by members of the Harbaugh family. He then explained why he thought it was a blessing and a curse to be in this game with his brother on the other sideline.
"(It’s) a blessing because that is my brother’s team. And also personally I played for the Ravens, have great respect for their organization, worked with (general manager) Ozzie Newsome and (former owner) Art Modell, his love and passion for the National Football League. Know many of the Baltimore Ravens players and have great respect for them and their team and I’m happy for them. Happy for us that we’ve made it to this point,” Harbaugh said, via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. “The curse part would be the talk of two brothers playing in the Super Bowl, and what that takes away from the players that are in the game. Every moment that you’re talking about myself or John, that’s less time that the players are going to be talked about.”
The Harbaughs have some experience on this front after playing on Thanksgiving in 2011. It was a smaller stage that time, but the questions are going to be pretty much the same and both guys are sure to settle into a boilerplate answer that we’ll hear plenty of between now and the game. Boring for them and for us, perhaps, but it’s unlikely to wind up having any bearing on the game.