So, this is what happens when the Harbaughs go on vacation.
Peter King had Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh on a recent episode of his MMQB podcast and King asked Harbaugh to tell a story about when he and his brother, Jim Harbaugh, got competitive during a family vacation.
Last Memorial Day, the Harbaughs got together at John's cottage on Lake Huron in Michigan. They were shooting some hoops with the kids when a game started.
The adults playing were John, John's wife, Ingrid, Jim and Jim's wife, Sarah. The kids were John's daughter Allison (13 or 14 years old) and three of Jim's tykes: Addie (6), Katie (4 or 5) and Jack (2 ½).
Here's the hilarious story:
We're playing, and you can picture the kind of game it is, right? Allison happens to hit a couple jumpers and we're playing to seven, and we're up maybe 5-1. Next thing you know, Jim starts going over the top of Allison for rebounds and put-backs. He's boxing her out 10 feet away from the basket.
Next thing you know, it's 5-5 and Jim has made all the shots for his team – of course. I'm like, "You know, maybe Addy would like to touch the ball? Maybe Katie or Jack could dribble a little bit now and then?"
It goes 6-6 and a long rebound comes off the side, he goes and gets it. I see Allison happens to be over there, so I see him going to the basket. He's going to take Allison to the hole. You know, he's about 235 [pounds], 6'3" ½, so I'm going to go try to cut him off. I get him with my right arm bar across his chest and I'm trying to body check him into the pricker bushes there behind the driveway, and he just powers his way to the basket, lays one over the top, a reverse layup off the board.
And all he could talk about is how [he] won. He picks up Jack and says, "Doesn't it feel great, Jack, to win? Doesn't it feel great to win?" So about an hour later, we might have been crossing the backyard porch to go get a soda or something, and he happens to cross paths with me, and he looks me right in the eye and he says, "Hey John, have you won anything yet?"
There's a natural comeback here. Hmmmmm, what is it?
Oh, that's right! There was that time the brothers faced off in Super Bowl XLVII.
King pointed that out, and asked if John had as well.
"I kind of looked him in the eye; I felt like that was an unspoken communication," John said with a laugh. "I didn't feel like I needed to say that in that moment. I tried to take the high road."
