03-14-2011, 10:24 AM
Recently I\'ve been forced to ponder what the difference is between Harbaugh\'s departure for bigger opportunities and His Royal Ungratefulness\' departure from Stanford Is it fair to hold a (pretty stone-cold) grudge against HRU while not holding Harbs to the same standard for his beamed-up-to-the-mothership disappearance from the Stanford scene?
No. And here\'s why: Harbaugh got what he wanted and his ambition required: an NFL gig. No sentimentality about Stanford clouding his thinking. He even, arguably, did some damage to the Stanford coaching staff by taking some pretty good assistants with him to the Niners.
But this weekend, Harbaugh and reportedly the entire \'10 staff were on hand for the presentation of the Orange Bowl rings (see separate thread) to the team. The ceremony was at the home of Godfather Arrillaga in Portola Valley. And, as an aside, Harbaugh reportedly showed up for the first early morning session of Spring practice a couple weeks ago.
Now, Harbaugh has already extracted maximum leverage out of his ties to Stanford. He now is where he always wanted to be. Stanford can do nothing substantial for him and his career. Yet he showed up. Apparently it was a great party and ceremony.
It reminds me of the phrase I quoted elsewhere. In the Orange Bowl he publicly lauded his players for their respect for the game of football. He got it exactly right. Respect. And he showed respect by joining the most important of his ties to Stanford-- the players. They weren\'t treated like a burnt-out (career) rocket booster falling back to earth.
And meanwhile, HRU\'s legacy is memorialized by his famously opaque reference to the "school at which I formerly coached". That, and catching a convenient round of golf at the Stanford golf course.
Thanks, Jim, for the lesson and for clarifying true respect for us.
No. And here\'s why: Harbaugh got what he wanted and his ambition required: an NFL gig. No sentimentality about Stanford clouding his thinking. He even, arguably, did some damage to the Stanford coaching staff by taking some pretty good assistants with him to the Niners.
But this weekend, Harbaugh and reportedly the entire \'10 staff were on hand for the presentation of the Orange Bowl rings (see separate thread) to the team. The ceremony was at the home of Godfather Arrillaga in Portola Valley. And, as an aside, Harbaugh reportedly showed up for the first early morning session of Spring practice a couple weeks ago.
Now, Harbaugh has already extracted maximum leverage out of his ties to Stanford. He now is where he always wanted to be. Stanford can do nothing substantial for him and his career. Yet he showed up. Apparently it was a great party and ceremony.
It reminds me of the phrase I quoted elsewhere. In the Orange Bowl he publicly lauded his players for their respect for the game of football. He got it exactly right. Respect. And he showed respect by joining the most important of his ties to Stanford-- the players. They weren\'t treated like a burnt-out (career) rocket booster falling back to earth.
And meanwhile, HRU\'s legacy is memorialized by his famously opaque reference to the "school at which I formerly coached". That, and catching a convenient round of golf at the Stanford golf course.
Thanks, Jim, for the lesson and for clarifying true respect for us.
