Crowd sourcing: How Harbaugh should accept trophy from Petitti
I've seen some scattered ideas about what Harbaugh should do when accepting the trophy from Petitti this Saturday, but haven't seen a thread on it.
Of course there have been a lot of suggestions that Harbaugh should essentially give him a middle finger, which I understand, but I prefer a slightly more magnanimous approach:
(Putting his arm around an obviously uncomfortable Petitti) "Thank you commissioner. We know we're not the team you wanted to be handing this trophy to, but we'd like to thank you for being a big part of our success these past few weeks. I won't say we couldn't have done it without you, because we still would have, but we appreciate a little more fuel to the fire. I'd like to personally invite you to come to Ann Arbor and be there when we formally add our Big Ten record 45th conference championship trophy to Schembechler Hall."
Other ideas for Coach Harbaugh?
November 28th, 2023 at 11:25 AM ^
Win the game.
November 28th, 2023 at 12:28 PM ^
Absolutely.
every UM fan in attendance (including me) should be booing vociferously if/when Tony tries to say anything.
My personal hope is that the team ignores the trophy presentation and just goes to the locker room while Petitti has no one to give the trophy to. It would serve two purposes:
1. UM isn’t satisfied with winning the B1G this year (I personally am, but that’s beside the point).
2. UM gets to thumb their nose directly to the commissioner and the conference as a whole for the way this was handled over the last month.
I don’t expect UM and Harbaugh to be this obvious, but it would be well deserved.
November 28th, 2023 at 12:48 PM ^
More importantly it would give Fox dead air. A taste of things to come if M tires of B1G antics.
November 28th, 2023 at 1:56 PM ^
Send Sam Webb up there to accept the trophy and go on an epic rant berating Petitti until they cut his mic.
November 28th, 2023 at 5:27 PM ^
Bought tix last night and will be there to see the B1G Champion 3peat Wolverines and will boo Tiny Tony at any opportunity.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:25 AM ^
Manuel Ward should accept the trophy and state the following:
Congrats to our Michigan Football team on winning the Big 10 (looks at Petittie) despite your best efforts to sabotage our season.
I have never wished this but we look forward to the day that you are fired as Big 10 commissioner.
Now get off our stage.
(Turns to Harbaugh)
We want to congratulate Coach Moore, the staff, and the players on enduring adversity and winning this championship but we know who our head coach is.
You are the one who has hired our staff and assembled this team. Congratulations on winning this championship coach. We appreciate and thank you.
(Looks to fans and yells)
GO BLUE!!!
November 28th, 2023 at 11:26 AM ^
I don't think old Tony Thimblecock will be there to hand it over. He'll have Archie Griffin do it instead.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:36 AM ^
I think there is a real possibility of this. He and Pete Thamel can watch from closed captioning in a panic room somewhere.
November 28th, 2023 at 12:23 PM ^
I said this in another thread yesterday, but Pettiti can't afford not to show up. He will be branded as weak, as a coward, and he will lose a lot of respect amongst the other commissioners, amongst TV executives, and the general public at large.
I bet there would even be those in the Big Ten, folks who supported his decision to suspend Harbaugh, that would question this decision.
If he shows up, yes, he will get booed, and Michigan fans will never let him forget this. But you take your medicine for the 15-20 minutes you're out on the field, leave, and then within a few days, the media cycle starts over and no one outside of Michigan fandom remembers, or cares enough to remember.
If you don't show up, then this is the kind of thing that defines your legacy and your reputation. Not just as a commissioner but as a man. You really want your kids going to school and having everyone tell them that your dad is a coward who hides from his problems?
If he's too cowardly to go out on that stage, look Harbaugh in the eye and hand him the trophy, then Pettiti has no business being the commissioner of the Big Ten.
November 28th, 2023 at 12:34 PM ^
Yeah, the 'everyone hates me but I'm a good-natured son of a b*tch' playbook dictates that you turn out and take your medicine. And I expect he will.
I like the OP's suggestion, and think we might get something like it from Jim. Something cordial, with a laughing gleam of steel in the old eye!
November 28th, 2023 at 12:37 PM ^
I agree with everything you said - it would be insane if he chickened out.
Pettiti is a weak coward former TV exec in over his head but will probably turn up and take his medicine.
November 28th, 2023 at 12:45 PM ^
Petitti is a pimp. He could have never outfought Santa. But until Saturday, I didn't know what kind of coward this Haverford College grad truly is. He didn't show up in Ann Arbor for the biggest showdown meeting in the history of the rivalry of The Game. Had the game been in Columbus, he would have been there happily celebrating the Buckeye conspiracy.
November 28th, 2023 at 3:17 PM ^
Do other commissioners have respect for Pettiti? I would think that Greg Sankey, for one, looks at his handling of this situation as weak and amateruish. Pettiti forgot that part of his job is to look out for the interests of ALL of his conference members, including Michigan, and instead let himself get rolled by a click-driven media and a bunch of bitter coaches.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:27 AM ^
“Shut up and give my guys their trophy.”
November 28th, 2023 at 11:49 AM ^
That would be great -- half way through P-titty giving his awkward congratulatory remarks, Jimmy grabs the trophy and lifts it with a huuuuuge smile, turning his back and walking towards The Team.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:54 AM ^
The Rock. Pull the mic and say "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!"
November 28th, 2023 at 11:27 AM ^
By announcing his signed contract extension. Boom!
November 28th, 2023 at 12:27 PM ^
Personally, I think they should do a bit where Petitti says, "And the winner of the Big Ten Championship is..." At that point, Ryan Day runs up on stage, assuming he won (3rd basers deserve to win, after all). At that point, there is an uncomfortable silence, and then Day starts his acceptance speech. A few sentences in, Harbaugh slowly walks up on stage, and Petitti gently and then more forcefully starts to pull the trophy away from Day, eventually handing it to Harbaugh. Harbaugh says, "well, that was awkward," as Gene Smith and several security guards lead Day away.
I doubt Day would go for this, but it would be an excellent bit...
November 28th, 2023 at 1:09 PM ^
Sorta like this classic scene from Zoolander? With Ryan Day played by Ben Stiller?
November 28th, 2023 at 11:28 AM ^
Drop on his toes
November 28th, 2023 at 11:28 AM ^
Whatever Harbaugh does, I just hope Petitti responds with
What's your deal??
November 28th, 2023 at 11:29 AM ^
"thanks, just want to give credit to a great group of players and coaches," turn and be with the team. that's all that matters anyway.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:39 AM ^
Yup. High road is the way to play it. Pettiti has demonstrated he is a know-nothing, so keep it classy.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:30 AM ^
Pull a Tanner Boyle - "Hey Petitti - you can take your trophy and shove it straight up your ass!!!"
November 28th, 2023 at 11:32 AM ^
Harbaugh has shown time and again that he wants the praise to be extolled upon the players and not himself. We should fully expect that to continue.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:33 AM ^
Sweep the legs.
Do you have a problem with that?
November 28th, 2023 at 11:37 AM ^
In a body bag!
November 28th, 2023 at 11:33 AM ^
Get Masks made up with Coach Harbaugh's best grin for everyone, staff, players, coaches, the waterboys for ceremony. When the announcer calls coach to get the trophy, the players step forward and yells "I AM HARBAUGH!!" for a good long time.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:33 AM ^
Have Moore accept the trophy.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:46 AM ^
"Talk to this guy right here" and pulls Moore to the front.
November 28th, 2023 at 4:49 PM ^
That would be my vote as well. Tell Petitti to hand it to Moore, he's earned it!
November 28th, 2023 at 11:33 AM ^
First of all, there's very little chance Petitti hands Jim the trophy. As others have said, he'll have Griffin or someone else do it.
Anyway, firm handshake, smile, but the long, burning stare, holding the handshake for an uncomfortable amount of time.
But first, beat Iowa. Convincingly.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:45 AM ^
Archie Griffin is as likely to hand M a trophy as Tony Petitti, but TBH at least Archie's reason for refusal wouldn't be that he is a total bitch.
At least I can respect that.
November 28th, 2023 at 12:02 PM ^
If Archie hands out the trophy and gives it to Jim. Jim should respond with "Where is Tony?"
November 28th, 2023 at 11:34 AM ^
Tony should take a page out of espn's book and start making up "death threats" like they did for Thamel. This is going to be an all time embarrassing scene.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:34 AM ^
Beat Iowa!
November 28th, 2023 at 11:36 AM ^
Jim will go up and insist that Sherrone accept the trophy. Jim is the fucking best.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:36 AM ^
Harbs should have his lawyer grab it
November 28th, 2023 at 11:39 AM ^
Announce the contract extension while Petitti is traveling.
Other than that…don’t burn the bridges in public. A perfunctory handshake, accept the trophy, and then talk about how much you love the team and how much you appreciated Iowa’s competitiveness.
Like it or not, we still have to operate within the B1G structure, and if Petitti is willing to stick his neck out to punish Michigan without evidence…imagine if he feels slighted in public. So much of behind-the-scenes business boils down to “fuck that guy”
November 28th, 2023 at 12:31 PM ^
Fuck that. Burn those bridges. Petitti already did, no reason UM should spend any time or effort to save/restore them.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:40 AM ^
I would love to hear the stadium chanting Fuck Petitti during the trophy ceremony...
November 28th, 2023 at 11:57 AM ^
If you don't tell anyone I might start that chant.
November 28th, 2023 at 12:32 PM ^
I’ll have my teen and tween sons with me…otherwise I’d surely join in…but I will be booing if Petitti is trying to talk
November 28th, 2023 at 12:57 PM ^
I'll have my wife, two teen children and a tween with me. I am sure the tween will start it if I ask him to. No way I don't participate. My wife knew what she had when she married me. My kids have witnessed me during OSU games. It won't even get a glance.
November 28th, 2023 at 1:23 PM ^
To quote my wife when my kids were young "when the school calls because they say that word you are going in to explain how they know it, not me"
School never called. Fuck Petitti
November 28th, 2023 at 11:40 AM ^
Beat Iowa first...
November 28th, 2023 at 11:42 AM ^
NHL style: Refuse to touch the trophy because it isn't the one we want.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:44 AM ^
Spike it like he scored the game winning touchdown in the NC!
November 28th, 2023 at 11:46 AM ^
I would bet $100 that Tony won't be on stage
November 28th, 2023 at 11:49 AM ^
I concur with that.