CC: Crowd-Sourced Video Appeal to Harbaugh

Submitted by LKLIII on

So I was reading a few articles online about the CC and the possiblity of Harbaugh to Michigan (naturally) and I got an idea:

 

Is there any way that certain talented individuals in the MGoBlog community could get together and create a high quality short video that would be aimed at Coach Harbaugh's emotional and psychological solar plexus, with the goal of making one final push for him to consider Michigan?  I'm talking about using images and sounds in a tasteful yet eloquent way that will pull on Harbaugh's heart strings with the force of a goddamned locomotive.

 

As Brian mentioned last night, I think we can all agree that Hackett has marshalled all the resources at the university's disposal--financial, alumni support, etc. to approach Harbaugh in the most respectful way possible and to issue him a very handsome financial packaget to come to Michigan.

 

And also as Brian said, at the end of the day, this likely won't come down to money. This will come down to Harbaugh's personal goals and emotions.  Michigan's biggest liability is that it can never offer him a Super Bowl ring.  But our biggest asset is that we are Michigan, and NO "historic" or marquee or big market NFL franchise like the Raiders, Dolphins, Jets, or Bears will be able to offer what Michigan can offer.  We need to play that up to a tee, and a video that *might*---just *might* get actually viewed by Harbaugh if the right people send him the link could do the trick.  Cities bidding for Olympic Games do it.  Our own football team crudely photoshops recruits faces on Michigan football uniforms on fictional sports magazines.  Why not craft a quality, tasteful & respectful video that is 2-8 minutes long, that evokes the ghosts of Ufer, Bo, former and current players, all using signts and sounds and aimed straight for an audience of one--Jim Harbaugh?

 

The Athletic Department and the football alumni have done all they can to make the sales pitch to Harbaugh.  

 

I just feel like there's something that the rank & file fanbase might be able to do if talented people crowdsourced this properly over the next week or so.

 

To be very clear, I am NOT one of the talented people that could help out with this.  I can barely embed videos properly on this board.  And I'm also not talking about an amatuer/fan made 'hype' video like we see some people do quickly by slapping up "The Victors" or some other song and splicing random video together.  I'm talking about a sophisticated video production effort with quality lighting, editing, etc.  

 

Maybe it's a bad idea, maybe the cost or timetable would be way too impossible to hit at this late date.  Or maybe the powers that be would deem the effort too transparent and patronizing to Harbaugh.  And if we can't do it the right way in terms of quality of video production, then we shouldn't even attempt it.  And there would be zero way Harbaugh would ever see if it this project didn't get buy-in from Hackett or the AD or several people close to Harbaugh personally in his personal network.  

 

But if all the stars could align, I think it'd be worth a shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CRISPed in the DIAG

December 18th, 2014 at 2:29 PM ^

Belichick is loved in NE, you just have to understand the way we/they love people.  It's kind of like hate.  Or resentment. Until you're gone for a few years, they don't always appreciate you.

For some reason the enemies engender their own affection -  eg, Magic would get a standing O from the Garden if he came back.

LKLIII

December 18th, 2014 at 1:10 PM ^

I'm also in agreement that we shouldn't be bordering on the creepy side of things here.  The stalking the real estate transactions is too much.  That's actually why one of my points is that it shouldn't be some random fan video posted on YouTube from the fever swamps of the internet somewhere.  It'd be something that would show up in the formal offer packet, or at minimum something a trusted friend or colleague passes along and says "And the guys in Ann Arbor wanted you to watch this too."

Just something to ensure that the words & numbers on the offer sheet aren't viewed simply as words & numbers.

I'm confident Hackett is hitting the X's and O's.  Just hoping that they're also maxing out on the Jimmys and Joes.

sierragold

December 18th, 2014 at 1:12 PM ^

Michigan doesn't need to do anymore. Jim has been wooed, he has a great offer on the table and needs time to finish the NFL Season to accept the offer.

He knows what is in his heart and if it seriously takes a personal video to tip the scale than his heart is not at Michigan.

Patiently Waiting until the end of the month.

Jim is coming home!

FrankMurphy

December 18th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^

Back in 2001 when Bill Martin made a push to hire Rick Pitino, a few students organized a rally and a petition to get Pitino to say yes. Obviously it didn't work, but it did get Pitino's attention; the guy who started the petition actually got to talk to Pitino on the phone and Pitino told him, "You almost had me." 

EDIT: Found the Daily link: http://www.michigandaily.com/content/pitino-changes-his-mind-goes-louisville

AMazinBlue

December 18th, 2014 at 1:08 PM ^

There will be no negotiating on this one.  It's either yes or no.  If it's no, I hope the door closes for good and we never start down this road again with him.  There has been too much pining, begging and pleading.  I wish the numbers had never been released.  I wanted JH to either say yes or no and then let the info out.

Now there's this fingerpointing at Michigan for going all Alabama to get Harbaugh and get back to winning.  I just don't see Michigan sacrificing its values to win at football.  Schissel says they wouldn't.  I hope aside from huge money, UM doesn't turn its head just to win football games. 

That being said, I want JH if he wants to come here, not just because the money is the biggest.

LKLIII

December 18th, 2014 at 1:16 PM ^

I somewhat agree.

We tried to play it cool in 2010.  But we are decidedly un-cool about it this time around.  The toothpaste is out of the tube.  May as well max out what we've got right now and make sure we nail down the emotional appeal as well.  This thread isn't about sacrificing academics or other standards--it's just about making sure we are fully firing on all levels to appeal to him.  

Then, if he still says no, we've tried it both ways.  If neither way works, then "he's just not that into us" and we as a fan base need to move on.

UMProud

December 18th, 2014 at 1:18 PM ^

Harbaugh already used our last job offer in 2011 to up his $$$ with SF.  If he stood us up last time I'm wondering why we are going down this road again.  Jim's a great coach but odd person.  There are some downsides with him.  I hope Hackett is thinking about the potential for keeping Jim (if we landed him) for more than a couple years.  I sort of wonder if we wouldn't be better off hiring a proven coach that we know this would be their last stop for stability reasons.  How many times does and in how many ways does Harbaugh have to say no before we get it?

There's alot of groupthink on this guy and that's not a good thing.

UofM626

December 18th, 2014 at 2:02 PM ^

How the hell can Jimmy turn us down after watching that speech. I know he deep down bleeds Michigan Blue and has to know if he spurns us this time he will be looked upon in a very different way. I'm holding out as I think he will do what is right but the fact his agent leaked that info tells me that's the $$$ he wants from a NFL team. Hope I am wrong

It'sGreatToBe

December 18th, 2014 at 2:12 PM ^

Somebody floated a slightly similar idea in another thread, but here's an alternative idea:

Start a crowd-sourced fundraiser for one of the worthy Michigan-related charities that hits home for many of us (for example, either of: http://givetomott.org/whygive/how-your-gifts-are-used/why-we-need-your-help/the-family-hope-fund/ or http://givetomott.org/charles-woodson-research-fund/), and ask alumni and fans to donate to one of these funds as a symbolic gesture of how much the University of Michigan means to each of us and how much we would appreciate Jim Harbaugh returning home. It would be a non-refundable donation that gets made regardless of whether JH comes to Michigan or not, but with ample publicity it could send a very strong reminder of just how wonderful the Michigan community can be. At this point, our pitch to Jim Harbaugh is that Michigan represents something truly special that he simply won't find in the NFL, and I'm hard pressed to think of ways we can exemplify that better than raising thousands of dollars for a place like C.S. Motts.

One thing to note is to make sure the donation could be ear-marked to go to the specified charity at Michigan, as many of the crowdsource fundraising sites only allow contributions to the general fund for "The Regents of the University of Michigan". That may require confirming directly with the University, but any request for people to donate should be able to provide sufficient assurances that the funds are going where we say they are.

You can count on my donation if anyone on here feels they can execute on this concept successfully and wants to take the lead.

The_Mad Hatter

December 18th, 2014 at 3:33 PM ^

creepy!

OMG Jim Harbaugh's eyes are so dreamy!  Do you think he likes me?  I thought he was staring at me in study hall!!!

He brushed up against me in the hallway!! Swoooooon!!!