CC: Jim Harbaugh's Maize and Blue Blood
My Grandpa bought the book Michigan Memories: Inside Bo Schembechler's Football Scrapbook for me several years ago. In the book is a story about Jim Harbaugh entitled Early Maize and Blue Blood. There are several very interesting comments from Harbaugh and I thought I would share them (fyi the book was published in 1998).
"I lived and died with Michigan, there's absolutely nothing on earth like a football Saturday in Ann Arbor. That's what I lived for. On Friday nights I never slept, I got so keyed up for the games."
"When you play at Michigan you can't help but feel all of the great players and coaches who performed before you. That helped give you a toughness for not letting them down. And no one ever wanted to let Bo down."
"I could never repay Michigan for everything it's done for me and my family.* Not just for the opportunity in football, but for everything it's meant to my life. Anyone who has gone to Michigan will tell you the same thing."
The article concludes with this:
Of all Harbaugh's Michigan football memories, one of his fondest came in 1985 after the Wolverines beat Ohio State, 27-17, in Michigan Stadium. After the game, Bo called Harbaugh into his office. " Do you realize how much you meant to Michigan today? Do you realize how proud your parents are of you?" - "I'll never forget that moment."
Obviously things can change over time, but I think that Harbaugh still has a love of Michigan football, and being head coach is something he won't pass up. Make us proud again Jim!
*Yes, you can.
January 4th, 2011 at 2:10 AM ^
and we'll know for sure whether that quote still reflects how he feels!
January 4th, 2011 at 2:10 AM ^
Great post. All i know is I'm having nightmares. Nightmares of this man on a sailboat with his hair flopping in the wind making yet another bad, untimely decision based on no real analysis. I can't sleep. I'm calling it BMSD. Also, I hope Adam Schefter or Desmond Howard handle all the rumors this week because of their affiliation to UM. If I see Kirk Herbstreit on television this week, I might lose it.
January 4th, 2011 at 2:31 AM ^
You're an asshole. Bill Martin restored our Athletic Department. Rebuilt our facilities and our finances. You clearly are too ignorant and uninformed to understand that. Just fuck off, until you learn a bit more about how our Athletic Department operates.
If you wanted a picture of an idiot AD, you might have started with Tom Goss.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:05 AM ^
bill martin restored the finances of our program and got the department back into the black, sure. but sailor bill did us no favors when it comes to wins and losses of multiple sport programs. nearly every coach he hired went on to have a worse record then his or her predecessor. put another way, he's a CFO and not a CEO and shouldnt have been handed the keys to the kingdom.
but speaking of ignorant and uninformed, help me out here - im a little confused. how does having the athletic director assault a student working for dps improve and restore the athletic department? or is that part of "learning a bit more how the athletic department operates?" then again, your bombastic and uncalled for response to snoop's post seems in line with such behavior.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:12 AM ^
Okay, now that I know where you're coming from, I really don't care about you at all.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:21 AM ^
not that really i care what you think of me, but that's a more measured and composed response that how you originally responded to snoop and more in line with what i expect from 1000+ pointers on this site.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:12 AM ^
If you think Martin assaulted any Michigan student then you probably believe a lot of what the Freep has written. That story was complete bullshit.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:44 AM ^
actually it was students - as in two students on two separate occasions. something like this happenning once may be an aberration (and likely not deserving of much scruitiny), but twice is a trend.
not sure where you are going with the freep there, but yeah, i do consider annarbor.com (and previosuly the ann arbor news) as a decent news source. of course, the site also links directly to a copy of the police report, assuming we are to trust dps (bill obviously doesnt).
from:
http://www.annarbor.com/news/michigan-athletic-director-bill-martin-acc…
Khan said the person then told him, "I am the athletic director, I can go in." He also said Martin grabbed his identification badge hanging around his neck, saying, "I want to know your name."
maybe he really wanted to recommend the kid for a raise for doing a good job...
January 4th, 2011 at 8:13 AM ^
Martin tried to get past someone who was physically blocking his way. Calling it an "assault" is somewhere between absudity and melodrama. By these standards, elderly women "assault" each other shopping on a regular basis. Martin wasn't convicted of any crime in either incident; apparently, the law didn't agree with either drama queen who accused him.
I agree that Martin was a CFO and not a CEO. The jury is still out on Brandon, though. So far, the thing at which he has shown himself to be the most adept is attracting attention; there won't be any alleged "assaults" in situations similar to the Martin incidents because Brandon is in the paper or on TV almost every day. It would be almost impossible for him to hire a student who doesn't recognize his face. As for what he actually does, though, we won't really know the results of his actions or decisions, past, present, or pending, for a few years.
I think he is arrogant, bordering on being a "loose cannon." Whether this ends up being good for Michigan is yet to be seen. I am on record as liking leaders to be cocky so that people will follow them, but I also want them to take their time, do their research, and make intelligent, well-thought decisions in situations such as this one.
It should be an interesting week.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:36 AM ^
As a former student who worked in the athletic department from 2005 to 2008, you fuck off. Clearly, it is that bleeding time of the month for you. He sure did improve our facilities and get us out of the red. I know that our Athletic Department's operations revolve around the football program, I know this for a fact because I've helped prepare financial statements. Never called Bill Martin an idiot, just someone who didn't do very well in one of the most important decisions a Michigan AD has to make. If i wanted a picture of just some another idiot who clearly has a stick so far up their ass they can't take a joke, I would have just asked for a picture of you.
January 4th, 2011 at 7:24 AM ^
+1 for Goss, at least, Section 1, although your tone is a bit strident. What a @#$%ing clown that guy was.
January 4th, 2011 at 11:11 AM ^
And I do. My tone was out of line. I try to be careful most of the time, because I also realize how stubborn I can be. But my name-calling in this thread was not right. I'm sorry for it. It was very late when I posted after working unusually late.
I don't mind saying, that I went off on all of this for a reason that might not be apparent. It's this. I hate the fact that some people may be prone to proving Drew Sharp right. Sound odd? It's not. After Martin brought in Rich Rodriguez, Sharp wrote that Martin's legacy would depend on the success of Rich Ridriguez. I disagreed then, and I still do. Martin's legacy is secure, as the guy who cleaned up the mess (and it was an incredible mess) that Tom Goss left. Martin's legacy is left with the Stadium, and Glick Fieldhouse, and the rebuilt baseball stadium, and some sound financial statements.
I also think that people are revisionists if they think that Martin's hire of Rich Rodriguez was inexcusable. The choice was Les Miles (is that the guy we'd want here, now?) or Greg Schiano, basically. Juding by how collegiate football coaches get hired and fired these days, there is not a one without rampant rumor-mongering, false information, second-guessing, multiple candidates, etc.
I'm quite serious about defending Bill Martin, for things that will be with us 50 or 100 years from now. When no one will remeber the names of anyone else in the Athletic Department, and few of the names on the field. And I get angry when people seem to be making Drew Sharp sound like he made a good prediction. For no good reason. But I should have been more careful the way I said it.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:09 AM ^
Enjoy some Domino's pizza slices while you pass the time, you will not regret it.
January 4th, 2011 at 2:11 AM ^
Oh yeah he can. Yea he can.
January 4th, 2011 at 2:12 AM ^
"No one ever wanted to let Bo down." That is an extremely moving quote, and I hope he can create that same sort of atmosphere as a coach if we're lucky enough to get him. Judging by how he interacts with his Stanford players, it seems like they have an immense amount of respect for him.
January 4th, 2011 at 2:12 AM ^
I called the same line, and they told me the same thing! Awesome!!!!
January 4th, 2011 at 2:14 AM ^
read yourself?
January 4th, 2011 at 2:18 AM ^
Miss Cleo is a respectful psychic and you should call her yourself instead of siphoning information off me! She has all the answers.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:13 AM ^
I had sex with Miss Cleo... and saw my future
January 4th, 2011 at 2:21 AM ^
If he comes to AA and wins he'll be hailed as the second coming of Bo.
Maybe it's just me...
But that trumps anything you could get in the NFL.
January 4th, 2011 at 10:18 AM ^
.... there was a drawing for a contest to win tickets to the Bowl game and Bo was drawing the winning name. As he walked out onto the field the chant "BO IS GOD" began and grew into a deafining roar that could only be quieted by the man himself, I'm telling you that the loved that poured out into that stadium that day was something that I'll take to my grave.
I know Bo felt the devotion of the legions of fans that day. I would think that Jim Harbaugh would like to one day ride off into the sunset with the knowledge that so many would do the same for him should he deliver in the same manner.
January 4th, 2011 at 2:22 AM ^
Yeah, I read the Les Miles entry in that book during the last coaching search.
Advice to people who aren't the OP: Don't read that book. Until the name is on the dotted line.
January 4th, 2011 at 2:26 AM ^
There's either some night owls or West Coast posters on this thread.
I originally thought that JH was a little over the top pre-game and early on, but as the evening progressed, I realized that is just the way he is. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and doesn't care what others think just like when he was playing for us. We could use some of that enthusiasm around here.
Be careful reading yourself. The IRS does not like Miss Cleo and other readers. You'd think they would have seen that coming.
January 4th, 2011 at 2:55 AM ^
He wears his emotions on his sleeve and doesn't care what others think just like when he was playing for us.
isn't not caring what others think in emotional moments (you raise me up....) one of the problems with RR lately? we don't have an issue with lack of emotion. we have an issue with lack of emotion-related-to-not-sucking-at-football-and-getting-fired.
January 4th, 2011 at 2:44 AM ^
He could never repay Michigan for everything it has done for him and his family. Not just for the opportunity in football, but for everything it's meant to his life. Anyone who has gone to Michigan will tell you the same thing.
....except for 2007 Jim Harbaugh, who implies by his comments that Michigan didn't do anything but force him into a major he didn't want. Amazing how young Jim Harbaugh was thankful to Michigan when his coaching career and recruiting wouldn't benefit from his comments. Also funny he would mention no one wanting to let down Bo when his comments, had Bo been alive, would have definitely let Bo down.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:07 AM ^
Damn, I can't even pass that job when I'm playing ncaa 20xx, everytime the job opens up and offers me I end up with M