Super Bowl XLVII: Harbaugh brothers prepare to do battle

As the Baltimore Ravens get set to do battle with the San Fransisco 49ers, brothers John and Jim Harbaugh will be setting their family ties aside as they prepare to take their teams all the way at Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans later today.

John has been Ravens coach since 2008 and experienced the play-offs five times, while younger brother Jim is in just his second season in charge of the 49ers.

“Anybody who has a brother, especially one that’s close in age, gets it,” said John.

“You just grow up fighting for everything. You fight for the extra hotdog. You fight for girls. You fight for everything. We both got our girls, but we both want a victory this week.

“We had our fights, we had our imaginary games more often in the back yard. We were never coaches, I could tell you that. We were the quarterback and the receiver, we were the stars, we were the players.

“The truth of it is that’s what this game is going to be decided by. It’s not going to be about the coaches. It’s about the guys playing the game and making the plays, like it always is. That’s how it always plays out.”

Jim added of his brother: “He’s very talented. I’ve said it many times, I think I’m half the coach that he is but I’m trying. That might be a little bit generous.

“I have less than half the experience he has, less than half the play-off appearances, wins, etc. We know the task ahead of us, we know the great challenge ahead of us.”