College Football is BACK!
‘Tis the season! The season of falling leaves, dropping temperatures, back to school, and of course, FOOTBALL! Even better, COLLEGE FOOTBALL. As a Michigan fan, this season is different from many others as the so-called prodigal son, Jim Harbaugh, is back in Ann Arbor. (Sorry, non-Michigan fans, this might not be an article you consider “stuff you’ll love.”)
Jim Harbaugh was born in Toledo, Ohio (the same location as our corporate headquarters). He grew up in Ann Arbor, where his dad was a coach at Michigan, then moved to California as a teenager. But Harbaugh decided to return to Ann Arbor as a college student-athlete at the University of Michigan where he made a name for himself as the starting quarterback for the Wolverines. After playing a few seasons in the NFL, he turned to coaching – starting off in some smaller schools, then working his way to become the head coach at Stanford University, taking the Cardinals to an impressive 11-1 season. Then, as Lebron James would say, “he took his talents to the NFL” as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. After a few seasons there, including three NFC Championship appearances, and one Super Bowl appearance (of all opponents, he faced off against his brother, John, head coach of the Baltimore Ravens in that one). Then the vacancy with the Wolverines opened up, and it seemed as though Jim just couldn’t resist to return home to Ann Arbor once again and bring his team back to the glory days!
With all that said, for those that follow the sports world (and in some cases, even those that don’t), Jim brings all sorts of attention to all of his stops. Whether it be his game-day attire (pleated Wal-Mart khakis with a tucked-in crew-neck sweatshirt), or his sometimes over-the-top enthusiasm, as a Wolverine fan, I couldn’t be more excited to have Harbaugh back in the college game, back in the Big Ten Conference, and better yet, back in Michigan!
Even if you are not a Wolverines fan, how could you not love this guy? See articles/videos below of all sorts of attention he has received for his previously mentioned attire – including a Dockers® commercial starring his wife with the concept of #StopDadPants, referring to the pleated khakis. It has even come to Fox Sports wrapping one of their media buses in celebration of the khaki-sweatshirt combo.
Well, I am excited for college football and confident to say I am excited for the Wolverines as well under Harbaugh. And as for his tie-ins to marketing, it seems like the opportunities are endless!
Love him or hate him, Harbaugh has a truly incredible story (makes it even better to have the Toledo connection) and it seems like the sky is the limit right now for all of college football, the Big Ten, and of course, Michigan. GO BLUE!
#StopDadPants Dockers® Commercial:
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of the entire staff at Fruchtman Marketing.
Fox Sports ‘HarBUS”
– Photo from Detroit Free Press
