East Coast perspective of Jim Harbaugh

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Greetings, Stanford fans, from the Discover Orange Bowl.

There's been a lot of talk out here about perception, East Coast versus West Coast, and what Stanford and Virginia Tech know about each other having never played each other before.

I've talked to a few local people here who plan on going to this game just to see Stanford play because they rarely get the opportunity to. This team is worth watching, and coach Jim Harbaugh is the reason. Having met him for the first time here at the Discover Orange Bowl, it's easy to see why he's been so successful. This game consumes him.

Harbaugh made a name for himself as a quarterback at Michigan, but he still looks like a linebacker who could level even his own standout quarterback. He comes across as a square-jawed, all-business coach.

Until you ask him about coaching. Then he lights up.

"You feel like you're walking out on a ledge; what the heck are we doing this to ourselves for?" he said. "Then you get in that game and something great happens and you have the best six hours of your life following that ballgame. Or you don't play as well and you lose and you toss and turn all night and you can't sleep or eat and you're sick as can be in your stomach. And then the next day you wake up, and let's make damned sure that doesn't happen again and what can we do about it? Or you feel the great thrill of victory and winning and contributing to the winning. Either way it brings you back the next day re-energized and focused on the next opponent.

"It's a crazy mad dash and I love every bit of it."

Expect that passion to transcend from coast to coast.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/37006/east-coast-perspective-of-jim-harbaugh

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