Friday, January 7, 2011

The Jim and Pete Show

"What's your deal?" Thus did Pete Carroll greet Jim Harbaugh after Stanford's 2009 butt-whipping of USC. In case Harbaugh's hearing was faulty, Carroll repeated his question.

And in case Carroll didn't get the point, Harbaugh responded, "What's your deal?"

Carroll was ticked because Harbaugh ordered Stanford to go for a two-point conversion after its 7th touchdown of the day. The USC coach apparently felt Stanford might be pouring it on a bit.

Um, yes. They were pouring it on that November day. It's the way Harbaugh runs things: in your face, right at you. His Cardinal had a chance to make a statement against Big Bad USC, and he wasn't going to miss that chance.

We didn't get the chance to see how a Carroll-coached USC team would respond when next it met Stanford, because by the time Stanford nipped USC on a game-ending field goal in the tightest game of Stanford's magical 2010 season, Carroll was coaching the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL.

Don't bet that Carroll has forgotten. And now that Harbaugh has ended the Great Wooing of 2011 by hiring on with the 49ers, get ready for an even more delicious rivalry. As divisional foes, the 49ers and Seahawks will face each other twice each year.

We may never know what Harbaugh's "deal" was (or Carroll's either, for that matter), but this rivalry is a great deal for football fans. Love or despise Carroll or Harbaugh, nobody can accuse either of being colorless or boring. They're both good for football, a game that thrives on passion and energy.

Bring it on!

2 comments:

Chris D. said...

Hey I'm just hoping the pattern continues for the Niners - things have historically worked out pretty well for them after hiring head coaches from Stanford :-) Of course, it's a gamble on someone who's done well in college but has no pro head coaching experience, and we shouldn't expect too much too soon. Let's admit we were spoiled by all those great teams of the 80's and 90's. But let's also hope this will be a big step towards making the 49ers great again!

Looking forward to next season already! Go Niners!

tom carter said...

noting to do with the post, but regarding the freak play and referee call that decided the BCS game, and carrying on the same Catholic imagery as another freak play that decided an early Super Bowl, last night's play should be forever known as "the immaculate genuflection."