24 hours of Jim Harbaugh can be tough on Jim Harbaugh, too
Many have marveled -- or criticized -- Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh for his non-stop motor.
Every day is something new -- another satellite camp plan or "Signing of the Stars" event or trip to Paris or producing and releasing a rap video. It's exhausting to watch for many and has drawn his critics for the ubiquitous presence.
At times in his life, Harbaugh's relentlessness has turned off potential friends.
"I can understand that," Harbaugh said today on the "Waddle and Silvy" radio show on ESPN 1000. "Sometimes I have difficulty with 24 hours of being around me, too. I wouldn't mind some Jim Harbaugh Lite from time to time. (But) I can't escape it."
Not that he really wants to.
Harbaugh loves his life, the interactions with celebrities who are glad to embrace him, the experiences that hardly fit with his actual job title. And, he'll actually admit it's better than it was when he was little, forced to throw a ball against a wall outside an Ann Arbor building to entertain himself.
"I've loved it ever since ever," he said. "I just love being around people, connecting with people. It's going better now. I think I used to annoy people when I was younger. They didn't want anything to do with me. So, like 'hey, how you doing, can I meet you? Can we play catch? No, we can't, I don't want to be around you anymore. My brother, my dad, every kid in the neighborhood. I just wanted to be going all the time. Just ran out of friends that I had or people who didn't want to be around me. That wall was always there, though."
While he appears to be the ultimate extrovert, embracing the world around him, Harbaugh admitted he's the opposite when facing adversity.
Asked by the show hosts who he calls when he needs a pick-me-up, if it's his brother John, Harbaugh admitted he deals with it internally.
"I never make that call," he said. "I never make that 'I need to be picked up call. It's against my principles. I've got some issues, I've got some problems maybe. I don't want to cry on somebody's shoulder. Leave me my misery and my pain. Sir Andrew Scott I believe it was who said, 'I'm a little bit wounded, I'll lay down and bleed awhile, but then I'll rise and fight again.' ... I prefer that to crying on somebody's shoulder."
The hour-plus interview was classic Harbaugh all the way through, dropping stories, anecdotes and his own twist on the world.
A few of the highlights:
• The idea for his satellite camp barnstorming over the past two Junes came from talking to his brother-in-law, John Feuerborn, whose daughter wanted to get exposure for volleyball. Feuerborn felt she needed to attend the UCLA and Stanford camps, costing her family $1500, including the trip. "I said there's nothing really else you can do, it'd be great if UCLA could come to (their home) in Kansas City and held a camp but people don't do that. So, boom, I was like, why don't we do that? Just think of the money and the time and the energy -- and the money -- that these families would save and when you times it by 15-20,000 youngsters that came to our camps all over the country, the money savings is exponential. More than that, these youngsters get motivated."
• There was significant talk about his passion for television star Judge Judy.
"She's the best, I hope she keeps doing it. I am so entertained watching Judge Judy, you all should try it," he said, adding he has tries to watch it everyday and has 83 episodes saved up on the DVR. "Just watch her over and over again."
And the trip with his father, Jack to see the show tape in person.
"We couldn't have been more tickled," Harbaugh said. "He loves her. He's the one who first told me to start watching her... We had lunch with her, we got to play cards with her and the two of us are sitting there. We're like elbowing each other. Because you watch seven different episodes be shot."
Harbaugh also said he became friends with her bailiff.
"Judge Judy's bailiff is named Bird," Harbaugh said. "When he's standing up there looking like he's writing, he's doing crossword puzzles up there. He's the greatest. I got to know him too. I'm friends with Bird. I have his phone number, he has mine. He's been to 49er games, come out and watch practice. He's a good guy."
• As he prepared to throw out the first pitch at tonight's Cubs-White Sox game in Chicago, Harbaugh said he didn't have his trademark cleats, but had his golf shoes so planned to wear them. But when he spoke to baseball Hall of Famer Greg Maddux last week, he was told it's the slipperiest mound in baseball. So Harbaugh said he planned to ask the players or staff for a pair of cleats so he could throw a strong pitch. "Size 12," he yelled out to the audience at the restaurant where the show was having its remote.
There will be much more from the interview in the days and weeks to come.
Harbaugh throws first pitch
Harbaugh is making his round around major-league ballparks. Tonight, he was at Wrigley Field to throw the first pitch before the Chicago cross-town rivalry game between the White Sox and Cubs.
Contact Mark Snyder at msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @mark__snyder.
Download our Wolverines Xtra app on iTunes and Android!
Michigan TE Jake Butt: I came back to have a 'special season'
Jim Harbaugh starting Wolverines' QB competition over in fall camp