With signing day just two days away and Michigan hosting Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Ric Flair and Lou Holtz on Wednesday, Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh penned a love letter of sorts in the Players’ Tribune to the town of Ann Arbor, where he spent most of his childhood and now lives.
Harbaugh discusses how growing up in Ann Arbor shaped who he is today:As a kid, to have adults think you’re valuable enough to perform certain tasks gives you a real sense of confidence. Cutting the lawn. Raking leaves. Shoveling snow. Walking the dog for our neighbor Mrs. Trumm — who was a German professor at Michigan — for 25 cents. Picking up the rocks and putting them in that truck over there …
It gave you a real sense of pride.
That’s just how the people were in Ann Arbor when I was growing up. It wasn’t just Tom Minick and my dad’s friends. I could tell you about teachers, coaches, clergy people. People I learned from who had a profound impact on me.Harbaugh also adds this:
I find it to be the same place today. It’s changed over time, but at its core, it’s the same. It’s still vibrant and alive, full of good, genuine, down-to-earth people who laugh easy and make you laugh. I still feel that love here — how people care about and want the best for their kids, the way my parents did. I go all over this country recruiting people, and it’s enjoyable. When I’m inside these homes, it doesn’t even feel like work. I meet so many good families everywhere I go. And they all want the best for their sons and daughters. That’s the common thread.
We have that here in Ann Arbor. Very strongly.Not coincidentally, any recruits reading Harbaugh’s story were subliminally pitched on packing up their lives and moving to Ann Arbor to play football at Michigan. And also not coincidentally, Michigan’s signing day event will be streamed on the Players’ Tribune website.
