The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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and team morale was "very, very, very high." "The trip's been good on the front of team development and football de- velopment, but I also think it's been real good for guys to get to know each other better," Harbaugh said. "Guys who didn't know somebody as well got a real eye opener … 19 different meals, sitting down, having a conver- sation with somebody and learning about them, what their story is. "That was good. I watched it all week, multiple times, just watching … you can learn a lot by just watch- ing. "They had a lot of fun and worked very hard. I think it was very benefi- cial for us and really productive in so many things." The experience exceeded his high expectations. They felt like innova- tors, he added, until he did research and found that the 1938 Cornell swim coach brought his team to Florida. "That started the whole spring break phenomenon," he quipped. "Maybe we're giving ourselves a little too much credit on the innova- tion part. "[But] I would recommend this to other football programs. I would rec- ommend it to us to do it again. There were no negatives — there were all positives. I would consider doing it, definitely [at other places]." He already had thoughts on doing it again next spring, he added, and making it even better. Of all the criticism he heard from other coaches, Harbaugh noticed one comment about his methods resem- bling a "circus" more than any other. "As a youngster, I remember the circus pretty well," he said. "I re- member looking forward to it, saving my pennies up and dollars up be- cause the circus was coming to town. "Every circus I ever went to I al- ways left feeling really great about it, and it was a lot of fun. That's the way I feel about this — it was much-an- ticipated and a heck of a lot of fun." Though some coaches said they expected the NCAA to intervene and disallow spring break ball in the fu- ture, Harbaugh isn't among them. "I don't see why. You know my feelings on it," Harbaugh said. "Ar- guments [against it] don't hold wa- ter. "This is a really good thing. It's good for everybody involved, most important for the fellas. … It's been fun. Let the guys play — let them have fun. What's wrong with that?" Nothing at all, which his team proved in the first week of March. ❏ Much Of The Nation On Board With Jim Harbaugh's Florida Trip National reaction to Michigan's week of spring ball in Florida was mixed prior to the Wolverines' trip, but most were calling out the hypocrisy of those against it — primarily, the SEC — by week's end. Here's what some had to say of Michi- gan's spring break in the Sunshine State: