Jim Harbaugh Had No Idea Who Paul Finebaum Was
By Ty Duffy
Jim Harbaugh went shirtless in Alabama. He was also informed he was the talk of Paul Finebaum’s show, and had no idea who Finebaum was.
"Harbaugh looks confused and shakes his head. He doesn’t know who Paul Finebaum is. The coach continues, “He’s a radio show host.” Again, nothing from Harbaugh. “He’s a big deal down here in SEC country,” another coach chimes in. Harbaugh nods. He asks about what they discussed and quickly moves on to something else. If the most popular radio show host in SEC country is talking about him, he doesn’t seem to care."
The immediate reaction is “hey, look at Jim Harbaugh living in that bubble,” which would be a very media way of looking at things. The truth is he’s the one outside the bubble.
Media coverage has celebrified and blurred with entertainment. But, media coverage, even at the Finebaum level, remains talking about other people doing things. The people doing things don’t, necessarily, view their actions as providing grist for a discussion mill. The center of the media universe is not the center of the universe.
Many coaches care deeply about what’s being written or said about them. Jim Harbaugh, attacking life like Teddy Roosevelt on amphetamines, is the exception. He’s probably not even reading your tweets.