Jack Harbaugh won’t attend 49ers-Ravens game; wants to avoid Manning-type ‘anguish’

So the good news this Thanksgiving is that there won’t be endless camera time spent on the Harbaugh parents in the luxury box during the game between the 49ers and Ravens. That’s because they won’t be there. John and Jim Harbaugh square off on Thursday as you know — the first time brothers have coached against each other in an NFL game. But Jack, their dad, and mom Jackie will only make a brief pre-game appearance on the field for photos. They will then leave the stadium and watch the game on TV.

Jack Harbaugh says he wants to avoid all the attention that Archie Manning and his wife received the first time their sons played each other. Jack Harbaugh, on 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore with The Norris and Davis:

“I remember a few years ago I watched when the Mannings opened the season one year. I’m sure it was all planned. Peyton and Eli opened and I remembered seeing the Mannings up in a press box and it seemed like the camera spent as much time on them as they did the two boys. I perceive the anguish that they felt in watching the ballgame. That’s probably misplaced, but that’s what I saw, and we made up our mind that this day is about the 49ers and about the Ravens.”

Oh, and speaking of the Mannings …

Fun fact: kicker David Akers, who has been so instrumental in the 49ers’ success this season, was recruited by Jack Harbaugh at Western Kentucky. Akers, however, picked Louisville.

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Jack and Jackie Harbaugh won’t be sticking around for the Manning Treatment on Thursday [Sports Radio Interviews]