November 16, 2021 • 26 mins
Cassie Calvert talks to Ingrid and Alison Harbaugh about what life is like with John Harbaugh, their family hobbies, the challenges and perks of being a coaching family, lacrosse, and much more.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
This past year, the phrase girl dad has become common
thanks to legendary basketball player and father Kobe Bryant and
Ravens had coached. John Harball is a prime example of
Kobe's iconic moniker. Harps has always proudly shared his daughter,
Allison's success and has made a point to make her
a part of the Ravens organization and family, just like
(00:28):
he would have if he had had a son. The
third member of the Hardball trio is Ingrid, John's wife
and Allison's mom, who the other two Hardball say is
the most athletic and driven of the bunch. Ingrid helps
both navigate the highs and lows of being in the
Baltimore spotlight. Honestly, they remind me of my own little
family trio. They're an athletic and competitive family who are
(00:50):
extremely compassionate and cared deeply about this community. And that's
why I'm so excited to have Allison and Ingrid on
this episode of the Purple Chair Podcast to take you
inside life as an NFL family. Ingrid, I'll start with
you to kind of set the stage for everybody to
how he got here. How did you and John originally meet?
John and I met at Western Michigan University, Go broncos.
(01:14):
I was actually working in the baseball office and in
the building there, all the sports offices are in a
huge hallway and they just keep going down the hall
one after another. In football office was at the end
of the hall, kind of took up this whole big
you know, cul de sac there, And I love baseball,
but I wasn't. I'm like, baseball job, I can't wait.
(01:36):
So I was in there and I saw him walk
down the hall and that's how we met. And he
stuck his head and said hi. I'm like hi, and
then um, from there, I mean, we have a long
distance relationship. He moved around a lot for college football
fourteen years and there and then um, I met up
with him again later on and then eventually got married
(01:57):
in Cincinnati. And yes, we just at each other at
the athletic facility. That's awesome. How long have you guys
been married now we've been ready thirty years. Wow, that's incredible. Yes,
so you kind of touched on this. A coaching journey
can really be all over the place, you know, and
it can be have its ups and downs. It's obviously
a tough field to break into um. But was there
a point when he realized, like this really is going
(02:19):
to be like a viable option for him, Like he
could become an NFL head coach, because people can coach
for years and never make it to this point. Well,
we just thought, honestly, we'd be coaching in the college level.
And we find him finally made it into the Big Ten.
We thought, yeah, this is gonna be great. And we
were there one year and then Philadelphia Eagles called and
(02:40):
for special teams coach and it worked out, and we
never thought we'd be in the NFL. And then as
time went on the NFL see he thought, well, you know,
maybe I can be a head coach. And he was
his mentor, Andy Reid, who's head coach at Kansas City, Uh,
you know, really kind of helped him out, you know,
and just said, you know, I just got keep plugging
(03:00):
away and eventually had a you know, an opportunity to
do that. Even like when you when you get the
call to come to Baltimore, I'm sure like I'm just curious,
I guess, did you expect that you'd be here for
thirteen years? I feel like that's so rare in the NFL.
That's such like a volatile field that did you have
any inclination that like this would be such a permanent
spot for you guys, No, not at all, considering we
(03:23):
moved around five different colleges and there I went to
phill In Phili we had a long run too for
ten years, which is unheard of, and then coming here,
I guess you know, it's we've been blessed and fourteen
years is a very long time, especially as a head coach.
So we were just like, oh my gosh, this is great.
So that's awesome. So let's talk about games because obviously
(03:44):
that's a big day of the week for your family,
and Sundays are probably the most important day of the week.
But Alison, you guys were able to share this really
special tradition as you grew up here that you guys
were able to be together for the national anthem. So
how did that start? Oh my gosh, I don't even know.
Um well, I used to work on the field and
of her papers to the coaches on the sideline ever
since I was in like fifth grade, and one day
(04:06):
when I was just like, yeah, come on up with
national anthem with me, Like why not? I already on
the side and I was like okay, and then one
day we just started standing next to each other and
just became a thing as the years went on and
every time we would do it every Sunday and eventually
just became a tradition and something that really special that
we could share together. Is not many people get the
opportunity to do that, you know, So it was really
(04:27):
cool experience for sure, totally. I'm sure like last year
with COVID that kind of probably messed that up. And
then but has he missed that now that you've been
gone in college. Yeah, I think so. Sometimes it's like
I wish you could work on the sidelines like Stan
in Nash and he was like, I'm lonely back there. Yeah, no,
it's okay. It's it's still something really cool that we
got to do for a while. Do you guys have
(04:47):
any game day like superstitions as a family. We don't,
though I think John's mom, Jackie does. She's very superstitious,
but so I think maybe I I don't want to
be superstitious because it's just too much to keep track of.
So you know, we really don't. What are her superstitions?
Oh where the same socks, the same outfits. Don't watch
(05:12):
the clothes. Yeah, and then if you lose them, it
wipes it all out and start again. You guys had
the really unique opportunity as a really extended family that
for the super Bowl game. Obviously Jim was there too.
Is it was like your broader family. What was that
like for you guys to really experience a Super Bowl
as an extended family. Well, I had no problem with that.
I was like total Ravens. John's family was split. I
(05:36):
mean it was aunt's uncles, you know, different sides. And
I really felt bad for his parents because they had
to be neutral, you know, because I want somebody's gonna
lose and somebody's gonna win. And I think even John
it was tough because you know, he won. That's great,
it won the super Bowl, but he couldn't celebrate like
a normal head coach would want to celebrate, you know,
he had to keep it kind of some mood. So
I think that was tough. Yeah, because it's such a
(05:58):
rare opportunity for your son to be in the Super Bowl.
And then you added like you have both of them,
Like that's crazy. Did you were you able to be
on the sidelines with him for the National anthem Fore
Bowl on the sidelines is so fun. I get chills
just like thinking about that, Like, that's such a special
moment that you guys were able to share. Um, what
was it like kind of for the week leading up
to it? Obviously there was a lot of like scrutiny
(06:19):
on the brothers, you know there there everyone was talking
about that all week. But what was that like week
like for you guys as a family. It was kind
of nerve racking, you know. I know that San Francisco
arrived before the Ravens did, and then we watched them
arrived there and get off the plane and you know,
so it was kind of surreal. And then and then
we left and then I didn't We didn't get there
(06:41):
till Thursday before, so we were there too, you know,
so we kind of avoided the whole interviews and all
that stuff. We let Jack and Jackie do that, you know,
but um, it was surreal. Like you said, it's like
I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe it.
You know, It's just it was. It was kind of tough.
So the Super Bowl is obviously a highlight. You know,
those are the peak moments. It doesn't really get any
(07:02):
better than that. But when the team isn't doing well,
which fortunately here has not been that often. But what
is that like, does that affect you guys at all
at home? And what is that like? Yeah? I remember
like in middle school and high school it was so
hard on me with it was like I would come
to school on Monday and I feel like there would
just be this eleph in the room. Like I went
to a small private school, so everyone just kind of
(07:23):
be like, oh, like tough game, or like when I
went to a coed school, like all the guys are
giving me a crap about like losing. It was just
like every Monday after a loss, I'd just be kind
of dreading to hear what people were gonna say or
anything like kind of witty that they would have. I'm
just like, oh my gosh. So I would say, Now
it's definitely changed, like now that I'm at in college
(07:44):
in a bigger environment, but in high school it was
it was definitely tough. It was just that much more
like pressure and like anxiety I guess to do well. Yeah,
and like you don't really know another life than that,
like your dad's always been the head coacher. He's one
of the most identifiable people in the area. That's gotta
be tough, like growing up, especially playing sports, I'm sure, yeah,
(08:04):
for sure, um yeah and lacrosse. I would always have
my last name on the on my back of my jersey,
and it would be tough sometimes where people would find out,
like in basketball across people, someone would like, you know,
have some some cheap shot thing to say. I mean,
I was like, oh my gosh. So it's definitely just
an extra layer to worry about sometimes. So but I
(08:24):
mean something like this cool to be a part of,
like definitely has its ups and downs, so it has
two sides to it. But I mean it is what
it is, just like being in the spotlight. I guess
with him has a mom like how do you kind
of prepare her for that? We would talk like every
Sunday night if we had a loss, I'm like, just
(08:45):
go in there and be proud of your dad. And
they say anything, just you know, I'm always like, give
it back to them, Mom. I can't. I'm like, I
know because a lot of times it was the boys,
you know, But once in a while she say a
few things back. But it was just you just say,
I'm proud of my dad. You know, you can't win
them all, and it's uh for me. I could avoid
(09:05):
things if I wanted, or I just did my daily
things that I did and not worried about it. You know, yeah, totally.
I read a quote from your dad that he was
really proud of how you handled that because there is
like extra pressure when you have that last name and
playing lacrosse in this area. So that's really um special
to me. What is it like for you guys as
a family kind of being out in the community here.
It's it's good though. I mean, we love Baltimore. It's
(09:28):
it's very homie. You know, it's um more so than
we love Philly too, but it's so big, you know,
so here it's you get to once you're ingrained into
a school, um, you really get to know that the
parents is you know, and her friends, and then in
sports you get to know those parents too, and and
that kind of became our family because nobody lives here.
(09:50):
Our families are all in the Midwest, so it's kind
of nice. You know, everybody's very welcoming and you know,
they almost like a The parents are kind of like
a protection unit for us sometimes times, especially in the
cross and like the dads were like, Oh, let's let's
go make sure coaches okay over there, you know, people
drinking you know that picture or something like that, and
it was it was nice. You know, we felt like
(10:11):
we had a second family here. I feel like since
Baltimore is so small and he's been here for forever,
like we don't really go anywhere like a restaurant or
anything without being recognized, like when we're with him. But
everyone is just like so nice and so positive. Like
I remember, I think it was two years ago after
a playoff when like we walked into like a pizza restaurant,
(10:33):
people just started standing up and clapping for my dad.
It was like such a cool moment. It was just
really cool. So I feel like the city just has
really embraced him and like us, which is really cool. Yeah,
that has to make he probably that's awesome. How do
you handle it ingrid like when you hear criticism of him? Well,
I actually I hardly even listen to the news or
(10:55):
read it and during football season because it can get
pretty bad. You even winning the Super Bowl still had
critics out there, and so I pretty much block it out.
Like I'll watch the local w b A L sports,
you know, with Jerry Sandusky and and that's about it.
I try to keep it out of my mind because
(11:15):
I get don't get me on Twitter or don't get me,
because that's why I'm not on social media, because I
think I would be really you know, having a tough time,
you know, just defending him. So yeah, yeah, which is
totally natural. When we had Amanda Tucker on and she
was talking about how sometimes like the other family members
are the hardest ones to kind of like Corral, She's like,
you have the same last name as him, you can't
(11:37):
be on there commenting back at people, like saying all
this stuff. She's like, I know that you want to
support him, but like she's like, it's not me, it's
everybody else. Absolutely. Yeah, So I want to go back
to talking about lacrosse a little bit. And during the pandemic,
obviously your dad was home a lot more, and there
was an article about how he was kind of your defender,
your goalie, standing in there for you. So what was
that Like, I know, it was probably special getting to
(11:58):
have a lot more time with him at home before
you did had off to college. Yeah, definitely. I Mean
he's always ever since I was little, always been my defender,
like always been out there in the backyard whenever we can,
like coaching me up on different things, like after games
will be like, Okay, we'll have to work on this
one thing. I'm like, no, we just go out of
the yard. But like looking back on it now, I'm
(12:18):
so thankful that we did that. Just like having those
little moments all the time just like made me so
much better as a player and as a person. And
I think it's really something that we share and bond over.
And especially like with the pandemic, we real really stuck
on and we had nothing to do except play lacrosse
and like compete against each other, Like there was no
one to like compete against, and so we would play
(12:39):
one on one in basketball, across like board games, pool
like whatever we could find, like it's something some competition.
But yeah, I mean that was like really special because
I feel like I wouldn't have had that much time
like with my dad or my mom, like if the
pandemic hadn't happened. Especially having that right before I went
off to college. I was actually really cool that that
(13:00):
much extra time like spending with them. So is he
any good at lacrosse? He's gotten better, He's he's learned
to throw and catch um, but he refuses to learn
how to cradle for some reason, like which is like
you really need to know how to do that, actually
want to run with the ball, And he's like I
don't want to learn. I'm like, well you kind of
have to. But I mean he's gotten better. He's a
good defender, he's a good athlete, so you're gonna move
(13:21):
his feet around, so that's all we really need. And
he had like a knee surgery, so he's using that
as a little bit of excuse. I'm sure like, oh
I'm a little flower now it's like I'm a old
a new knee. I'm like, okay, do you have like
his competitive drive? Yeah? We all three of us have
such a competitive drive. Like I remember in Quarantine, like
(13:42):
we would literally be competing in anything like running up
the stairs, like playing a board game, like playing Uno,
and like even since I was little, like what if
I lost a game, Like I would like throw the
board and they'd be like you really can't do that.
But we do get very competitive, even the slightest things. Uh,
I mean it makes me us better as people. And
(14:03):
I mean we do have to like kind of be
like okay, let's just let's just silly, like let's stop.
But it's always fun. So and I always felt like
I was like her and and John would play like
a round a pool like all right, well loser plays
mom like thanks a lot. You know, I'm just sitting
there like to motivate, I'm like, okay, I'm going to
(14:24):
get that you're the best one out well that I
was going to ask you because John says a lot
that you are in much better shape than he is.
So he says that you're the best athlete in the family. Well,
that's so nice. I don't know. I have always been active,
you know, It's just that's kind of where my brain has,
you know, since I was little, and always have worked
(14:44):
out or a cross country track, softball all these years
and basically and once I was I got old enough,
I'm like, okay, why did she come over to the
gym with me? We're gonna work out. And you know,
it's been good because at a young age, she kind
of understood if you're gonna play sport and you're serious,
you know, let's let's also make sure the body's strong.
(15:04):
And so yeah, she's definitely the one that motivates both
my dad and I, Like we'll be on the cash,
She's like, why do we go for a walk, and
she just pushes a motivates us to be our best
and be like help happy and healthy. And he's like, oh,
like maybe don't eat that extra brown here. But it's great,
amisode thankful for him. Yeah, she's the best one out
(15:25):
of all of us. So I love that. That's really
special that you can all three, like really sure that
I grew up So I'm an only child as well,
also an only girl, and so I grew up with
both my parents super involved in sports. But I have
to ask because we see, you know, the head coach,
John Harbaugh out on the field arguing with ref so
he doesn't like a play call, But like, what is
he like as on the sidelines of your game? So,
(15:45):
like my dad coached me growing up, for me, it
was always he was tougher on me, you know than
everyone else. But what is what was he like kind
of like on the sidelines growing up? I feel like
he's honestly like the complete opposite in my games like
he's very quiet, doesn't say oh, we're like during my games,
I feel like he wants me, like individually to do
so well. He just kind of sits there, like it,
keeps to himself and watches anxiously, I would say, and
(16:08):
doesn't really say anything. At least That's what I've noticed
about him. So there's been very few times where he's
like actually like spoken. I feel like it just kind
of sits there nervously. Well. The one time he did
speak to the reff at a lacrosse game, UM, it
kind of got out of uh control a little bit.
It It was kind of a funny story. Alison was
(16:29):
defending and and on the ride when the attacker is
trying to defend and um, she pushed the girl and
happened to be right in front of us. And John said,
good job else and that that was really good. And
the reff turned to John and said, no, it wasn't.
You know. I called I whistled. That wasn't good. And
(16:50):
he's like, don't say that to her, and he said,
I can say that whenever I want to her. That's
my daughter. So come to find out it was, you know,
as a tournaments. The next day we saw the ref
in the parking lot and John's like, oh my gosh,
I need to go say something to him. Well, the
RAF actually went to Western Michigan at the same time
as he was there coaching football, so they you know where,
they were laughing and I was it was funny. But
(17:12):
it was like the one time that he was like
encouragement the referee had said something to and I'm like,
oh no, that's that's so funny. This a small world. Um,
do you think he's more nervous watching you than Ravens games?
I would think so because I feel like he in
Ravens games, he has a job and he has some
control over the team and things. But just watching my games,
(17:32):
like he's literally just a part of the crowd. He
can't really do anything. So I think that probably makes
him more nervous. Sure he doesn't have any control over
the outcome. Yeah, Um, so you mentioned this earlier. You
know you're often Notre Dame, not playing lacrosse. What has
that transition been like for you? Um, it's been really good.
I mean I honestly, like we're talking about before, like
those extra practices in the backyard of helped me like
(17:53):
be prepared so much for the Lacrosse aspect and being
the only child. I'm such a homebody, you like, I
feel like I'm so close to both of my parents
that that part of it was definitely like hard. Um,
just missing them, missing seeing them every day. But we
always talk on the phone, like every day, multiple times
a day, and like this year, it's been I've gotten
(18:14):
used to it. It's been. It's been really good. Um,
They've definitely helped prepare me and so many aspects of
my life. But what has it been like for you
transitioning to being like empty nesters now that she's there.
It's very difficult. I thought it would be tough, and
it is because you know, she's my best friend. And um,
we always laugh because we'll see Alice, you know, it's
(18:36):
her nickname on their ally pally. Were like Else's calling Else,
this calling she facetiming as we're like so excited, you know,
and we we want to let her have her space
and with she's got such a busy schedule, so we
don't want to bug er, you know, but when at
night she always fits us in in a little call
or or we text a little bit. In the day,
how was your class or we're so excited when we
(19:00):
talked to her. It's pretty much every day or a
couple of times a day just to say hi, and
do you guys get up there a fair amount? Uh? Yeah,
right now. I've been up there last couple of weekends.
Alli since had fallball, which they have UM one more
game actually, so they have a lot of games this fall,
but John has not. However, they have with our bye
week next week it falls on Uh, they have a
(19:21):
lacrosse bank. It's twenty five years of Notre Dame lacrosse.
So actually we're gonna go up there and and John's
gonna go. I was so that'll be fun. Would just
be in and out, but it would be nice. That's awesome.
It's great that you guys will get to share that
being at Notre Dame. Now, do you feel like you
kind of have a little more separation from the like
being Alison hardball that you do like growing up in Baltimore? Yeah,
(19:41):
I think so. Like I feel like everyone knew who
I was at my school and in Baltimore on my
team's UM, but now everyone knows that in every Dame.
I mean it's you know, ten thousand people it's a
lot bigger. No one's gonna just walk by and recognize
me or anything like that, and people don't like really
put it together since it's out of context, I guess.
But yeah, So that's actually been like nice, um not
(20:03):
having to worry about that aspect as much like that
anxiety of people knowing or saying something. So that's actually
been better. I feel like, do you know, like kind
of what you want to do after college? I have
no idea. Um, honestly, I've definitely thought about being a
coach or like going into sports broadcasting, like I've just
(20:24):
been around in my whole life. I thinks it's so
fun and just like I love it. So I'm not
sure yet, but it's definitely something that I'm thinking about
following in his footsteps. Definitely in your blood for surely.
I think you guys got that career onlock. What is
your family like to do together? Like, away from football,
we like to fish, I mean it's really we do.
(20:48):
We and we have a contest like how many did
you catch? We have a little dock that we fish
off of in North Carolina, um at our house, and
it is how many you catch? Four? What even I
caught out, you know, like a correct John he'll catch
like a crab and a shop he is. I don't
know why, but we we have competitions. We love fishing,
(21:10):
so yeah, we love like doing any activities I feel
like fishing, like going for walks, riding bike, riding bikes. Yeah,
I'll be like relaxing too though in our in our
free time, just sitting down watching Netflix, like not what
normal families? Do you guys have any shows that you
binge together? Oh? Yeah, we've had a few. I mean
(21:30):
we're big office people, Yeah, big Right now we're watching
the Great British Speak and Show. I got John hooked
on it Ted Lasso. Just I'll go on, we'll watch whatever.
I feel like we've gotten some of those in like
press conferences, he'll use like a quote from Ted Lasso
or The Office. So I feel like we can kind
of tell what you guys are watching based on who
(21:52):
he's quoting. Another thing he talks about a lot is
how important like his faith is to him, and so
obviously I'm sure that's important to you your family, Like
how important has your faith been as a family to
kind of get you through some of those tougher moments.
It's absolutely getten us through. You know, we pray together.
We pray together every night, the three of us, and actually,
you know, when she's gone, we still say our prayer
(22:14):
every night. It's you know, it's just something we always
I want to do together no matter what. And either
that or we leave a message or we text it.
You know, it's it's really just been. I think we've
been so blessed and so thankful and we do have
a strong faith. And that's what you know. With Allison too,
she's just I think Notre Dame is a great fit
for her because she's such a strong Catholic and I
(22:38):
think it's really helped us as a family and just
in this job totally. It's cool to be able to
use like your platform in that way too, Like it's
always really powerful to me when he's willing to share that, Like,
I think that's really really special. Um. So we talked
about this a little bit earlier, but um, you know
how important this Baltimore community has been to you, and
you talked about kind of when you guys walked in,
like he clapped, everyone clapped at the at the he
(23:00):
too place, and I think I remember seeing that he
decided to pick up the tab for the restaurant after that,
And you guys did a big donation last year for
all the frontline workers donating meals at the hospital. How important?
Why has it been so important to you to really
give back to this community. I just think, you know,
we've been so blessed and we want to help out
the community because it seems like right now it's hard times,
(23:23):
and it's always hard times, you know, But I really
think if we can just make a little bit of
difference and and help the community, and in different ways. Um,
we have different organizations that we help out with. I
just feel like hopefully then somebody else might step up
and pay it forward and keep it rolling. I think
it's really important to help those in your community that
(23:44):
you live in. I love that. Alright, one last thing
before we finished with a little game we do at
the end. It's just a quick little this or that.
It's the what we call the purple hot seat. It's
not that intense promise. So I just go through both
of you and just four a little this or that question.
So the first one is exciting game or all out win.
We've had both this year so far. Oh if we
(24:04):
win the exciting game, I would say that, but blowouts
are always fun too. I would say exciting game, though,
blow out, because then I can relax, have to worry
about it. I'm with you. I was so ready for
a blowout when I was like, I cannot handle these
down to the wire like stress. I feel like I'm
gonna throw up in the last thirty seconds. I'm like,
we don't know how it's gonna go. Um. The second
(24:27):
one is rather watch lacrosse or football? Watch football, I
think because I can't. I've never played football, but I've
always enjoyed watching it, well, if Allison is playing, but
if she's not playing, watch football off season or football season. Oh,
that's so hard. Um. As much as I love football season,
(24:47):
I would have to say off season, just because it's
more chill. We could get more time spent with my dad.
That's tough. I like the exhilaration of the season, especially
if it's going well. Then it's like yeah, But I
do like the downtime, so I'm kind of I'm kind
of in the middle. That's okay, we'll get we'll let
We'll let you do that, all right. The last one
(25:08):
is Notre Dame football game or Ravens game. Oh man,
they're so different because I feel like the Ravens game
is invested in it and it's stressful, whereas their name
games sometimes are kind of nice because I can just
kind of sit back and if we win and lose
doesn't really affect my life. Um, but I would say
Ravens games just because it's that much better when we
(25:29):
win or lose, and it's just so cool to be
part of the organization. Great Ravens games. Perfect. Well, thank
you so much, ladies. This is great. I appreciate the
time Ingrid told me that if the real housewives at
the NFL came calling, they wouldn't stay long at the
Hardball House because, in her words, they're quote so boring.
(25:50):
But I'd have to politely disagree. The Hardball Family is
a breath of fresh air and we're lucky they call
Baltimore home. Thanks for listening to this episode of the
Purple Chair Podcast. Don't forget to leave us a review.
If you're enjoying the podcast, subscribe and share with your friends.
New episodes drop every other Tuesday. I'll talk to you soon.
This past year, the phrase girl dad has become common
thanks to legendary basketball player and father Kobe Bryant and
Ravens had coached. John Harball is a prime example of
Kobe's iconic moniker. Harps has always proudly shared his daughter,
Allison's success and has made a point to make her
a part of the Ravens organization and family, just like
(00:28):
he would have if he had had a son. The
third member of the Hardball trio is Ingrid, John's wife
and Allison's mom, who the other two Hardball say is
the most athletic and driven of the bunch. Ingrid helps
both navigate the highs and lows of being in the
Baltimore spotlight. Honestly, they remind me of my own little
family trio. They're an athletic and competitive family who are
(00:50):
extremely compassionate and cared deeply about this community. And that's
why I'm so excited to have Allison and Ingrid on
this episode of the Purple Chair Podcast to take you
inside life as an NFL family. Ingrid, I'll start with
you to kind of set the stage for everybody to
how he got here. How did you and John originally meet?
John and I met at Western Michigan University, Go broncos.
(01:14):
I was actually working in the baseball office and in
the building there, all the sports offices are in a
huge hallway and they just keep going down the hall
one after another. In football office was at the end
of the hall, kind of took up this whole big
you know, cul de sac there, And I love baseball,
but I wasn't. I'm like, baseball job, I can't wait.
(01:36):
So I was in there and I saw him walk
down the hall and that's how we met. And he
stuck his head and said hi. I'm like hi, and
then um, from there, I mean, we have a long
distance relationship. He moved around a lot for college football
fourteen years and there and then um, I met up
with him again later on and then eventually got married
(01:57):
in Cincinnati. And yes, we just at each other at
the athletic facility. That's awesome. How long have you guys
been married now we've been ready thirty years. Wow, that's incredible. Yes,
so you kind of touched on this. A coaching journey
can really be all over the place, you know, and
it can be have its ups and downs. It's obviously
a tough field to break into um. But was there
a point when he realized, like this really is going
(02:19):
to be like a viable option for him, Like he
could become an NFL head coach, because people can coach
for years and never make it to this point. Well,
we just thought, honestly, we'd be coaching in the college level.
And we find him finally made it into the Big Ten.
We thought, yeah, this is gonna be great. And we
were there one year and then Philadelphia Eagles called and
(02:40):
for special teams coach and it worked out, and we
never thought we'd be in the NFL. And then as
time went on the NFL see he thought, well, you know,
maybe I can be a head coach. And he was
his mentor, Andy Reid, who's head coach at Kansas City, Uh,
you know, really kind of helped him out, you know,
and just said, you know, I just got keep plugging
(03:00):
away and eventually had a you know, an opportunity to
do that. Even like when you when you get the
call to come to Baltimore, I'm sure like I'm just curious,
I guess, did you expect that you'd be here for
thirteen years? I feel like that's so rare in the NFL.
That's such like a volatile field that did you have
any inclination that like this would be such a permanent
spot for you guys, No, not at all, considering we
(03:23):
moved around five different colleges and there I went to
phill In Phili we had a long run too for
ten years, which is unheard of, and then coming here,
I guess you know, it's we've been blessed and fourteen
years is a very long time, especially as a head coach.
So we were just like, oh my gosh, this is great.
So that's awesome. So let's talk about games because obviously
(03:44):
that's a big day of the week for your family,
and Sundays are probably the most important day of the week.
But Alison, you guys were able to share this really
special tradition as you grew up here that you guys
were able to be together for the national anthem. So
how did that start? Oh my gosh, I don't even know.
Um well, I used to work on the field and
of her papers to the coaches on the sideline ever
since I was in like fifth grade, and one day
(04:06):
when I was just like, yeah, come on up with
national anthem with me, Like why not? I already on
the side and I was like okay, and then one
day we just started standing next to each other and
just became a thing as the years went on and
every time we would do it every Sunday and eventually
just became a tradition and something that really special that
we could share together. Is not many people get the
opportunity to do that, you know, So it was really
(04:27):
cool experience for sure, totally. I'm sure like last year
with COVID that kind of probably messed that up. And
then but has he missed that now that you've been
gone in college. Yeah, I think so. Sometimes it's like
I wish you could work on the sidelines like Stan
in Nash and he was like, I'm lonely back there. Yeah, no,
it's okay. It's it's still something really cool that we
got to do for a while. Do you guys have
(04:47):
any game day like superstitions as a family. We don't,
though I think John's mom, Jackie does. She's very superstitious,
but so I think maybe I I don't want to
be superstitious because it's just too much to keep track of.
So you know, we really don't. What are her superstitions?
Oh where the same socks, the same outfits. Don't watch
(05:12):
the clothes. Yeah, and then if you lose them, it
wipes it all out and start again. You guys had
the really unique opportunity as a really extended family that
for the super Bowl game. Obviously Jim was there too.
Is it was like your broader family. What was that
like for you guys to really experience a Super Bowl
as an extended family. Well, I had no problem with that.
I was like total Ravens. John's family was split. I
(05:36):
mean it was aunt's uncles, you know, different sides. And
I really felt bad for his parents because they had
to be neutral, you know, because I want somebody's gonna
lose and somebody's gonna win. And I think even John
it was tough because you know, he won. That's great,
it won the super Bowl, but he couldn't celebrate like
a normal head coach would want to celebrate, you know,
he had to keep it kind of some mood. So
I think that was tough. Yeah, because it's such a
(05:58):
rare opportunity for your son to be in the Super Bowl.
And then you added like you have both of them,
Like that's crazy. Did you were you able to be
on the sidelines with him for the National anthem Fore
Bowl on the sidelines is so fun. I get chills
just like thinking about that, Like, that's such a special
moment that you guys were able to share. Um, what
was it like kind of for the week leading up
to it? Obviously there was a lot of like scrutiny
(06:19):
on the brothers, you know there there everyone was talking
about that all week. But what was that like week
like for you guys as a family. It was kind
of nerve racking, you know. I know that San Francisco
arrived before the Ravens did, and then we watched them
arrived there and get off the plane and you know,
so it was kind of surreal. And then and then
we left and then I didn't We didn't get there
(06:41):
till Thursday before, so we were there too, you know,
so we kind of avoided the whole interviews and all
that stuff. We let Jack and Jackie do that, you know,
but um, it was surreal. Like you said, it's like
I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe it.
You know, It's just it was. It was kind of tough.
So the Super Bowl is obviously a highlight. You know,
those are the peak moments. It doesn't really get any
(07:02):
better than that. But when the team isn't doing well,
which fortunately here has not been that often. But what
is that like, does that affect you guys at all
at home? And what is that like? Yeah? I remember
like in middle school and high school it was so
hard on me with it was like I would come
to school on Monday and I feel like there would
just be this eleph in the room. Like I went
to a small private school, so everyone just kind of
(07:23):
be like, oh, like tough game, or like when I
went to a coed school, like all the guys are
giving me a crap about like losing. It was just
like every Monday after a loss, I'd just be kind
of dreading to hear what people were gonna say or
anything like kind of witty that they would have. I'm
just like, oh my gosh. So I would say, Now
it's definitely changed, like now that I'm at in college
(07:44):
in a bigger environment, but in high school it was
it was definitely tough. It was just that much more
like pressure and like anxiety I guess to do well. Yeah,
and like you don't really know another life than that,
like your dad's always been the head coacher. He's one
of the most identifiable people in the area. That's gotta
be tough, like growing up, especially playing sports, I'm sure, yeah,
(08:04):
for sure, um yeah and lacrosse. I would always have
my last name on the on my back of my jersey,
and it would be tough sometimes where people would find out,
like in basketball across people, someone would like, you know,
have some some cheap shot thing to say. I mean,
I was like, oh my gosh. So it's definitely just
an extra layer to worry about sometimes. So but I
(08:24):
mean something like this cool to be a part of,
like definitely has its ups and downs, so it has
two sides to it. But I mean it is what
it is, just like being in the spotlight. I guess
with him has a mom like how do you kind
of prepare her for that? We would talk like every
Sunday night if we had a loss, I'm like, just
(08:45):
go in there and be proud of your dad. And
they say anything, just you know, I'm always like, give
it back to them, Mom. I can't. I'm like, I
know because a lot of times it was the boys,
you know, But once in a while she say a
few things back. But it was just you just say,
I'm proud of my dad. You know, you can't win
them all, and it's uh for me. I could avoid
(09:05):
things if I wanted, or I just did my daily
things that I did and not worried about it. You know, yeah, totally.
I read a quote from your dad that he was
really proud of how you handled that because there is
like extra pressure when you have that last name and
playing lacrosse in this area. So that's really um special
to me. What is it like for you guys as
a family kind of being out in the community here.
It's it's good though. I mean, we love Baltimore. It's
(09:28):
it's very homie. You know, it's um more so than
we love Philly too, but it's so big, you know,
so here it's you get to once you're ingrained into
a school, um, you really get to know that the
parents is you know, and her friends, and then in
sports you get to know those parents too, and and
that kind of became our family because nobody lives here.
(09:50):
Our families are all in the Midwest, so it's kind
of nice. You know, everybody's very welcoming and you know,
they almost like a The parents are kind of like
a protection unit for us sometimes times, especially in the
cross and like the dads were like, Oh, let's let's
go make sure coaches okay over there, you know, people
drinking you know that picture or something like that, and
it was it was nice. You know, we felt like
(10:11):
we had a second family here. I feel like since
Baltimore is so small and he's been here for forever,
like we don't really go anywhere like a restaurant or
anything without being recognized, like when we're with him. But
everyone is just like so nice and so positive. Like
I remember, I think it was two years ago after
a playoff when like we walked into like a pizza restaurant,
(10:33):
people just started standing up and clapping for my dad.
It was like such a cool moment. It was just
really cool. So I feel like the city just has
really embraced him and like us, which is really cool. Yeah,
that has to make he probably that's awesome. How do
you handle it ingrid like when you hear criticism of him? Well,
I actually I hardly even listen to the news or
(10:55):
read it and during football season because it can get
pretty bad. You even winning the Super Bowl still had
critics out there, and so I pretty much block it out.
Like I'll watch the local w b A L sports,
you know, with Jerry Sandusky and and that's about it.
I try to keep it out of my mind because
(11:15):
I get don't get me on Twitter or don't get me,
because that's why I'm not on social media, because I
think I would be really you know, having a tough time,
you know, just defending him. So yeah, yeah, which is
totally natural. When we had Amanda Tucker on and she
was talking about how sometimes like the other family members
are the hardest ones to kind of like Corral, She's like,
you have the same last name as him, you can't
(11:37):
be on there commenting back at people, like saying all
this stuff. She's like, I know that you want to
support him, but like she's like, it's not me, it's
everybody else. Absolutely. Yeah, So I want to go back
to talking about lacrosse a little bit. And during the pandemic,
obviously your dad was home a lot more, and there
was an article about how he was kind of your defender,
your goalie, standing in there for you. So what was
that Like, I know, it was probably special getting to
(11:58):
have a lot more time with him at home before
you did had off to college. Yeah, definitely. I Mean
he's always ever since I was little, always been my defender,
like always been out there in the backyard whenever we can,
like coaching me up on different things, like after games
will be like, Okay, we'll have to work on this
one thing. I'm like, no, we just go out of
the yard. But like looking back on it now, I'm
(12:18):
so thankful that we did that. Just like having those
little moments all the time just like made me so
much better as a player and as a person. And
I think it's really something that we share and bond over.
And especially like with the pandemic, we real really stuck
on and we had nothing to do except play lacrosse
and like compete against each other, Like there was no
one to like compete against, and so we would play
(12:39):
one on one in basketball, across like board games, pool
like whatever we could find, like it's something some competition.
But yeah, I mean that was like really special because
I feel like I wouldn't have had that much time
like with my dad or my mom, like if the
pandemic hadn't happened. Especially having that right before I went
off to college. I was actually really cool that that
(13:00):
much extra time like spending with them. So is he
any good at lacrosse? He's gotten better, He's he's learned
to throw and catch um, but he refuses to learn
how to cradle for some reason, like which is like
you really need to know how to do that, actually
want to run with the ball, And he's like I
don't want to learn. I'm like, well you kind of
have to. But I mean he's gotten better. He's a
good defender, he's a good athlete, so you're gonna move
(13:21):
his feet around, so that's all we really need. And
he had like a knee surgery, so he's using that
as a little bit of excuse. I'm sure like, oh
I'm a little flower now it's like I'm a old
a new knee. I'm like, okay, do you have like
his competitive drive? Yeah? We all three of us have
such a competitive drive. Like I remember in Quarantine, like
(13:42):
we would literally be competing in anything like running up
the stairs, like playing a board game, like playing Uno,
and like even since I was little, like what if
I lost a game, Like I would like throw the
board and they'd be like you really can't do that.
But we do get very competitive, even the slightest things. Uh,
I mean it makes me us better as people. And
(14:03):
I mean we do have to like kind of be
like okay, let's just let's just silly, like let's stop.
But it's always fun. So and I always felt like
I was like her and and John would play like
a round a pool like all right, well loser plays
mom like thanks a lot. You know, I'm just sitting
there like to motivate, I'm like, okay, I'm going to
(14:24):
get that you're the best one out well that I
was going to ask you because John says a lot
that you are in much better shape than he is.
So he says that you're the best athlete in the family. Well,
that's so nice. I don't know. I have always been active,
you know, It's just that's kind of where my brain has,
you know, since I was little, and always have worked
(14:44):
out or a cross country track, softball all these years
and basically and once I was I got old enough,
I'm like, okay, why did she come over to the
gym with me? We're gonna work out. And you know,
it's been good because at a young age, she kind
of understood if you're gonna play sport and you're serious,
you know, let's let's also make sure the body's strong.
(15:04):
And so yeah, she's definitely the one that motivates both
my dad and I, Like we'll be on the cash,
She's like, why do we go for a walk, and
she just pushes a motivates us to be our best
and be like help happy and healthy. And he's like, oh,
like maybe don't eat that extra brown here. But it's great,
amisode thankful for him. Yeah, she's the best one out
(15:25):
of all of us. So I love that. That's really
special that you can all three, like really sure that
I grew up So I'm an only child as well,
also an only girl, and so I grew up with
both my parents super involved in sports. But I have
to ask because we see, you know, the head coach,
John Harbaugh out on the field arguing with ref so
he doesn't like a play call, But like, what is
he like as on the sidelines of your game? So,
(15:45):
like my dad coached me growing up, for me, it
was always he was tougher on me, you know than
everyone else. But what is what was he like kind
of like on the sidelines growing up? I feel like
he's honestly like the complete opposite in my games like
he's very quiet, doesn't say oh, we're like during my games,
I feel like he wants me, like individually to do
so well. He just kind of sits there, like it,
keeps to himself and watches anxiously, I would say, and
(16:08):
doesn't really say anything. At least That's what I've noticed
about him. So there's been very few times where he's
like actually like spoken. I feel like it just kind
of sits there nervously. Well. The one time he did
speak to the reff at a lacrosse game, UM, it
kind of got out of uh control a little bit.
It It was kind of a funny story. Alison was
(16:29):
defending and and on the ride when the attacker is
trying to defend and um, she pushed the girl and
happened to be right in front of us. And John said,
good job else and that that was really good. And
the reff turned to John and said, no, it wasn't.
You know. I called I whistled. That wasn't good. And
(16:50):
he's like, don't say that to her, and he said,
I can say that whenever I want to her. That's
my daughter. So come to find out it was, you know,
as a tournaments. The next day we saw the ref
in the parking lot and John's like, oh my gosh,
I need to go say something to him. Well, the
RAF actually went to Western Michigan at the same time
as he was there coaching football, so they you know where,
they were laughing and I was it was funny. But
(17:12):
it was like the one time that he was like
encouragement the referee had said something to and I'm like,
oh no, that's that's so funny. This a small world. Um,
do you think he's more nervous watching you than Ravens games?
I would think so because I feel like he in
Ravens games, he has a job and he has some
control over the team and things. But just watching my games,
(17:32):
like he's literally just a part of the crowd. He
can't really do anything. So I think that probably makes
him more nervous. Sure he doesn't have any control over
the outcome. Yeah, Um, so you mentioned this earlier. You
know you're often Notre Dame, not playing lacrosse. What has
that transition been like for you? Um, it's been really good.
I mean I honestly, like we're talking about before, like
those extra practices in the backyard of helped me like
(17:53):
be prepared so much for the Lacrosse aspect and being
the only child. I'm such a homebody, you like, I
feel like I'm so close to both of my parents
that that part of it was definitely like hard. Um,
just missing them, missing seeing them every day. But we
always talk on the phone, like every day, multiple times
a day, and like this year, it's been I've gotten
(18:14):
used to it. It's been. It's been really good. Um,
They've definitely helped prepare me and so many aspects of
my life. But what has it been like for you
transitioning to being like empty nesters now that she's there.
It's very difficult. I thought it would be tough, and
it is because you know, she's my best friend. And um,
we always laugh because we'll see Alice, you know, it's
(18:36):
her nickname on their ally pally. Were like Else's calling Else,
this calling she facetiming as we're like so excited, you know,
and we we want to let her have her space
and with she's got such a busy schedule, so we
don't want to bug er, you know, but when at
night she always fits us in in a little call
or or we text a little bit. In the day,
how was your class or we're so excited when we
(19:00):
talked to her. It's pretty much every day or a
couple of times a day just to say hi, and
do you guys get up there a fair amount? Uh? Yeah,
right now. I've been up there last couple of weekends.
Alli since had fallball, which they have UM one more
game actually, so they have a lot of games this fall,
but John has not. However, they have with our bye
week next week it falls on Uh, they have a
(19:21):
lacrosse bank. It's twenty five years of Notre Dame lacrosse.
So actually we're gonna go up there and and John's
gonna go. I was so that'll be fun. Would just
be in and out, but it would be nice. That's awesome.
It's great that you guys will get to share that
being at Notre Dame. Now, do you feel like you
kind of have a little more separation from the like
being Alison hardball that you do like growing up in Baltimore? Yeah,
(19:41):
I think so. Like I feel like everyone knew who
I was at my school and in Baltimore on my
team's UM, but now everyone knows that in every Dame.
I mean it's you know, ten thousand people it's a
lot bigger. No one's gonna just walk by and recognize
me or anything like that, and people don't like really
put it together since it's out of context, I guess.
But yeah, So that's actually been like nice, um not
(20:03):
having to worry about that aspect as much like that
anxiety of people knowing or saying something. So that's actually
been better. I feel like, do you know, like kind
of what you want to do after college? I have
no idea. Um, honestly, I've definitely thought about being a
coach or like going into sports broadcasting, like I've just
(20:24):
been around in my whole life. I thinks it's so
fun and just like I love it. So I'm not
sure yet, but it's definitely something that I'm thinking about
following in his footsteps. Definitely in your blood for surely.
I think you guys got that career onlock. What is
your family like to do together? Like, away from football,
we like to fish, I mean it's really we do.
(20:48):
We and we have a contest like how many did
you catch? We have a little dock that we fish
off of in North Carolina, um at our house, and
it is how many you catch? Four? What even I
caught out, you know, like a correct John he'll catch
like a crab and a shop he is. I don't
know why, but we we have competitions. We love fishing,
(21:10):
so yeah, we love like doing any activities I feel
like fishing, like going for walks, riding bike, riding bikes. Yeah,
I'll be like relaxing too though in our in our
free time, just sitting down watching Netflix, like not what
normal families? Do you guys have any shows that you
binge together? Oh? Yeah, we've had a few. I mean
(21:30):
we're big office people, Yeah, big Right now we're watching
the Great British Speak and Show. I got John hooked
on it Ted Lasso. Just I'll go on, we'll watch whatever.
I feel like we've gotten some of those in like
press conferences, he'll use like a quote from Ted Lasso
or The Office. So I feel like we can kind
of tell what you guys are watching based on who
(21:52):
he's quoting. Another thing he talks about a lot is
how important like his faith is to him, and so
obviously I'm sure that's important to you your family, Like
how important has your faith been as a family to
kind of get you through some of those tougher moments.
It's absolutely getten us through. You know, we pray together.
We pray together every night, the three of us, and actually,
you know, when she's gone, we still say our prayer
(22:14):
every night. It's you know, it's just something we always
I want to do together no matter what. And either
that or we leave a message or we text it.
You know, it's it's really just been. I think we've
been so blessed and so thankful and we do have
a strong faith. And that's what you know. With Allison too,
she's just I think Notre Dame is a great fit
for her because she's such a strong Catholic and I
(22:38):
think it's really helped us as a family and just
in this job totally. It's cool to be able to
use like your platform in that way too, Like it's
always really powerful to me when he's willing to share that, Like,
I think that's really really special. Um. So we talked
about this a little bit earlier, but um, you know
how important this Baltimore community has been to you, and
you talked about kind of when you guys walked in,
like he clapped, everyone clapped at the at the he
(23:00):
too place, and I think I remember seeing that he
decided to pick up the tab for the restaurant after that,
And you guys did a big donation last year for
all the frontline workers donating meals at the hospital. How important?
Why has it been so important to you to really
give back to this community. I just think, you know,
we've been so blessed and we want to help out
the community because it seems like right now it's hard times,
(23:23):
and it's always hard times, you know, But I really
think if we can just make a little bit of
difference and and help the community, and in different ways. Um,
we have different organizations that we help out with. I
just feel like hopefully then somebody else might step up
and pay it forward and keep it rolling. I think
it's really important to help those in your community that
(23:44):
you live in. I love that. Alright, one last thing
before we finished with a little game we do at
the end. It's just a quick little this or that.
It's the what we call the purple hot seat. It's
not that intense promise. So I just go through both
of you and just four a little this or that question.
So the first one is exciting game or all out win.
We've had both this year so far. Oh if we
(24:04):
win the exciting game, I would say that, but blowouts
are always fun too. I would say exciting game, though,
blow out, because then I can relax, have to worry
about it. I'm with you. I was so ready for
a blowout when I was like, I cannot handle these
down to the wire like stress. I feel like I'm
gonna throw up in the last thirty seconds. I'm like,
we don't know how it's gonna go. Um. The second
(24:27):
one is rather watch lacrosse or football? Watch football, I
think because I can't. I've never played football, but I've
always enjoyed watching it, well, if Allison is playing, but
if she's not playing, watch football off season or football season. Oh,
that's so hard. Um. As much as I love football season,
(24:47):
I would have to say off season, just because it's
more chill. We could get more time spent with my dad.
That's tough. I like the exhilaration of the season, especially
if it's going well. Then it's like yeah, But I
do like the downtime, so I'm kind of I'm kind
of in the middle. That's okay, we'll get we'll let
We'll let you do that, all right. The last one
(25:08):
is Notre Dame football game or Ravens game. Oh man,
they're so different because I feel like the Ravens game
is invested in it and it's stressful, whereas their name
games sometimes are kind of nice because I can just
kind of sit back and if we win and lose
doesn't really affect my life. Um, but I would say
Ravens games just because it's that much better when we
(25:29):
win or lose, and it's just so cool to be
part of the organization. Great Ravens games. Perfect. Well, thank
you so much, ladies. This is great. I appreciate the
time Ingrid told me that if the real housewives at
the NFL came calling, they wouldn't stay long at the
Hardball House because, in her words, they're quote so boring.
(25:50):
But I'd have to politely disagree. The Hardball Family is
a breath of fresh air and we're lucky they call
Baltimore home. Thanks for listening to this episode of the
Purple Chair Podcast. Don't forget to leave us a review.
If you're enjoying the podcast, subscribe and share with your friends.
New episodes drop every other Tuesday. I'll talk to you soon.
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