After a dominating victory over an Arkansas Razorbacks team that plays without an offensive line in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and whose head coach, Sam Pittman, has many Razorback fans calling for him to be fired, Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz challenges Jim Harbaugh and his position that the Michigan Wolverines is “America’s Team.” Unfortunately, Drinkwitz fails to understand the context in which Harbaugh makes such a claim. Given that the NCAA has made a conscious and constant effort to target Michigan to appear as providing authentic oversight, Harbaugh employs “America’s Team” to highlight this injustice.
Jim Harbaugh recognizes that many Americans have experienced injustice and can relate to his team’s battle with the powerful NCAA. Once the NCAA issued such allegations and punishment following its questionable “findings,” many accepted what the NCAA concluded without critically examining these findings. Harbaugh sees his team’s blue-collar and underdog mentality as sharing affinities with many Americans.
Many Americans can relate to institutional discrimination, especially Blacks and women. Even though I don’t view the Michigan Wolverines as traditional underdogs, given the success this team has had historically and under Harbaugh’s leadership, I have no problem with his “America’s Team” reference. Harbaugh says, “America loves a team that beats the odds, beats the adversity, overcomes the critics,” which is true.
Again, with the context Harbaugh supplies, his “America’s Team” reference is reasonable. He doesn’t foreclose “America’s Team” from others. Instead, he posits that Michigan is America’s Team “from his perspective.”
Related Articles: Suspicious Replay Has Ohio State Fans Claim College Football Is ‘Rigged’ For Money After Loss to Michigan and Jim Harbaugh Will Coach The Chicago Bears According to ESPN Analyst
Eli Drinkwitz Challenges Jim Harbaugh
In a postgame interview after crushing the 4-8 Arkansas Razorbacks, Eli Drinkwitz challenges Jim Harbaugh with the following deeply problematic comments: “Earlier in the week I heard a coach talk about being America’s team. And I don’t know about all that conversation, they got so many different good things going for them. Some good, some maybe they stole illegally. We’re America’s team. We’re a team built on underdogs. We’re a team built on young men with something to prove.”
Eli Drinkwitz calls out Jim Harbaugh, declares Missouri ‘America’s team’ 😳
“Earlier in the week I heard a coach talk about being America’s team.
And I don’t know about all that conversation, they got so many different good things going for them. Some good, some maybe they… pic.twitter.com/LOoxYKH9iy
— On3 (@On3sports) November 25, 2023
Although Jim Harbaugh probably will not respond to Drinkwitz’s statements, given he has more vital things to focus on, such as winning the Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship, a response is necessary.
One must wonder if Jim Harbaugh even knows who Eli Drinkwitz is. Since this is Drinkwitz’s first time having a really good season, he may not know who he is. Given that Drinkwitz has never won his division, conference, and appeared in the CFP, Harbaugh may not have heard of him.
Before Drinkwitz comes after someone as accomplished as Harbaugh, he must achieve something meaningful. When he faced the only two genuinely elite teams, LSU and Georgia, on his schedule this season, he lost to both teams. Drinkwitz, therefore, achieved a 10-2 record by beating average teams.
He should devote more time to coaching his players to defeat elite teams—instead of trying to make a name for himself by casting aspersions on Harbaugh. The classless and disingenuous attack on Jim Harbaugh and his program shows why Drinkwitz has not had much success in Missouri: his priorities are wrong.
Instead of listening to other coaches’ interviews, he should concentrate on his coaching and improving his team. Neither he nor the NCAA has indisputable evidence that Jim Harbaugh and his program are cheaters. Drinkwitz might want to be careful about attacking prominent coaches because he and his program might suddenly become subjects of investigations.
Coach Eli Drinkwitz, have you and your program handled everything legally and ethically? Hmm…
Parting Thoughts
Coach Drinkwitz, you’re the lame kid on the playground with no friends. You will never have any friends if you continue such unproductive behavior. He’s a wannabe diva and becoming increasingly obnoxious.
Realizing that Eli Drinkwitz challenges Jim Harbaugh without provocation helps one comprehend the silly efforts he’s willing to engage in to capture attention. In the world of college football, one needs friends, and one must establish and maintain healthy relationships. As a college head coach, you don’t build and sustain healthy relationships by unprovoked attacks on other coaches.
Before Eli Drinkwitz challenges Jim Harbaugh and other coaches again, he needs to learn about how valuable relationships are to success as a head college football coach.
For More Great Football Content
Follow me on Twitter at @paideiarebel, and you can access my online writing portfolio if you click here! To read more of our articles and stay current with high school, college, and professional football, click here!