Jim Harbaugh says Michigan 'flag plant' at OSU was fine with him
Following a 45-23 Michigan pasting of Ohio State in Columbus, Michigan senior Mike Sainristil ran to the U-M cheerleaders and grabbed the huge block ‘M’ flag from them. He ran to midfield with his teammates and planted it right in the middle of the ‘O,’ posing for pictures with his team.
It wasn’t instinctive, he admitted. It had been on his mind for a while, in fact.
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“I was thinking about that since January, coming down here and having the opportunity to win this game at this stadium — first time since 2000,” he said. “Even last year, the only thing I was thinking about was fans rushing the field.
“This year, I was thinking about planting the flag. And speaking it into existence, being able to do that … it feels great.”
He was a big reason they had the opportunity. He got beat a few times, but he also made some huge plays against the elite Ohio State receivers to help Michigan come up with the win.
OSU players and coaches have celebrated many times in similar fashion over the last several years at Michigan Stadium. Former head coach Jim Tressel even directed the band on top of a ladder.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh has seen some of it, so he had no problem with how his team celebrated. On the contrary, in fact.
“I want to get that flag and put it in our museum,” Harbaugh said Sunday, noting it’s just another chapter in the rivalry. I think there’s already plenty of fuel to the rivalry. They have songs, the one about they don’t give a damn about the whole state of Michigan.
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“It’s all good. It’s been going on for a century, don’t you think? It’s all good.”
Some would say “great,” in fact. His team has been on a “happy mission” all year, he said, and they reached another goal Saturday in beating their rival.
If they wanted to plant a flag … as he would say, “have at it.”
“Just how I feel is our team really paid the price,” he said. “They really put in all the work, and that’s what they did. Just the hard work, the sweat … sweat every other game to get to this game and get to this opportunity, and we were thankful to be where we were, right where we wanted to be.
“The players were all focused and determined to win the game.”
Just as they will be to achieve another goal and beat Purdue next week for the Big Ten title.
“I’ve been watching Purdue quite a bit,” Harbaugh said. “Coach [Jeff] Brohm has done a tremendous job with the team from their very first game, and I remember being in the position he’s in now and what that feels like. It’s just filled with optimism and in good feeling with your team. I remember the feeling last year — no one expected us to be there, and here’s this opportunity to go play in the championship game. So … I know how dangerous a team like that can be and I would imagine that’s the same feelings Purdue is having.”
“… It’s just a great thrill [for us] being able to go for a championship. There’s a time to live, there’s a time to die, but there’s never a time to reject the moment, and our players get to go through that. They get the benefit of being in that moment and having that opportunity. That means just so much.”
