John Harbaugh's Wife Ingrid: Supporting an NFL Coach Before the Super Bowl

Ingrid Harbaugh has great advice for women in a relationship with a man who loves his football—watch some pigskin: “If you want to spend four hours with your husband on Sunday, you may want to watch a game with them and start to understand it.”

Who can argue with that pearl of wisdom?

The wife of Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is a staunch supporter of her husband’s coaching career, despite the long hours he’s forced to be away from their home in Reisterstown, Maryland.

During the football season John is constantly working with the team, according to Ingrid, and the only time he gets to spend time with their 11-year-old daughter Alison is on Friday evenings.

So what’s it like to be the wife of an NFL coach during the season?

“The first word would be ‘stressful,’” says Ingrid. “It’s very stressful, for like all six months of the season.”

But Ingrid and John tough it out, and it would appear they’ve developed a strong and understanding bond over the course of their 26-year marriage. 

Part of that bond is their pregame ritual of signaling each other before each Ravens home game.

“We always signal each other before a game... he blows me a kiss and I blow him a kiss,” says Ingrid. “This is funny, but if we miss it, we’ve lost.”

Aww. So precious. 

But seriously, I’d make double-sure sure to blow that smooch if I were John and Ingrid Harbaugh this Sunday.

If they don’t and the Ravens lose, I’m sure Ray Lewis will be expecting some answers.