He also experienced Baltimore's warm embrace when the team's plane and buses were greeted by thousands of fans after the Ravens arrived home. His face was smudged with purple when he got home because he had hugged a fan who was masked in paint.
"It was emotional, you know?" Harbaugh said two days later. "The fans really touched us. They really did. That's something I'll never forget, and I don't think our players will, either."
Today's championship game will be a new experience for Harbaugh as a head coach, but the Philadelphia Eagles made it that far four times during his tenure on Andy Reid's staff.
"We've been through it, we've seen how we've practiced, what it takes to win, what costs you games," Harbaugh said. "Maybe that's something that you apply. It's not direct application, because everything is different, every year is different, every group of guys is different. But you take what you've learned, and you try to apply it the best you can to the situation that presents."
Pryce, who played in the Super Bowl for the Denver Broncos, said the Ravens must not approach today's game differently from the 18 before it. Harbaugh hasn't had to tell them that, the veteran tackle said, because everything about the coach conveys steadiness.
"There isn't going to be any change planned," Pryce said. "He's the same, and that's the one thing you appreciate about him - he's always the same."
