Harbaugh, Cardinal aim to be all business, no beach

Stanford football fever has reached a frenzy, a crazed anxiety, a deafening buzz. At least that's the case in North Carolina, where fans of the NFL's Panthers are praying that the gods send them Jim Harbaugh and Andrew Luck next season to rescue their franchise and bring hope and meaning to their lives.

Neither coach Harbaugh nor quarterback Luck has given the slightest hint what career decisions he might make following Stanford's appearance in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3, but Carolinians have become rabid Stanford fans. Their dream scenario: a big Stanford win over Virginia Tech, leaving Harbaugh and Luck with no unfulfilled dreams back in California.

Meanwhile, back on the Farm, the furor over the greatest Stanford football team ever is on simmer this week. The university is on semester break and the few players who stayed around have the campus to themselves.

Luck opted not to hang with his family in Houston, but to stay around the nearly deserted campus and rest up for the big trip.

Harbaugh, Luck and two other players stopped by the school's athletic Hall of Fame on Wednesday to talk to the media. Two days after Christmas, the team will fly to Miami to begin its Orange Bowl experience, a.k.a. the James Harbaugh Film Festival.

Harbaugh, asked what his biggest concern is in Miami, logistics-wise, said, "Just finding a movie theater."

The Cardinal players are taking their talents to Miami Beach, but here is one phrase they won't hear from their coach when they land in Florida: "Fellas, grab a tube of sunblock, enjoy Miami, and I'll see you an hour before kickoff."

When I asked Harbaugh which side he comes down on, philosophically, in bowl preparation - turn the lads loose, or keep 'em locked up - he jerked his head to one side.

Oh, the fun side?

"No!" he said quickly. "The other side."

The Cardinal will take in the Warriors-Heat NBA game Jan. 1, attend a fancy Orange Bowl dinner, and spend at least two evenings watching movies. That will be a real tourist treat for the many Stanford players who have never been to a movie theater in Miami.

What movies will they watch?

"I'll let the guys pick 'em out," said Harbaugh, who probably hasn't seen a movie since "Bambi." "We'll pick good, inspirational, wholesome, motivating movies."

Sure. How about a remake of "Remember the Titans," starring Shrek?

Luck, senior nose tackle Sione Fua and senior fullback and linebacker Owen Marecic all said Wednesday that they're good with not trying to bring Miami Beach to its knees.

"It's a business trip for us," Fua said. "Harbaugh's going to keep us focused on the game."

The non-glamour approach to bowl-game prep seems to suit this Stanford team. The players are not all caught up in their fame.

Luck, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, said he hasn't noticed any great increase in his Facebook activity, possibly because he doesn't have a Facebook page.

"So I don't know anything about the social media," he said. "I wouldn't say people are going nuts over Stanford football, but I did notice some more students getting into it. More people might recognize you around campus and say, 'Hey, good job,' or 'Good luck,' but nothing too crazy or obtrusive, which is nice about Stanford."

Luck can go two or three days without being asked to sign an autograph?

"Weeks. Months. Years," Luck said with a laugh. "Which is nice. Obviously you're not filling up 100,000-seat stadiums, but (Stanford football) has its positives."

Fua said, "There's definitely a lot more buzz about Stanford football in the area. You could go to a lot of stores and restaurants and they'll recognize you as a Stanford football player (note: especially if you're 6-2 and a rock-like 306). They'll have our posters in their restaurants and stores."

The players chuckled when asked how many professors let them skip classes so they can, wink-wink, rest for football.

"Ninety-nine percent of the professors here are big athletic fans," Fua said. "I've been in classes where they recognize the water polo team or the basketball team, have the players stand up and we'll give 'em a round of applause. But they've never said, 'You don't have to come to class.' "

When Fua was a freshman and the football team was struggling, his freshman humanities prof took him aside one day and gave him some advice.

"He told me, 'All you have to do is sack the quarterback more and you'll win more games.' "

Fua did, and the Cardinal did, and now they're on their way to a monster bowl game.

And the Jujubes are on Harbaugh.

E-mail Scott Ostler at sostler@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle