The Harrington Family Foundation

By José Miguel Romero
Seattle Times staff reporter

Portlanders like Joey Harrington remember Sundays on local television when the AFC West and NFC West were the main options for football fans.

The morning game might be the best one of the day on the East Coast or Midwest, but in the afternoon, one network showed Rams or 49ers games while the other showed games involving the Seahawks or Raiders.

With no pro team in his hometown and no players nearby to emulate, Harrington, now the second-year quarterback of the Detroit Lions, would pretend to be legendary quarterbacks Dan Marino, John Elway and Joe Montana when playing football as a kid.

"But I did have a poster of Steve Largent in my room," he added.

Harrington did what a lot of football fans in Oregon did and still do today: He followed the Seahawks. And in turn, Oregonians will follow Harrington to Seahawks Stadium to watch their native son in action against Seattle on Sunday.

Harrington is regarded as one the state's most successful athletes, and is arguably the greatest quarterback in University of Oregon history. He took his "Captain Comeback" title and affinity for winning in college to the NFL as the third overall draft pick last year, and is part of a revamped Lions team and coaching staff trying to turn around the downtrodden franchise.

"It's nice to know that people still care," Harrington said of the estimated 2,000 Portland and Eugene fans he expects to be at the game. "It's nice to know that you are still respected, that people still follow your career. I'd like to go out there and get a win for them and make them feel better, but we'll worry about that on Sunday."

Harrington's Lions are 3-6 but have won two in a row, and with friends, family and fans driving up I-5 by the busload for the game, Harrington doesn't want to disappoint. He won't be able to see his family until after Thanksgiving, but that doesn't mean he won't be thinking about home.

Detroit is where Harrington works, but Portland is where his heart is and remains.

His new Harrington Family Foundation is raising thousands of dollars to promote quality education and health care for children. He donated $250,000 to his former high school, inner-city Central Catholic, for completion of athletic fields, and raised money for a scholarship through UO's business school. He even displayed his piano-playing talents with members of Blues Traveler for a concert in June, with proceeds going to a Portland children's hospital.

"I've worked with hundreds of athletes over the years, and he's as charitably focused as anyone I've ever been around," said David Dunn, Harrington's agent. "He has a breadth to him that is rare for most athletes."

Dunn, who is coming up to Seattle from Southern California for the game, said he believes Harrington remains grounded despite his six-year, $36.5 million contract. He credits Harrington's tight-knit family and close friends, and compares Harrington's attitude to that of Steve Young in his playing days with the San Francisco 49ers.

"He does not define himself only as a football player, just as a person who happens to play football," Dunn said.

Harrington, 25, said he never thought about playing in the NFL until his senior year at Oregon. Now that he's in the pros, he's found that wins don't come so easy.

He has had his ups and downs, with 21 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in his career. He was benched after a miserable first half against Dallas, but reclaimed his starting job the following week.

The Lions are mired in a 20-game road losing streak and have the lowest average yards per play of any NFL team, 4.3. They are 30th of 32 teams in total yards per game, 260, and have nine players on injured reserve.

Harrington's receivers have dropped a league-high 35 passes this season, 10 more than the next biggest offenders, the Seahawks.

"We have struggled in a different area every week," Harrington said. "We've had a lot of guys coming in and out, and with a young quarterback like myself who made a lot of mistakes early, it's tough to get any kind of a rhythm going."

And the losing streak?

"I wasn't here when it started and I'm going to be here when it ends, so I don't care," Harrington declared.

"He's a pretty confident kid anyway," Lions coach Steve Mariucci said of Harrington. "He's pretty resilient and he's getting better and growing up with his supporting cast. He spends as much time around here (team headquarters) as anybody ... he's a worker."

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com