Sunday was a monumental day. In the midst of Black History Month, two black coaches stared each other down across the sidelines. And though Tony Dungy and the Indianapolis Colts came out on top, not enough can be said about the job Lovie Smith did this year and the importance of his appearance in the championship game.
And after the game, Dungy was certainly proud of that. Standing on the podium after Super Bowl XLI, he acknowledged that achievement.
""I'm proud to be representing African-American coaches, to be the first African-American to win this. That means an awful lot to our country,"" Dungy told CBS's Jim Nantz and a capacity Miami crowd.
And it does. In what has been a game with a Good Ol' Boy mentality in which black quarterbacks and coaches used to be as rare as a Ryan Leaf completion, Dungy and Smith's achievement is truly extraordinary.
But Dungy was far from done.
""But again, more than anything, I've said it before, Lovie Smith and I, not only the first two African-Americans, but Christian coaches, showing that you can win doing it the Lord's way, we're more proud of that.""
Wait... what?
Now, I've been watching sports a long time. I've seen players thank God for game-winning hits and I've watched as Charlie Ward spouted anti-Semitic remarks in a New York Times article. But I think it's a first when I hear that we should celebrate Christian coaches winning their respective conferences.
I mean, it is true. Christian coaches have persevered through a lot of hardship to get where they are today. I mean, just think: it wasn't until Jan. 15, 1967 that two coaches of the Christian faith led their teams to the Super Bowl.
When Vince Lombardi and Hank Stramm walked onto the field in L.A., you knew they were making history. I mean, that was Super Bowl I, but who knew that 40 years later, we would still have Christian coaches in the Super Bowl. I think ... well, I think I might cry.
The venerable James A. Smith of the Florida Witness Baptist put it perfectly when he wrote, ""What incredible witnesses for Christ both men [Dungy and Lovie Smith] were in the frenzied, media-hyped week leading to the game, as well as during the game itself.""
If the FWB says it, who am I to disagree?
Smith went on to write about Dungy, ""This nice, Christian man has finished first and while doing so has kept Christ first. Indeed, he has shown Christians can be winners, while ‘doing it the Lord's way.'""
And furthermore, Lovie Smith, a seemingly nice, Christian man, has finished second ... marking, get this, the 41st consecutive Super Bowl in which a Christian coach has finished in second place, except for the Eagles' Andy Reid, who is of the Mormon faith. What an amazing world we live in.
Look, I just want to thank God for giving me the strength to write this column. From David Halberstram to Carl Bernstein to Geraldo Rivera (Jerry Rivers), Jewish journalists have been through a lot. And with the Lord's help, who knows? Maybe I can win a Pulitzer some day.
All sarcasm aside , Dungy has been through a two-year span that I wish upon no human being. With the loss of his teenage son and the state he must have been in thereafter, the courage it must have taken him to continue working on a national stage is incredibly noble. So, his emphasis on his own need for the place of a higher being in his life makes all the sense in the world.
However, in this ""Christian"" nation of ours, I, for one, like to find a little Godless escape into the world of athletics. I think the celebration of black coaches is incredibly important. Let's just keep it to that.
Sam is a senior majoring in political science and can be reached at sepepper@wisc.edu.
