By Staff
Like Martin Luther King Jr., I have a dream too.
My dream is that some day we won't have to use the phrase "the first black coach to …"
I, like a majority of America are pleased to see two African-American coaches reach the Super Bowl. My reasons, however, may differ from yours.
Quite frankly, I am sick and tired of having to attach race to athletics.
Come on folks, this is 2007. We should be past that by now.
Indianapolis' Tony Dungy and Chicago's Lovie Smith are proud African-Americans, but truth be told, I bet they would rather be talking about their friendship and their football teams.
I am sure they are not going to want to spend the next two weeks talking about how far they have come and that they are the first two black head coaches to make it to the Super Bowl.
Let's face it. This is a great story. A story about how two long-time friends, who coached together and achieved great things this year with their respective teams, are getting the chance of a lifetime.
They have reached the pinnacle of their profession.
So what are they going to spend a majority of their time talking about?, the fact that they are African-American coaches.
The National Football League has come a long way when it comes to hiring minority head coaches. The NFL still has a long way to go, but Smith and Dungy prove that if you hire good coaches, they will get the job done no matter what the color of their skin is.
I have spent the last two days reading about Smith and Dungy. One thing is obvious from what I have read and that is they are going to get tired pretty quickly of the questions about their race.
"I think we'll probably talk this subject to death in the next two weeks," Dungy told USA Today. "Hopefully, we're getting to the point when people realize you hire the best person."
The NFL showed that again this week when the Pittsburgh Steelers hired Mike Tomlin as its new head coach.
While many believed that Russ Grimm would be hired from within the Steelers' organization, it was the so-called "Rooney Rule," named after the Pittsburgh owner that requires teams to interview minorities when they are hiring, that got Tomlin a shot.
The 34-year-old former Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator impressed the Steelers during his three-plus hour interview. When all was said and done, the Steelers hired him because of his ability, not the color of his skin.
Ever since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in professional baseball, the ball that started to roll should be more like a boulder by now.
After all we have had "the first black …" everything just about everywhere.
I am not naive, I know there are miles to go before this journey is complete.
We still haven't had our first African-American president. African-Americans are still lacking numbers when it comes to sports like NASCAR and the Professional Golf Association.
But we are making strides.
Sure we need to be reminded of what is yet to be accomplished. Maybe the best way to do that is to stop pointing out the obvious.
Focus on the areas we still need to improve on. Now is the time to celebrate Dungy and Smith's accomplishment, not beat it to death with a stick.
I am looking forward to Super Bowl XLI. I hope you are too.
So how does my dream end? The media focuses on how the players played and how the coaches coached. And when all is said and done, the best 'team' won the game and the best 'coach' got to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy high into the air.
That would truly be a dream come true for either Smith or Dungy.