Colts and Bears
Yeah the Indianopolis Colts will be facing off against the Chicago Bears in Miami for the Superbowl on February 4th but this one isn't truly about that match up....it's about the coaches! We finally have the first black coach to ever make it to the Superbowl but not only that...we are gauranteed that a black coach will win the Superbowl! This is HUGE!!!
Tony Dungy is the Coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Dungy had to get past talk about him not being able to get to the show because his last team won after he left. Tony Dungy is also playing in his first full season since the loss of his son last year to a suicide. I wanted him to go to the Superbowl more than any other black coach not to mention I am a fan of his QB (but this ain't about him right now!)
Lovie Smith is the coach of the Chicago Bears. He is a coach that focuses on defense and even after much criticism about his decesions for offensive starters he has proven that loyalty to his players is just as important as winning. This man is a class act and a protege` of Tony Dungy.
Now I know what your thinking "It's only a freaking football game." But a black coach in the Superbowl means so much more to the game than you think. Football is the most popular sport in the United States and with that it follows along with the culture of the United States and there is no secret that black people have had to overcome some barriers in this country. This is another one of those barriers we have had to work on. I mean,
I'm not saying this is big like if Barak Obama actually becomes the first black president but let me just break down why it means a lot to me.
First know that in the NFL it has just become a regular thing to have black Quarterbacks in the last 10 - 15 years with most of the black QBs coming out of college being forced to transition to other positions. Why you ask...because QBs run the offense and along with the physical aspects of the game of football you had to be a thinker to run an NFL offense with complex plays and read defenses. In the US society, black men haven't been thought of as thinkers so they have strayed away from putting us in this role due to there opinions about our lack of intelligence. So you can imagine that if they didn't think we were good enough to run the offense on the field they damn sure don't think we're good enough to run the entire team from the sideline. This has always been another one of those positions where our people were made to feel as though they were inadequate and black coaches have been dealing with the pressures of proving these stereotype wrong for much too long.
If you think I'm exxagerating just look at the facts:
Tony Dungy is the Coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Dungy had to get past talk about him not being able to get to the show because his last team won after he left. Tony Dungy is also playing in his first full season since the loss of his son last year to a suicide. I wanted him to go to the Superbowl more than any other black coach not to mention I am a fan of his QB (but this ain't about him right now!)Lovie Smith is the coach of the Chicago Bears. He is a coach that focuses on defense and even after much criticism about his decesions for offensive starters he has proven that loyalty to his players is just as important as winning. This man is a class act and a protege` of Tony Dungy.
Now I know what your thinking "It's only a freaking football game." But a black coach in the Superbowl means so much more to the game than you think. Football is the most popular sport in the United States and with that it follows along with the culture of the United States and there is no secret that black people have had to overcome some barriers in this country. This is another one of those barriers we have had to work on. I mean,
I'm not saying this is big like if Barak Obama actually becomes the first black president but let me just break down why it means a lot to me.First know that in the NFL it has just become a regular thing to have black Quarterbacks in the last 10 - 15 years with most of the black QBs coming out of college being forced to transition to other positions. Why you ask...because QBs run the offense and along with the physical aspects of the game of football you had to be a thinker to run an NFL offense with complex plays and read defenses. In the US society, black men haven't been thought of as thinkers so they have strayed away from putting us in this role due to there opinions about our lack of intelligence. So you can imagine that if they didn't think we were good enough to run the offense on the field they damn sure don't think we're good enough to run the entire team from the sideline. This has always been another one of those positions where our people were made to feel as though they were inadequate and black coaches have been dealing with the pressures of proving these stereotype wrong for much too long.
If you think I'm exxagerating just look at the facts:
- 32 NFL Teams and only 7 black head coaches in the league (which is actually a great number for us cause it's normally 2-3): Lovie Smith, Tony Dungy, Marvin Lewis, Dennis Green, Art Shell, Romeo Krennel and Herm Edwards. (and two of them just got fired after the season ended on his first year with the team)
- 119 NCAA Division 1A and only 7 black head coaches (yeah that's an exact figure!)
- 41 Superbowls and there hasn't even been a black coach to make it let alone win (I attribute this to lack of opportunity as well as odds. 7 against 25 sucks!).
- And although it's a tangent fact....The NFL just got it's first black owner this past season with the Minnesota Vikings.
Getting the gaurantee of having a black head coach win a Superbowl is a milestone. For the sport of football it is historical. I'm just glad that I am here to see it happen. Gives me hope for us succeeding in other areas where we have encountered barriers. But I'm not the only one who is excited about this...you can check out my man AB's blog about this topic too. He calls it The Soul Bowl. LMAO!!!
This is the best year in Football since my Skins won the Superbowl!
posted by Daneger at 11:53 PM
3 Comments:
HATER!
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I just read the blog. You did some good work with this one Dane, especially the numbers you used.
This is definitely a huge milestone for black coaches in the NFL. I think this will definitely help other worthy Black coaches get head coaching jobs (see Mike Tomlin).
Like I said in my blogpost about this, the best thing about this superbowl is that a black coach has to win. I'm always rooting for black QBs and black coaches to win if the Redskins aren't winning. But with the Skins I still get to root for a black QB in Jason Campbell, so hopefully we'll do something next year.
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