We live in an age when people throw around words like historical and history and life changing and things of that nature without fully understanding the relevance. But certain things have historical relevance just because of the event. The Super Bowl is one of those few moments that just screams history. This year’s Super Bowl will be a special one because it has one of those historic first time moments.
Okay, okay, I’ll tell it for those who don’t know.
Prince is playing the halftime show.
Gotcha!
Actually Prince is the main performer for the halftime show, and for fellas he’s bringing Beyonce (Thank you, Prince) but that’s not the historical part.
For the first time ever, two African-American head coaches go head to head in the Super Bowl. Tony Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, and Lovie Smith, head coach of the Chicago Bears, face off for the big dance. Two African-American head coaches; needless to say, I’m smiling.
Oh, there are an abundance of Super Bowl stories already. Will this year’s Bears equal the legendary 1985 team? Will Peyton Manning, clearly the poster boy for the NFL, finally get his Super Bowl ring? Will the Colts, who are already heavily favored, finally win the one they’re supposed to or will they again be denied like Broadway Joe did to them so many years ago in what has been called the greatest Super Bowl of all time? Here’s what is not a question: an African-American head coach will win the Super Bowl.
Much of this must weigh heavily on Tony Dungy. He used to be the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After he essentially formed what would be their Super Bowl championship team, he was fired and they won the next year. Many of those players during the celebration thanked Dungy for bringing them to Tampa Bay. But, thanks don’t put a championship ring on your finger.
This time, it’s his shot. And let’s not forget Lovie Smith. A quiet man who, like Dungy, is a defensive genius. His defense schemes are stuff of legends. He understands that defense wins championships. His Chicago Bears defense nearly scores as many points as does his offense.
Lately the Super Bowl has been reduced to what commercial is the coolest, what show will follow and make history or fail miserably, etc. Nothing about the game itself. Not this year. The game itself is historical. The game has meaning. This year, 2007, it’s all about the game. Everything else is second place.
An African-American head coach will win the Super Bowl aka “The Big Daddy” of sports events in two weeks.
Now that, my friends….
That’s history. And we get to witness it.
