Well, the teams for the Super Bowl are set. The Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts are scheduled to play two weeks from today in one of the most watched sporting events in the world. The NFL playoffs have been nothing short of incredible, and two teams that I have loved for years won.
However, it brings up a very troubling dilemna. I love both the Bears and Colts, and I’ve lived in both Indiana and Chicago. I am leaning towards Indianapolis…because the Bears have won a Super Bowl since Indy has, and also because Peyton Manning deserves a Super Bowl ring about as much as any NFL player I’ve seen.
Yeah, I know. I’m no Bronco fan, but Elway deserved his, and I’m sure there are others. But Manning is a true class act, and he has definitely paid his dues. This is his 9th year in the NFL, and has not missed a single regular season start since his first game as a Colt. The first year, he started 16 games and won only one, but did not let that diminish his professionalism or character. He worked hard, never complained about other players or management, and became a world-class quarterback. Character like this is all too rare today…and it’s my belief that he deserves a championship.
So two weeks from today…I’ll be rooting for the Colts. But if the Bears win…it won’t break my heart either.
Oh, one other thing. I normally don’t try to make much of race, or color, or any other characteristic of a person other than competence. However, if you follow sports whatsoever, you already know that the media is making a fairly big deal about the fact that both coaches in the Super Bowl are African-American. I honestly don’t know if it should be highlighted as much, but I do know this.
In high school, there are some natural athletes that don’t have to work as hard as others to excel in sports. At the college level, even less. And at the professional level, if an individual has not put in the work, they will not even ride the bench. But to be a coach at the highest professional level means only that you have performed almost obscene amounts of effort to learn your sport better than almost everyone else in the world. It also means that you have demonstrated that level of proficiency to others.
Does this event mean discrimination against African Americans has been totally eradicated? Nope. Not by a long shot. But here’s what this milestone really means: it means that if you’re hiring for an NFL team, passing up a minority because of skin color means you may be costing your team a chance to succeed. And that has to be the best progress that can be made.
