This race crap is absurd

JOEJOEJOE

cornnifer wrote:

Congratulations, you may have just made the dumbest post EVER on this board.
Are you comparing the White experience in America, in general, and professional sports specifically, with that of Blacks? Are you saying that in the history of the game there has never been an accomplished White running Back? That guy on the heisman trophy looks pretty fuckin' white to me.
Besides, the point is once upon a time Blacks were not allowed to compete in professional sports. After awhile it was o.k. as long as they scored lots of touchdowns, stole lots of bases or ripped down a couple of basketball rims, but, coaching? "No fuckin way. Coons are too fuckin stupid for that". Now two Black head coaches are leading their teams into one of the biggest events in all of sport. I say shout it from the hilltop!

Great post!.......the narrow-minded people on these boards don't have the mental skills to consider the past while they judge the present.

surferdude

JOEJOEJOE wrote:

Great post!.......the narrow-minded people on these boards don't have the mental skills to consider the past while they judge the present.

Then don't tell me you want to be treated like an equal. You obviously want some sort of preferential or deferential treatment.

And here I thought I was supposed to be color blind.

JOEJOEJOE

surferdude wrote:

Then don't tell me you want to be treated like an equal. You obviously want some sort of preferential or deferential treatment.

And here I thought I was supposed to be color blind.

If the generations before you were colorblind, things would be different now.

The past has a way of effecting the present and the future....go figure!

surferdude

JOEJOEJOE wrote:

If the generations before you were colorblind, things would be different now.

The past has a way of effecting the present and the future....go figure!

So you think the path to equality is to not treat people as equals. That the end result of preferential treatment will be equality.

Please advise me when it's no longer racist to treat people as equals.

onelongsong

miller8966 wrote:

I was watching the end of the football game last night, and the first thing they bring up, is the fact that for the first time in history we now have 2 black coaches going to the superbowl.

Who the fuck cares?

Why does this have to be the first thing brought up after indy won...even tony dungy was caught off guard by this. its the year 2007, this really isnt a big deal.

This isnt a milestone like jackie robinson in baseball or anything...people will do anything to get race into the news.

it infers that blacks are inferior so 2 black coaches going to the superbowl is a great accomplishment for them.

NMyTree

JOEJOEJOE wrote:

If the generations before you were colorblind, things would be different now.

The past has a way of effecting the present and the future....go figure!

So what you're saying is that you advocate the vicious circle continuing.

Which we all know what will happen. The vicious circle will come round full circle and end up right where it began.

Yeah, that's great:rolleyes:

Racism is racism, not matter if it's coming from blacks, whites, hispanics, asians....who ever.

Preferential treatment is discrimination and racism. it will only float for so long, before the vicious circle picks itself up off of it's fat ass and comes round.....again.

And nor blacks or whites will benefit from that happening.

We need unity and equality in this country, involving all races and groups of people. It is the only way we will defeat the threats and dangers we and our children are soon to face; from those who only see one color. Green, the color of money, the color of profit and the color of control.

macgyver06

miller8966 wrote:

I was watching the end of the football game last night, and the first thing they bring up, is the fact that for the first time in history we now have 2 black coaches going to the superbowl.

Who the fuck cares?

Why does this have to be the first thing brought up after indy won...even tony dungy was caught off guard by this. its the year 2007, this really isnt a big deal.

This isnt a milestone like jackie robinson in baseball or anything...people will do anything to get race into the news.

do black people not realize it is offensive when white people ask these questions as if they are inferior in some way to white people??

however, I would like to know who the first white person to enter Soul Train was?

and the first black person to enter a cracker barrel...this is much more of a break through in culture.

The Illinoisemakers

Miller I tend to agree with you on this one. By turning this into a race thing, we are just perpetuating the lame notion that black people are good enough to run the ball, and tackle people, but it isn't a given that they can be coaches. Black coaches are just as good as white coaches.

We should be celebrating Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith as two great, fathers, husbands, community leaders, and coaches. Race should have nothing to do with it.

That being said, I think it will be a great Superbowl, and I hope the Colts throttle da Bears.

know1

JOEJOEJOE wrote:

If the generations before you were colorblind, things would be different now.

The past has a way of effecting the present and the future....go figure!

If this current generation were colorblind, we wouldn't need to mention the fact about the black coaches and the Super Bowl.

I wish it were that way, but mentioning these things just holds us back in my opinion.

Ahnimus

I can see where both sides are coming from on this. But I don't think there is any major racism or white control of power. That's an illusion. It's just a fact of numbers. If the majority were Chinese, then the president would probably be Chinese.

miller8966

FOr the BEars to win they have to keep the ball out of grossmans hands...dont put the game on his shoulders.

jlew24asu

The Illinoisemakers wrote:

Miller I tend to agree with you on this one. By turning this into a race thing, we are just perpetuating the lame notion that black people are good enough to run the ball, and tackle people, but it isn't a given that they can be coaches. Black coaches are just as good as white coaches.

We should be celebrating Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith as two great, fathers, husbands, community leaders, and coaches. Race should have nothing to do with it.

That being said, I think it will be a great Superbowl, and I hope the Colts throttle da Bears.

I agree with almost all you said. but you are so far on on your last sentence, that I hope you get a lifetime ban for such blasphemy

even flow?

I wonder what Howard Cosell and Jimmy The Greek must be thinking of this in the after life?

The Illinoisemakers

jlew24asu wrote:

I agree with almost all you said. but you are so far on on your last sentence, that I hope you get a lifetime ban for such blasphemy

I am still pouting from my Hawks losing. Actually I think it will be a great game. I would just like to see Peyton win a ring, he is deserving.

Cosmo

Anytime a FIRST occurs... it'll make the news. How much people blow it out of proportion is up to the people.
I will venture to guess that it'll be news when the first Japanese pitcher wins the Cy Young award... or the first woman wins the Indy 500... it's a newsworthy event if it is the first time it happens in the history of the sport.
I don't know why people get bent out of shape because of it... people are proud of their heritage... the Irish... the Italians... what's the big deal?
Just because they happen to be black... why is that any different.
...
Bottom line... it is a First. Just like they made a big deal out of Tiger Woods winning the Masters. I don't see a problem here.

western pearl

miller8966 wrote:

I was watching the end of the football game last night, and the first thing they bring up, is the fact that for the first time in history we now have 2 black coaches going to the superbowl.

Who the fuck cares?

Why does this have to be the first thing brought up after indy won...even tony dungy was caught off guard by this. its the year 2007, this really isnt a big deal.

This isnt a milestone like jackie robinson in baseball or anything...people will do anything to get race into the news.

Interesting, that's the exact thought that went through my head when they said that.

trappedinmyradio

miller8966 wrote:

I was watching the end of the football game last night, and the first thing they bring up, is the fact that for the first time in history we now have 2 black coaches going to the superbowl.

Who the fuck cares?

Why does this have to be the first thing brought up after indy won...even tony dungy was caught off guard by this. its the year 2007, this really isnt a big deal.

This isnt a milestone like jackie robinson in baseball or anything...people will do anything to get race into the news.

the issue is the disparity in hiring...this is almost a "see, black coaches are successfull...and can win"

i don't see why they have to bring it up and pound it into the ground, but i can see how it works...

chopitdown

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs06/columns/story?columnist=smith_michael&id=2740318

So just how big a deal is it that a brotha (two as it turned out) finally led a team to the Super Bowl? Put it this way: a big enough deal to make black folk in Baltimore root for the hated Colts.

"We're leaving Baltimore," Colts coach Tony Dungy recalled, "and the bus drivers, they were all black guys. They said, 'We were rooting for you today [in the divisional-round game against the Ravens] and we're rooting for you next week. Even though we live in Baltimore, we want you to win and get to the Super Bowl.'"

In the African-American community, the excitement of having Dungy and Chicago's Lovie Smith -- two of the league's six coaches who happen to be members of said community -- make history by becoming the first such coaches to reach pro football's biggest game (played during Black History Month, no less) is similar to when Halle Berry and Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx won Oscars for leading roles. The difference is that awards and elections are subjective. Having two coaches whose skin happens to be darker than most of their peers lead teams to the Super Bowl simply is the inevitable result of equal opportunity.

"It's just like we've said all along," Dungy said. "If you give enough people an opportunity, it's going to be just like everything else -- you're going to have some guys that rise to the top, you're going to have some guys that do well, you're going to have some guys that have to change situations. We're going to be no different than anybody else. Eventually there will be plenty of guys that get there."

For Dungy and Smith to get their teams here had nothing to do with where their ancestors originated. Just as a person's ethnicity, ideally, should have nothing to do with ... well, anything.

So, then, why are we wasting so much (air) time talking about the colors of these men's skin?

I've been guilty of it for six paragraphs, but no more. It distracts us from what's really important: what's inside these men. And, trust me, it would do people good to see more of that.

Dungy and Smith are role models, not just for coaches who look like them or men who look like them, but for all coaches and all men. They live their lives the right way, and as a result they do their jobs the same way. Their priorities are, in order: faith, their families and football. The outcome of the Super Bowl or any game does not define them. They personify words such as class, grace, dignity, honor and integrity. We all can draw inspiration from men such as these.

Dungy and Smith haven't sold their souls in pursuit of the game's Holy Grail, and yet here they are, reminding us that good men can do great things, that nice guys can and do finish first. Dungy learned from Dennis Green and Chuck Noll and passed it on to assistants Smith, Mike Tomlin, Herman Edwards and Rod Marinelli (all head coaches now) that it's OK to enjoy life outside the facility. Dungy and Smith are family men. And they still win.

You won't hear either utter a word of profanity. And they still win. They care about and foster relationships with their players. And they still win. They serve their communities. And still, somehow, they find time to do what it takes to prepare their teams.

Dungy can -- imagine -- spend the Saturday evening before the AFC Championship Game against the Patriots at the mall with his family. Or Dungy, Smith, Edwards and each of their wives can gather for dinner at P.F. Chang's the night before Dungy's Colts and Edwards' Chiefs met in the first round of the playoffs. And yet it didn't halt the Bears' or Colts' journeys to Miami.

Dungy and Smith are Christian men who serve the Lord first and spend nearly as much time serving their communities. Doesn't prevent them from winning. And often. In just three seasons Smith, last season's Coach of the Year, has helped build the Bears into a league power. Dungy has won more regular season games than any coach since 1999. Where does color factor into that?

After they won their conference championships, you heard Smith talk about his "being blessed" and Dungy give thanks to God. That isn't just lip service with these guys. As Christians they believe it is their responsibility to let their light shine whenever they're in the spotlight. Just as they have a game plan for each other come Super Bowl Sunday, both plan to use the global platform that the Super Bowl provides to speak words that could make an impact beyond football. At his oldest son James' funeral last year, Dungy used the eulogy as an opportunity to teach lessons about manhood and fatherhood.

Neither man gets caught up in, you know, being the head coach. Talk about humility: Smith was seated among the fans at the RCA Dome for the Colts-Chiefs playoff game (the Bears had a bye) when a fan approached him for an autograph. Smith, who had been signing for several minutes already, politely told her "not right now" and said he would like to turn his attention to the game. But he watched as she returned to her seat, and during the next break he went over and gave her the autograph.

Regarding a coaching matchup between friends and former colleagues, these are the kinds of things we should be talking about exclusively leading up to the game, the class way in which Dungy and Smith lead their respective organizations. Not something as trivial as Dungy and Smith's skin color. It seems as if every day we hear about players getting arrested or being involved in some embarrassing incident -- and failing as role models. When Dungy walks away from coaching he likely will devote more of his time to the prison ministry about which he's so passionate. He and Smith are examples of what a strong man is. Never mind what they look like. They're the perfect people to represent not just the African-American community but the NFL community.

On Jan. 15, the nation celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We could honor his dream by celebrating Dungy's and Smith's achievements not because of the color of their skin, but the content of their character.

There's a lot of talk about hoping for a day when black coaches in the Super Bowl won't be a big deal, when we won't find it necessary to refer to a coach as a "black coach" (or any person by their race, for that matter).

What's wrong with that day being today? Dungy and Smith have made history, and we happily acknowledge it. As for our practice of categorizing NFL head coaches, let's make that history, too.

Michael Smith is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

callen

miller8966 wrote:

I was watching the end of the football game last night, and the first thing they bring up, is the fact that for the first time in history we now have 2 black coaches going to the superbowl.

Who the fuck cares?

Why does this have to be the first thing brought up after indy won...even tony dungy was caught off guard by this. its the year 2007, this really isnt a big deal.

This isnt a milestone like jackie robinson in baseball or anything...people will do anything to get race into the news.

...there aren't that many role models that are brought to light by the media...so having two black coaches in the Super bowl is great....and should be broadcast. More power to them both..and congratulations.

even flow?

I guess having two black coaches in the same game is better than the poor white coach who may have got whipped in the final and have to hang their head in shame. Or the reverse where the black coach, got out coached by the white coach and the same sad story keeps getting sung.