Congratulations to the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts (truth be told, I was hoping for a Chicago-New England Superbowl). Congratulations to Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy. I might actually watch the Superbowl; either way, I'll be cheering for "Da Bears."

What surprises me (so far) is that I'm not hearing so much about how these are the first black head coaches to make it to the Superbowl (I guess, Dungy is technically the first, but they'll both be the first black head coaches to coach in the superbowl). When I heard that Chicago had won—I hadn't heard that Indianapolis had, yet—thoughts of a media love affair with the fact that there would FINALLY be a black head coach in the Superbowl. However, thus far, I haven't heard much more than that.

In fact, yesterday I recall exclaiming, "Why must we point out their skin color? The fact that they're black isn't what got them to the Superbowl. They are both good head coaches coaching two good teams. That's where their merit lies!"

I guess this gets to me because of the NFL's requirement that teams in the hiring process must interview minority candidates or face punitive action from the league. In such a competitive situation, that makes little sense and, honestly, it makes a mockery of the whole idea of inclusiveness that this policy supposedly espouses. Imagine, if you will, "Hello, Mr. Black-Head-Coach-Candidate, we're interviewing you because we're SUPPOSED to, not because we WANT to. We don't think you're the right man to lead our team to victory, but we're interviewing you to satisfy a league mandate."

My thoughts are that if there is a black coach available with the credentials you're looking for, then interview him. I am more than certain that's why Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy are where they are now. They are there not because their skin tone is darker than mine, but because they can coach better than I can (or someone else who actually coaches football)—because they were the best man for the job. They are coaching in the Superbowl because they are winners, and I wish them luck.

Go Bears!