The Super Bowl is finally over and I have to admit that I'm glad it's over.  The hype over the two African-American coaches is done.  We should never have to address the issue of a coach's ethnicity again.  By the way, anyone remember how much media coverage there was of Tom Flores, the first Hispanic head coach to win a Super Bowl, and his ethnicity when the Raiders beat the Eagles in the early '80s.

I was extremely happy to see Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning finally get what they richly deserved, but there was a moment that made me cringe.  When Dungy was talking about being the first black coach to win a Super Bowl, he said that it was more important that he and his friendly adversary Lovie Smith were Christians and there were several mentions of the Almighty and the Lord. 

Yes, I consider myself a Christian, but one thing I don't do is put that on display for everyone to see.  I would never deny anyone the fundamental right to worship as they choose fit, but by the same token, I don't expect to have to listen to them testify about their beliefs either.  Religion - like politics and sexual preferences - is a private matter. 

Besides with the problems in this country and on this planet, I don't think God much cares about football.

Gene Hickerson, regarded as one of the premier pulling guards of his era, finally received his just reward with election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, today.

Forgive me for saying this: but it's about damned time!   Hickerson's list of accomplishments in the NFL is vast and impressive according to a release from the Browns:

Hickerson, who played 15 seasons (1958-60, 1962-73) for the Browns, appeared in six Pro Bowls (1966-71) and was voted an all-league selection on five occasions (1966-70).  Hickerson was also named the NFL’s most outstanding blocker in 1969.  

Hickerson, 72, joined the Browns as a seventh-round draft choice out of

Hickerson played in every game during his career, except for the 1961 season when he missed the year with a broken leg.  Known as a versatile lineman, he broke into the starting lineup at right guard his second season with the Browns in 1958 and remained at right guard through the 1971 season.  Hickerson moved over to start at left guard for the final two seasons of his career from 1972-73.  Hickerson helped running back Jim Brown lead the NFL in rushing in eight of his nine seasons and also helped Leroy Kelly lead the league in rushing in 1968.

And he should have been in years ago.  Comedian Richard Pryor, a friend to Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, used to have a line in his stand-up routine to highlight the racism that existed in the era in which Brown played.  He essentially said that Brown was really the best because he didn't have anyone blocking for him.  Brown knew that wasn't true and said as much in numerous print and electronic interviews over the years.

But what troubles me about his long wait is that he was nearly forgotten.  While tooling around my car this week and listening to ESPN Radio on XM Satellite Radio, I heard numerous hosts reel off the names of who should get in:  Art Monk, Derrick Thomas and others.  All great in their own right, but it showed that some of these hosts lack any semblance of perspective and appreciation of the game's history.

Hickerson blocked for not one, but two Hall of Fame running backs. The other:  Leroy Kelly.  The HOF is about the best, not the very good.  My fear was that because of a more recent history, some of the very good would make it ahead of Hickerson on what was reportedly his final opportunity. 

They say that those who forget history are destined to relive it.  It's good to see that the 39 individuals who have voting power for the Pro Football Hall of Fame haven't forgotten that today's NFL was built on the blood, flesh and pain of previous players.  There are some out there who still deserve this recognition.

So I'm perusing the in-box of one of the many e-mail accounts that I own (don't ask, I won't tell) and I see a little note from MoveOn.org and something about the Super Bowl.

Gee, that's funny, I didn't know that the political process would start playing out at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday.  MoveOn was asking its constituency for cash to help get an ad created by VoteVets on the air in the District of Columbia featuring Iraqi War vets speaking out against Pres. George Bush's plan for escalation.

Here is some of the text:

Dear George (isn't it great they feel comfortable enough to call me by my first name?),

The feisty veterans' group VoteVets are back with a message for Congress: if you support escalation, you don't support the troops.

They're aiming to put a powerful new TV ad on the air during the Super Bowl in Washington, DC urging nearby Senator John Warner (R-VA)—a top Republican—to stop the escalation.

To get it on the air they need to raise $91,000 today. Can you chip in $25? To view the ad and contribute click here.

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/votevets.html?id=9811-4603848-L5COxrZqwIQJ5k_XWuyqWA&t=2

First of all, I'm a journalist; I don't have a spare $25.  And yes, I realize it may only air in D.C., but it's Super Bowl Sunday.  It's a de facto holiday.  It's the most frivolous of holidays.  It's a day that means absolutely nothing.  We celebrate violent men in tight pants knocking one another around, consumption of mass quantities of fermented hops, pizza pies overflowing with cholesterol-laden toppings, it's the one football day when significant others don't bug husbands, boyfriends, wives and girlfriends about hanging out with their football obsessed pals.  In short:  it's a day to forget things.

Now mind you anyone who has read my other blog doesn't need to be a Kennedy to figure out which way my politics leans.  However, you don't have to be Jim Brown or Archie Griffin to know that I love football.  There are a lot of serious problems that Americans face on a daily basis - fluctuating gas prices that only serve to fatten the wallets of oil company CEOs, an economy that is showing signs of losing steam and, yes, there's that 20,000 ton gorilla known as Iraq.  Don't we deserve a single, solitary day when we can forget about all of that bullcaca?

That is what the Super Bowl is and, personally, I feel as if MoveOn.org is trying to intrude on something meant to be pure entertainment and escapism with a tragic piece of reality.  They have a right to support VoteVets in the efforts to raise cash to get the spot on television.  This, however, is the one time I am hoping they fall short.

Yup, I come back from vacation only to have to look outside at a foot of snow;  I do so love Northeast Ohio - seriously.

Of course I'd much rather be in Miami right now for a little shindig known as the Super Bowl, but that's not about to happen.  I'll have to be content to impart my wisdom from afar - in 20 degree weather.

Oh where do I start?  Oh, wait.  For those of you who didn't realize it.  I'm what is known as African-American.  In my short 41 years I remember being called Negro, colored, black and now, yes, African-American.  Gee, there's something to be said for variety.  Why do I bring this up?  Well, in case you have been living in some remote cave in the mountains of Colorado, we have not one, but two African-American coaches in the Super Bowl.  And, yes, this fact has been played up by the media, the group to which I belong.

Do I have a problem with it?  Somewhat because it only reinforces the belief that some people still living in the 1930s still think - what a shock!!!  They must be the exception to the rule!!!

But I can also see the other side of this, having grown up with darker skin.  It is a momentous occasion -one that's taken far too long for the NFL - and it deserves recognition.  That being said, a tip of the hat to the Dan Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers for The Rooney Rule, which requires at least one minority candidate to be interviewed for a head coaching vacancy.  Notice that it only requires an interview.  In spirit, it opens doors that's it.  It doesn't require a hiring. 

But funny things happen when you open doors to people you might not have before - you actually find that you like their company.  That's what happened with the Steelers when they granted Mike Tomlin an audience.  Tomlin, a promising 34-year-old defensive coordinator witht the Minnesota Vikings, knocked Steelers management off their feet and boom! (to be Maddenesque) he had the gig.  It was about opportunity - not charity.

That's why what Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith have accomplished merits some attention this week.  They've further shattered decades - maybe centuries - old stereotypes both regarding ethnicity and with respect to the way sports coaches should behave. 

However, it's the first time we've dealt with the issue and it should be the last.  Why?  Because their success should make it a non-issue.

Another reason I stayed away from this space - I'm on vacation.  It's late at night currently and I have no life, this is why I am blogging.

But last night - as a reveled in a stellar hoops display by the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers - I hung out at my local watering hole.  Now as I've mentioned before I rather enjoy having a couple of beers in my off hours.  It's a scary proposition that I have many off hours coming up in the next couple of weeks.  At any rate, the conversation between the bartender, myself and a few other guys turned to who we wanted to see win the Super Bowl.  Having been done in by the curse of Marty Shottenheimer once again (I was pulling for Marty to get his championship), I said that I wanted the New Orleans Saints to win.  Right now, I believe the Saints will go all the way.  No, this isn't based on any inside knowledge.

But the stars are aligned in a funky way in my estimation.  The Saints will be a sentimental choice for a lot of folks and we all know why.   The Saints would be like a do-good from God.  It's as if that omnipotent being is saying:  "Yeah, well, I owe you one for that little storm that leveled the city last year." No, I'm not making light of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, but it feels as if everything is lining up that way.

That lead one person in the conversation to utter the phrase:  "Maybe Ohio could get a tornado so one of our teams can win one."  Such is the discontent on the North Coast that we have to wish for agony before enjoying a little ecstasy.  Is this what it has come to?  Maybe?  Or perhaps, just perhaps, our sense of propriety has gone by the wayside in the quest for sports nirvana.

A lot of my friends knew that I was in Phoenix covering the championship game.  They also know that I am a Buckeyes fan (primarily because I spent a couple of years in my college career there).  I can maintain my objectivity and still be a fan.  They all thought that I'd freak out about the fact that the Buckeyes lost.  No, I did not.  I didn't play the game. And that is one of the reasons I can maintain a level head when writing about the Buckeyes - I remember that it's just a game.