Coaches offer fans a quandary February 4, 2007
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — With two black coaches in the Super Bowl for the first time, the historic accomplishment presents a welcome dilemma for many black fans: For whom to root?
Many are not picking sides in Sunday's game — they see Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy and Chicago Bears Coach Lovie Smith's presence in the NFL's biggest game as a win-win situation.
"We can't lose," said New York University history professor Jeffrey Sammons, who studies sports and race.
Black coaches led two of the four teams that reached the NFL's conference title games, so the odds were good that one would make history and become the first black coach in the Super Bowl. Many black fans without team allegiances prepared to root for either Dungy or Smith over a white rival.
But with Dungy and Smith set to oppose one another in the NFL's championship game, many black fans are deciding who to pull for on even more trivial criteria.
In Atlanta — a city often regarded as a bellwether for black popular culture — the topic has been on the minds of many blacks for days.
Andre Wiggins, an accountant, has rooted for Dungy for a couple of years, hoping the black coach would finally get his chance.
Wiggins said he had the same feeling of pride when Redskins quarterback Doug Williams led his team to win SuperBowl XXII.