Black Magic

It was said, a few weeks ago, that if the Indianapolis Colts were to meet the Chicago Bears in the Superbowl, then it would be the first time two African American head coaches would have met. Indeed, even if one had shown up, it would have been the first time an African American head coach had made it to the Superbowl.

For all the African American head coaches in the league (until recently for some), Denny Green, Art Shell, Ray Rhodes, Herm Edwards, Marvin Lewis, Romeo Crennel, heck, how about interim coach, Terry Robiskie, none had made it to the final game, and until today, neither had Lovie Smith nor Tony Dungy.

Their paths had been different. The Chicago Bears were riding an inconsistent and fairly new quarterback in Rex Grossman. Their defense, dominant in the first ten weeks of the season, had been struggling. The Saints had been riding a high, turning a dismal season last year post Katrina, into a heartwarming story that inspired a city seeking to rebuild. With Drew Brees, Deuce McAllister, Marques Colston, and Reggie Bush, it was thought their offense could come in and put points up on Chicago.

Instead, it was Chicago, on a slippery field, putting up points on the Saints. The Saints would draw it close after an electrifying return by Reggie Bush, showing that the USC star and Heisman winner was ready for the big time, but that would be as close as they would get as Grossman again, played within himself, and the defense came up big for this Chicago win.

Perhaps only Chicago fans whose pinnacle was the 1985 win for a team that nearly went undefeated, and used a stout defense to win. This year's Chicago isn't quite that good, but they found ways to score points.

The drama wasn't the same as the late game. The Colts. The Patriots. Again. This time, instead of holding court in the chilly climes of New England, the contest was held in the balmy dome stadium at Indianapolis, what most considered to be the advantage they would need to finally break through.

The Colts had gotten this far, oddly enough, with a resurgence in their defense, which covered up for an ineffective Peyton Manning. But when the Patriots came out to a 21-3 lead, it seemed another doomed Colts effort, especially when you consider how the scoring went.

The first touchdown was a fumble, but recovered by the offense for a touchdown. The third touchdown was on an interception of Peyton Manning. It seemed the worst of both worlds. The defense was playing back to its poor self, prior to the playoffs, while Manning was still throwing interceptions.

Even as the Colts were finally able to march down the field and possibly score a TD just before the half, they were held to a field goal, and entered half-time at 21-6.

The Patriots, having barely escaped with a win over the Chargers last week, were again hobbled this week, and worse still, many on the defense were dealing with the flu. However, you could hardly tell. Just the thought of playing the Colts who must have been worried about their nemesis seemed to keep the Patriots up. But realistically, they probably knew they had to play well the first half before fatigue set in. In the first half, the defense appeared to have no ill effects, as they batted away one deep Peyton pass after another.

But the drive to end the first half seemed to invigorate the Colts. They would get the ball again, and the hope was they could score right out of the gate. And surprisingly, they moved the ball incredibly well and scored. And, then, again. Down by two points, the Colts decided to gamble with a 2 point play and made it, to tie the score as 21 apiece.

And yet, the Patriots, with a solid return, again scored to move up a touchdown, and the Colts again came back to tie. At this point, the Colts offense appeared to be humming, but still, the Patriots weren't going down easily. The Patriots scored a field goal on the next play, but the Colts couldn't respond right away.

Then, it became a replay of last week, as field goal kickers took over. First, Gostkowski scored a field goal, the rookie kicker that replaced legend Vinatieri. Then Vinatieri, now a Colt, kicked one. And Gostkowski responded again, though they had chances to score a touchdown.

Finally, Manning lead a drive, that featured throws and runs, and eventually Addai walked in and finally the Colts had a lead of 38-34.

Tom Brady had a minute to work with. He could hope for a good return to set himself up. Special teams had been doing well for the Patriots, but the return wasn't so good. Even so, Brady made several long passes, and Manning could only stare down, making prayers to someone that just this once, maybe he could be the one that won the game.

And finally, his prayers were answered as Marlin Jackson intercepted a Brady pass, started running back, then realized that maybe he better avoid getting hit and possibly coughing the ball up. He slid onto his back and lifted the ball, and Manning, sneaking a peek, ran to the field, realizing, in the 20 or so seconds left, that all he had to do was to kneel down, and let the clock expire.

And Manning would finally see what this Superbowl thing was all about.

And Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith would smile as well. Two classy gentleman, who represented the struggle of African Americans in sports, who would coach two teams to the game's biggest trophy.

Sometimes, magic happens.