Congrats to Tony Dungy and the Colts--

I'll tell you what. I'm proud to be representing African-American coaches, to be the first African-American to win this. That means an awful lot to our country. But again, more than anything -- I said it before -- Lovie Smith and I are not only the first two African-Americans, but Christian coaches showing that you can win and doing it the Lord's way. We're more proud of that. Tony Dungy as he was handed the Vince Lombardi Trophy Sunday night.

It was a wet soggy game. A lot of miscues. That football just wouldn't stay tucked where it was supposed to.

But, there was a victor! Peyton Manning, yes; Rhodes, yes; Addai, yes; but my eyes were fixed on Tony Dungy! Class Act! A Christian Coach! A victor at life's struggles! He had weathered yet another storm!

The storms:
1. Dungy lost his first head coaching job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a series of disappointing postseason runs, only to see the man who followed him (Jon Gruden) lead the Bucs to a title the next year.
2. In December 2005, Dungy went through a parent's worst nightmare when he buried his eldest son James after a suicide. Read what I wrote about that here.
3. This 2006 season was tough. Indianapolis was the worst in the league against the run, allowing yards faster than I could say 'Jesus wept."
4. And others I don't know about.

Yet, Tony Dungy kept the same stoic, unwavering strength that has defined him in both good times and the worst that fate had to offer.

"He has always been a high-character guy," linebacker Rob Morris said. "He believes very strongly in what's important to him and, to him, life and life's lessons are bigger than football."

It is more than winning a championship for Dungy. More than becoming the first African-American coach to capture a Super Bowl. It is about a way of life.

"That's one of the reasons I stayed in coaching – to prove you can win with Christian principles," Dungy said.

This is a coach who doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't curse and doesn't raise his voice. He treats players, coaches and all those who come in contact with him with respect.

After the super Bowl victory, Tony Dungy gave the credit to a fine organization and The Lord!

"The Lord doesn't always take you in a straight line," Dungy said. "He doesn't always take a direct path. I think he tests you sometimes to see if you're going to keep the faith and hang in there and I think we did. We did as an organization and it's just such a great feeling to get, to win this game.

"It's not the biggest thing in the world, but … it feels great."

Isa 43:2
When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end — from THE MESSAGE

Life is more than football! It is what you make it even in the tough times and how you make it out of them!