Post by TheShadow on Feb 4, 2007 10:05:30 GMT -5
www.chron.com
By JOHN P. LOPEZ
Pack journalism has been at its tightly grouped best for two weeks now, never straying from Miami stories that are certainly nice, intriguing and, of course, worthwhile.
There's been the whole Peyton Manning thing. There's been the sorry NFL pension plan thing.
There's been the obligatory no-respect angle for the Chicago Bears.
And of course Saturday, there was the Hall of Fame quandary — so many candidates, so few slots and so much closed-door politicking from a mere 40 voters.
This is not to bash my journalistic brethren. Super Bowl week isn't exactly conducive to originality.
Overlooking the obvious
But it is to illustrate that even those at the tops of their crafts can sometimes fail to recognize the irony and injustice staring them in the face.
More than any other story, the prevailing theme for Super Bowl XLI has been the groundbreaking accomplishment of coaches Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith becoming the first black coaches in the Super Bowl.
It is a wonderful thing, of course.
A day has not gone by in the Super Bowl's buildup when Dungy and Smith have not been asked, often dozens of times, about the standard they have set.
But groundbreaking?
Well, yeah. In one respect they are, but the term that has been thrown about so much this week is not altogether right.
On the other end of the telephone this week, speaking from his home in California, was former Oakland Raiders coach and general manager Tom Flores.
Some 26 years ago, Flores was the first Hispanic coach to take a team to a Super Bowl.
In the official NFL Web recap of that 27-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, Flores' name is not mentioned.
Flores went on to win another Super Bowl, as well as become the first Hispanic NFL general manager and first Hispanic NFL club president.
Flores' starting quarterback in Super Bowl XV was Jim Plunkett, who was the first Hispanic quarterback to play in and win a Super Bowl, throwing for three touchdowns and 261 yards.
So how many questions did Flores and Plunkett get about their pioneering Super Bowl feat 26 years ago?
"None," Flores said. "Not one question that I can remember.
"I was aware of it and in the (Hispanic) communities I would visit and places I went, it was a big deal. It did not go unnoticed. Hispanics were aware of it.
"But that's where it ended. The writers just didn't ask that question. It wasn't a story and honestly, at the time I just wanted to worry about coaching football."
A degree of hypocrisy
Today, of course, is a good day to recognize inclusiveness and diversity in sports.
But it also is a day when the hypocrisy of NFL officials and members of the media practically pulling muscles as they pat themselves on the back over recognizing Dungy and Smith — should be noted as well.
Dungy and Smith deserve every accolade and compliment they get, but Saturday's Hall of Fame vote showed just how much the league and those who cover it have not captured the whole picture.
This year, there was much hand-wringing, lobbying and angst over what was considered a talented and all-too deserving list of Pro Football Hall candidates. Some 17 names made the final ballot for Hall entry.
But one that did not make the list: Flores.
If you do not think this is as egregious an omission as ever — discriminatory, really — ask yourself these questions, Hall voters:
Would you recognize a man who was the first black NFL quarterback?
What if that man also was the first black to coach a Super Bowl team? The first to win a Super Bowl? Then two? And that same man then became the first black NFL general manager?
Would you recognize him if he also won more games than Bill Walsh or Jimmy Johnson, and had as many wins (105) and Super Bowl titles as Vince Lombardi?
Would you recognize him if he accomplished all these things the hard way, growing up the son of a blue-collar man who emigrated to the United States as a 12-year-old?
Would you be swayed by stories of how he constantly was told that people of his ethnicity could not play quarterback and could not dream of being a coach?
After college ball, he had to go to the Canadian Football League to prove himself, until a forward-thinking owner named Al Davis found him. Then, he promptly led the league in virtually every quarterbacking category.
A barrier breaker
Flores did all of that — an NFL barrier-breaker at virtually every level of the game. Only, he's not black.
He is Hispanic. That's why NFL leadership and those who cover the league should not get full of themselves over celebrating inclusiveness and diversity today.
They're still leaving one ethnicity in the trash bin. They're glossing over the facts, forgetting history and failing to punch the most deserving ticket for Canton, all for the sake of a good story in the here and now.
"There's a sense of pride for what I did for Hispanics," Flores said. "I became more aware of what it meant to Hispanic people as the years have gone by.
"But I don't wear it on my lapel. I'm proud of it. But I'd rather be remembered as the first to get to the Super Bowl and win it. Al Davis knew he was hiring a minority, but he didn't hire me because of that. He hired me because he thought I could win football games, and that's why it means more."
Still, as Flores has felt a sense of pride for Dungy and Smith lately, the rest of the football world should feel obligated to right a longtime wrong.
"Nobody other than my wife, family and friends made a big deal about it back then," Flores said. "It wasn't a story at that time.
"Nobody ever thought history was being made."
Sadly, 26 years later, most still don't.