Super Bowl week is here, and it's about time. To echo bluegirl's diary, this past Sunday was a little depressing. It was the first Sunday in five months with no football. I had the day off and decided to catch up on emails. Since the Colts made the Super Bowl, I average about 100 emails a day. Some from fans, some from readers, some from media outlets asking me to give a "Colts fan's perspective" on the game, and some from SB Nation writers fawning over my greatness.
Ok, the last one is a lie. The SB Nation guys make fun of me all the time, especially Jimmy and Burnt Orange Nation. They don't like the fact that I criticize Vince Young. I do think that both of these guys will go into cardiac arrest if/when Peyton Manning gets his Super Bowl ring.
Anyway, since we are now finally into the week leading up to the Super Bowl, I think it's time to start talking about the game itself. I am a big fan of Lovie Smith. I don't know if VanRam over at Turf Show Times agrees with me, but I think it was a huge mistake for St. Louis to let Smith go. They should have fired Mike Martz and promoted Smith. Lovie Smith was THE reason the Rams made it to the Super Bowl in 2002. That Rams defense that season was amazing. They went from one of the worst defenses the year before to #2 overall in 2001 (the year they went to the Super Bowl). The reason was Lovie Smith. Mike Martz is an incompetent boob who knows nothing about managing a football team. The Rams were crap before Lovie, and they were crap after he left.
Lovie is the man.
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Like Dungy, it took Smith a ridiculously long time to get a head coaching gig. While morons like Norv Turner, Dennis Green, Jack Del Rio, and Tom Coughlin are getting stroked by rich, white, fat cat owners to run their perspective clubs, Lovie Smith waited patiently, building up a solid resume in St. Louis and Tampa Bay. Smith's long assent is another sad example of the underlining racism that runs through the NFL. That may be changing somewhat. I am very pleased Mike Tomlin beat out Russ Grimm in Pittsburgh. There was nothing on Grimm's resume that suggested he was a better candidate than Tomlin, and Tomlin's work in Minnesota this past season was sensational. Today, we have six black head coaches in the NFL out of 32 teams. If Al Davis had a brain in that warped skull of his, he'd have hired Hue Jackson (former-Bengals wide receivers coach) as his new head coach Oakland, or Jim Caldwell (QB coach for the Colts). Instead, he takes the young, white, unproven son of Monte Kiffin. Nothing on his resume suggests he is a better candidate than Caldwell, Jackson, or any other African American assistant in the NFL. Nice one, Al.
In any case, Lovie Smith embodies everything the NFL should be about. He has a quiet dignity, and he treats his players like men. Bears fans that dared question him should be ratted out and forced to watch re-runs of Sex and the City, Clockwork Orange-style. I am very happy Smith has found success in Chicago. If Jerry Angelo does not re-sign Smith soon, Angelo should be fired on the spot by management, and his firing should be a public event. Lovie Smith is an outstanding head coach, and Bears fans better appreciate him.