Congratulating Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears and Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts on becoming the first African-American head coaches of National Football League teams to qualify for the Super Bowl.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 90) congratulating Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears and Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts on becoming the first African-American head coaches of National Football League teams to qualify for the Super Bowl.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Madam Speaker, this Sunday, history will be made in the National Football League when two African American head coaches battle for a Super Bowl championship.

Not only is this the first time a black head coach has vied for the title, but two have done so in the same season. Lovie Smith, of the Chicago Bears, and Tony Dungy, of the Indianapolis Colts, are hailed as two of the most humble in the league.

In an era where professional sports is crowded with big egos and loud mouths, these two quietly push their players to be better athletes and better individuals.

Like myself, Coach Smith grew up in a small town in the South. Coach Smith talks about how growing up in the small town of Big Sandy, Texas, taught him the values of hard work, self-determination, self-discipline and teamwork. These are American values taught in a small town.

One thing that I admire about Lovie Smith is that he approaches coaching as a professor, as a mentor. He does not yell or swear at his players. He teaches them and motivates them. He builds his players up, reflecting a strength of character to be commended and imitated.

Coach Smith started his coaching career studying under Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay, and the two developed a defense that relied on team speed and hard hitting. They also developed a close friendship that continues, even as opponents in the largest single sporting event in America.

Through their relationship, both have become brilliant defensive football minds and refined player managers. Their class and work ethic make them part of an elite group of coaches, and their contributions continue to have a great effect on league diversity in the coaching ranks. Their achievements stretch far beyond the football field, and their impact is felt throughout the entire African American, as well as the entire American, community.

I congratulate both of these coaches for their hard work and success. Of course I want them both to be successful on Sunday, but I must confess that I would rather that Lovie Smith be more successful than his mentor.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Indiana. He is a distinguished Member of this body, and sometimes he is very prophetic, he can predict things. Of course I think today he is making an error. I certainly look forward to Tony Dungy and the Colts not giving up, but I've got a feeling that they might give out.

It is my pleasure right now to yield such time as she might consume to the chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus, the originator of this resolution and one who comes from a great sports town where basketball is the name of their game, Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick from the State of Michigan.

Madam Speaker, if I ever get an opportunity, I want to go and visit Big Sandy, Texas. So, Representative Gohmert, you can look forward to visitors coming time and time again.

It is now my pleasure to yield such time as he might consume to my colleague from Chicago, unfortunately, the Bears are in my congressional district, right outside of his district, but we all share the Bears, Representative Bobby Rush.

Madam Speaker, I am going to continue to reserve for a minute. I am hoping that my good friend Julia Carson manages to make it over. I know that she is on her way. And so I would reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no speakers, but I will reserve for the purpose of closing.

Madam Speaker, to close, we have heard all of the richly and rightly deserved accolades, and I really can't think of any person in the profession of athletics that I admire more than I do Tony Dungy. He is indeed just a gentleman's gentleman, a man of impeccable character, a man who inspires you. Even if you are rooting for the other team, you still can feel his depth coming through. And so I wish him well. I certainly hope that he will have some reserves to share with my good friend Representative Burton so he can help him pay off the debt.

But I also want to say that I represent lots of different things in the district that I have. I represent the Bulls, I represent the Bears, Oprah Winfrey, the mayor of the city of Chicago, and we take great pride in all that our community is. Lovie Smith has brought the level of character to the Illinois area, the Chicago community, unmatched. We wish him and the Bears well. And I am going to leave all of the room that I can have for everything that my friends Dan Burton and Julia Carson will bring. Go Bears.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

You know, this is really a great Super Bowl we are facing for a number of reasons, not the least of which for the first time we have two African American coaches who are going to be coaching the football teams in the Super Bowl. There has never been an African American coach reach the Super Bowl, and now we have two, both teams. They are two of the finest men you are ever going to want to see coaching football teams, let alone teams in the Super Bowl. Tony Dungy, in his fifth season with the Colts, has compiled a record of 68-20. He has had five playoff appearances, he has had four AFC South titles, two AFC championship games, and finally an AFC championship. He has just done an outstanding job.

And Lovie Smith has done an outstanding job with the Chicago Bears. With a team racked by injuries, his first season he went 5-11. Then they went 11-5 and made the playoffs before falling to the Carolina Panthers. And then this year they made the Super Bowl for the first time since Mike Ditka led the Bears back in 1986.

They are both very fine men. They are not just a credit to the African American race, but they are a credit to humanity. I have watched both of them on television. They are both very strong Christian men, they are both very patriotic men, and they are loved by their teams.

I have not been conversant with how the people in Chicago feel about Lovie Smith, but everybody in Indianapolis thinks that Tony Dungy walks on water; they think he is the greatest coach we have ever had. And he is the kind of guy that, even when he is behind, doesn't know the meaning of giving up. I mean, this last playoff game when they came from behind from a greater deficit than any playoff championship team in history was really something. I admitted, when we were talking about the game the other night on the floor, that in the first half I was so upset I almost changed to American Movie Classics. We were behind 21-3. And I changed over the channel for a minute and I thought, no, I can't give up on the Colts; they won't give up. I changed the channel back, and dag-gone they came from that deficit to win the game. It was an outstanding championship effort. And it was led by an African American, Tony Dungy, who was the coach.

Lovie Smith did an outstanding job with the Bears. He led them through a very difficult last few seasons and led them to the championship. They were both talking about being the first African American in the Super Bowl, and now they are both at the same time. So I think that really shows what kind of men they are.

The only difference I would have with my colleague on the other side of the aisle who has a great resonant voice, Mr. Davis, is that I am one of the few guys here on the floor today who is going to be rooting for the Indianapolis Colts.

Now, we may be outnumbered here tonight. My colleagues are going to be speaking, and most of them are going to be talking about Lovie Smith and the Bears, you will outnumber us, but on Sunday you won't because the Colts are going all the way. As I said the other night, I am blue through and through and I am rooting for the Colts and they are going to win, but I still love the Bears and Lovie Smith, and I am very sorry that they won't win, but he is still a great coach.

With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

Before I yield 3 minutes to my good friend from Texas, a former judge, before I recognize him, I just want to say that I have wagered some Indiana popcorn for a deep dish pizza and some kind of cake, and anybody that wants to bet on the Bears, call me up, I've got plenty of popcorn.

With that, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Before I yield time to my good friend from Illinois, another Bears fan who played football without a helmet, I just would like to say to Congressman Rush, I want lots of pepperoni on the pizza you are going to buy me Sunday.

I recognize the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk) for 3 minutes.

Madam Speaker, I am very happy at this time to recognize another great American and a great Indianapolis Colts friend from Indianapolis, Mr. Mike Pence, for 3 minutes.

Madam Speaker, we have no further speakers.

Madam Speaker, I proudly rise in strong support of H. Res. 90 to commend both Lovie Smith, head coach of the Chicago Bears, and Tony Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, for leading their respective teams to berths in Super Bowl XLI, to be played this Sunday, February 4, 2007, in Miami, Florida. Never before in history has a team playing in the Super Bowl been led by an African American head coach. Super Bowl XLI will make history as the first Super Bowl to feature not one, but two, African American head coaches. Although it has taken 41 years, this is an achievement of which all Americans can and should be justly proud.

Madam Speaker, on January 21, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Bears, coached by Lovie Smith defeated the New Orleans Saints by a score of 39 to 14 in the National Football Conference Championship game and advanced to Super Bowl XLI. For his phenomenal performance in restoring the Chicago Bears to their former glory as the ``Monsters of the Midway,'' Lovie Smith, the 13th head coach in the storied history of one of the NFL's greatest franchises, was named the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year for 2005.

In the 2005 season, Lovie Smith's Chicago Bear's won 11 games, the most ever by a second-year coach in the history of the Chicago Bears and he became the first second-year coach of the Bears to win a division title, earning the second seed in the National Football Conference playoffs. The 2006 Chicago Bears won 14 of their 16 games and earned the top seed in the National Football Conference playoffs.

Madam Speaker, on January 21, 2007, in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Indianapolis Colts, coached by Tony Dungy defeated the 3-time Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots by a score of 38 to 34 in the American Football Conference's Championship game to win the right to play the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI for the NFL Championship. Tony Dungy, who is in his 5th season as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and 11th as an NFL head coach, having previously coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the NFC Championship game in the 2000 season, is one of the NFL's most outstanding head coaches.

For example, Madam Speaker, Tony Dungy is only the 35th coach in the history of the NFL to win 100 games in his career. And Tony Dungy leads all NFL head coaches in wins from 1999 to 2005, with a record of 78 wins and 34 losses. Should his Indianapolis Colts prevail in the Super Bowl, Tony Dungy will join Mike Ditka and Tom Flores and become the newest member of one of the most exclusive clubs in all of sports: a Super Bowl champion as both a player and head coach.

Madam Speaker, the NFL had a record 7 African American head coaches in 2006 and the 197 African-American coaches, including 7 assistant head coaches, is also a record. While no one would dispute that there is still much progress to be made on the sidelines and front offices of the NFL and other professional sports, it is also indisputable that much progress has been made since Frederick Douglass ``Fritz'' Pollard became the first African American head coach in the NFL in 1922.

For this reason, Madam Speaker, I take great pride in congratulating both Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy and their outstanding football teams for their excellence on the field and the dignity with which they have conducted themselves off the field. I join with the more than 100 million Americans and billions of viewers globally who will be watching the Super Bowl in congratulating these two men and their teams for putting themselves within one victory of the sport's ultimate prize. And I join with viewers and fans everywhere in wishing to see one of the great games in Super Bowl history and hoping that the best team wins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me the time.

Madam Speaker, I am an avid football fan, an avid basketball fan, as well as hockey. Michigan and Detroit proper are always part of that game.

Championships. Unfortunately, two other great teams are in the Super Bowl, one of the most exciting sports activities happening this weekend in Miami, Florida as we have seen since the last Super Bowl was held in Detroit, Super Bowl XL. And I am honored to stand here, as some of my previous colleagues have said, to just pay respect to the National Football League. This is not my first association with them. We have run a coaches' clinic with the National Football League now for some time. They work with high school coaches to develop their skill so that their athletes and graduates will matriculate into the NFL as they go through their college years.

So I am honored to, first of all, thank the NFL for working with us and with the men across this country, that the young men become strong in their character, in their competitiveness and in their nature as they win Super Bowls.

As was said a little bit earlier, Chicago Bears, one of my favorite teams, and thank you, Coach Lovie Smith and the front office and all of you who have brought the Bears this far, to the players, to the wives, to the families for the sacrifices that you have made. We honor you, Chicago Bears; and we wish you the best, Coach Smith.

And also Coach Tony Dungy. I have followed his career for many years. The tragedy that he had last year, we all prayed for him in this Nation, and our prayers are with you as well.

Indianapolis, Chicago, Super Bowl XLI in Miami, just a few hours from now; and for the first time in the history of the sport, which started in 1869, we have not one, but two African American men, Lovie Smith being a protege of Tony Dungy, leading two fantastic teams in one of the greatest sports of mankind.

So I stand here to thank the NFL and to thank the coaches, the players, their families and the institution. It was the NFL who started, in 1987, the Minority Coaches Fellowship that allowed many offensive coaches and defensive coaches to become head coaches. Today, we have three head coaches who graduated from that program and actively working with their sports to bring them this far.

Over the years, and in 2002, the late Johnny Cochran and Cyrus Mehri put forth a program known today as the ``Rooney Program'' after Dan Rooney, who I had an opportunity to meet, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers just last year in Detroit during the Super Bowl, which allows and asks that NFL teams consider achievement and expertise, that they might move forward and present championship coaches as has been had right now as we begin to celebrate Super Bowl XLI.

It is a great day that is coming in the next few days. Thank you to the league, as well as to our heroes, Coach Tony Dungy, Coach Lovie Smith. And I don't want to stand here and pick a winner; I like the game too much. Unfortunately, the Detroit Lions won't be there, but we like you, too, Detroit Lions. Just do better next year, okay? But for the rest of the world, and as this sport will be watched across the world, congratulations to the first two African American coaches to reach the Super Bowl.

May the best team win, and we will be hollering and screaming for you all Sunday evening. God bless

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the historic meeting of two wonderfully talented African-American coaches, Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears and Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts. These two men have made history by leading their teams to Super Bowl XLI. February 4, 2007 will remain a significant day in the pantheon of sports history, as well as American history. Prior to this date, there was never an African-American coach at the helm of a team that qualified for the big game. It is important for us to recognize the historic nature of this meeting--the meeting of two extremely successful coaches and two very talented teams--because the victories celebrated on this date extend far beyond the length of the football field and speaks to significant changes from a time when Black players and coaches were not allowed to join White sports leagues. The leadership of African-American coaches who pride themselves on their Christian ideals and coach using positive reinforcement demonstrate the resilience, perseverance and desire to partake in all aspects of the American dream of people of African descent. I urge my colleagues to support the resolution to H. Res. 90, congratulating Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears and Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts on becoming the first African-American head coaches of National Football League teams to qualify for the Super Bowl.

We should pause to commemorate this historic event, but it is important that we remain critical while celebrating. Though there have been significant improvements in racial inequities in the NFL, there is still much work to be done. Frederick Douglass ``Fritz'' Pollard became the first African-American head coach of an NFL team in 1921 with the Akron Pros. It would be another 70 years before another head coach joined the ranks. Throughout the 1980s, there was not a single African- American head coach in the NFL, in fact all head coaches were Caucasian. In 1989, Art Shell joined the Oakland Raiders as head coach. He would be joined by two more Black coaches in the years that followed while the number of African-American assistant coaches continued to grow. The stark contrast between the number of Black coaches, always very few in numbers, and the number of Black players has sometimes drawn critical attention from those outside of the Black community; however, it was extremely difficult to avoid discussing these discrepancies in the coming weeks. I hope that as we move forward and continue to remember the first meeting of two great African-American men and continue to push for true equality, throughout the ranks, in the NFL and in other professional leagues.

Football, in America, has always been more than just a game. It is the American game, deeply entrenched in the fabric of our society and a symbol of our culture as Americans. Travel to any city or town throughout the Nation and you will see people of all races, ethnicities, religions, socio-economic classes and social backgrounds discussing, celebrating and playing football, sharing in the losses and successes of their favorite teams. While tremendous progress has been made, especially in the area of racial equity, there is still work to be done in extending equality to all Americans.