Some people actually think it’s not a big deal that two black NFL coaches are going to the Super Bowl – an unprecedented event in pro football.

It’s more than a big deal.

“Black man’s luck.” No, these are not my words regarding Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith and Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy. These were the words of my father three weeks ago when he found out Herman Edwards’ Kansas City Chiefs would square off against the Colts in the AFC Wild Card playoff game.

You see, my father always roots for black head coaches and players – especially quarterbacks – in every sport. And no, it’s not because he’s racist. He just happens to have pride for his race, the same race that still faces unfair stereotypes today. He wants to see anyone resembling his skin tone succeed.

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard him say it, and it probably won’t be the last time I’ll hear him make a despondent, disillusioned statement like this.

For years my father, age 66, has either read or heard about plenty of unfair hiring practices in just about every career field offered. Sports were no exception. For decades, black players in all sports were either held back from playing a position despite their talent, or were never even put on the team.

Gene Wojciechowski, senior national columnist for ESPN, described in a column how an unwritten “gentleman’s agreement” banning black players lasted in the NFL from 1934 through 1946. Fritz Pollard, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year, played and coached in the NFL when it was known as the American Professional Football Association prior to 1922. Pollard was eventually excluded from the NFL during this “agreement.”

Think this isn’t relevant today?

The few black head coaches in the league in 2002, before the Rooney Rule – a mandate requiring teams searching for a head coach to interview at least one minority candidate – was put into effect won more games per season, led their team to the playoffs more often and won more games in their first season than their white counterparts, according to research done by labor economist Dr. Janice Madden in her report, “Black Coaches in the National Football League: Superior Performance.”

So once my dad, and probably the rest of the black community, found out Smith and Dungy were both going to the Super Bowl, he was proud. Proud that by the end of Super Sunday, the NFL will have its first ever black Super Bowl champion. Proud that all the stereotypes of a minority being ill-equipped to handle the stress, film study and intelligence to be a championship-caliber head coach were wrong.

Now, if he could only be proud to be a resident of Chicago and root for the right black head coach.