Dungy proud to honor Indy

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February 3, 2007

Tom James The Tribune Star Sat Feb 03, 2007, 01:04 AM EST

Miami Beach, Fla. — Most of the time, Tony Dungy is not an emotional man. But for a brief moment Friday, just prior to his final pre-Super Bowl XLI press conference, the Indianapolis Colts coach showed a side of his personality that few people get to see.

Dungy followed Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith to the podium at the Super Bowl Media Center, where both paused to pose with the Vince Lombardi Trophy for a large group of photographers. Afterwards, the two longtime friends and former coaching associates embraced each other and took a few minutes to savor the moment.

“It was an awesome moment, not only because of what that symbolized for African-American people, for African-American coaches and for the country in general. But more, more than that, because of who I standing with and the type of person I know Lovie is and the way he runs his team. It’s just a very, very proud moment for me,” Dungy said afterwards, referring to the fact that Sunday’s game will be the first in NFL history with two black head coaches squaring off for the Super Bowl championship.

The Colts coach also admitted that he thought of what his team’s appearance in the league’s title game has meant to the city of Indianapolis and to the state as a whole. Additionally, he has been pleased as well with the approach both teams have taken in the days leading up to the game.

“I think it’s been a great week for our team, for our city. I think it’s been great for the NFL. Everything that I’ve heard come out of this week has been very, very positive. I think both teams have shown you the type of young men they have on their team, the type of players, the type of organizations there are. I think it’s been tremendous,” Dungy said.

“My prayer is that it will continue that way for the next couple of days. That we don’t have any negative incidents and that this Super Bowl can be the best one that’s ever been played. I think that’s what we’re hoping and looking for.”

Should Indianapolis end up winning Sunday’s game, he expects quite a celebration to break out back in Indiana.

“Just judging from what happened after the [AFC] championship game, we’re not a city that’s had a lot of championships. We’re not like Chicago where we’ve had six NBA titles or already have a Super Bowl title,” Dungy said.

“The response after the championship game was unbelievable. So if we were to win, I know it would mean a lot to our city and that’s what we’re hoping to bring. We’re excited [about the possibility] of bringing that championship to Indianapolis.”

The Colts should be in good shape, physically, for Sunday’s game. The condition of cornerback Nick Harper’s gimpy right ankle continues to be a concern while defensive end Robert Mathis and cornerback Jason David were added to the injury list Thursday.

Harper has been recovering from a sprained ankle that he suffered in the first quarter of the AFC championship game with New England. He is expected to be a game-time decision. Mathis has been bothered by a sore back and David is nursing a sore abdomen. Both, however, are expected to play against the Bears.

“It’s been great. We’ve enjoyed the week. Our guys have been very focused in the time that they’ve had to be at practice and in meetings. We’re looking forward to playing great,” Dungy said. “Everybody else is in pretty good shape. Everyone practiced [Thursday], took their normal turns. We haven’t had any problems with anyone else. Nick Harper has been rehabbing on the treadmill, that type of thing. He hasn’t done any practicing yet.

“Our doctors feel pretty confident that he’s going to be able to [play]. What they aren’t sure of is how long he’ll be able to go at top speed. That’s the decision we’re going to have to make Sunday after Nick warms up. I think he’ll very honest with me. He wants to play, but he knows we’ve got guys who can do the job if he’s not able to go. I think that will be a game-time decision. But everyone else is fine and ready to go.”

Thus far, the Colts have been able to avoid any of the usual problems that teams playing a Super Bowl in Miami have encountered. Dungy, who has stressed that his team prepare in a businesslike fashion, isn’t surprised.

“To me a good week [of practice] is watching our guys, seeing how they are in the meetings. The focus that they have as we’re doing things. It’s how many times we have to repeat a certain play or a certain drill. Whether we’re catching the ball, putting it away. Running, hustling, doing all the things that you have to do and where we are time wise,” he said.

“We have a schedule that we follow. We feel like practice is going to start at a certain time and end at a certain time. And if we’re on that schedule, or ahead, with good tempo and we haven’t had to repeat things, we pretty much know that the guys are going to do well. And that’s how we’ve been these two days [of practice]. We’ve been pretty dialed in, focused in and that’s what makes it a good week.”

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