Let me first say that I am super excited that the Colts finally won a Superbowl and I think Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy and the whole team deserve it. It was very nice to watch a Superbowl that I cared about who was playing and was excited about who won. It has been a while since I felt that way.

As I was listening to the sports announcers (who usually drive me crazy with their stupid comments) I heard a lot of good things said about Dungy including that he never yells at his players and to this someone at the party I was at pointed out that he was a Christian. Now as much as I love NFL football I have never paid much attention to the coaches but hearing these things intrigued me. So I decided to do a little research of my own and see what else I could find on this dude.

Dungy is a professed Christian and it is not something he just talks about but seems to be something he lives also. There are numerous quotes where he states that God is in control and has a plan for his life and career. My favorite quote from him was "The Lord has a plan. We always think the plans are A, B, C and D, and everything is going to be perfect for us and it may not be that way, but it's still his plan." If anyone can doubt God's plan for his life it could be Dungy who lost his teenage son to suicide and despite this tragedy in his life he still believes in the power of God and the importance of keeping his faith strong.

Dungy is also an active volunteer for agencies such as FCA, Athletes in Action, Big Brothers/ Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club, Family First, Prison Crusade Ministry and other organizations. He is actively involved with his family and at one point considered leaving football to serve in prison ministry.

Now not only does Dungy lead a faithful life, he also lets his beliefs spill over into his coaching. One player stated that Dungy has an open-door policy to which his players see him more as a father figure than a coach. Dungy is known for his calm coaching style and is highly respected for it by players and coaches throughout the sport. Dungy credits his calm approach to coaching to his Christian faith, for part of the faith is, as he stated, "realizing that there are things you might not ever understand and a lot of things you won't be able to control, so worrying about those things and getting frustrated is not fruitful." He also draws upon his experience as a former player, trying to treat team members as he would like a coach to treat him.

So Here's To You Tony! I know that the coach and team that deserve to win the Superbowl are the ones who work hard and play the best, but in this case Dungy and the Colts deserve the Superbowl win in more ways than one. Congrats to them all!!

Info comes from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Dungy and http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/feature/featureVideo?page=amazinggrace