Wow, two guys who consider this issue important. How long before HuskieDan ridicules them?

A father's dedication

Peter King, SI.com


I've always been a big Father's Day fan, and today is going to be a fun one for this father. First we'll have a high school graduation party for Montclair High senior Mary Beth at the house, then, as the sun sets, the family will adjourn to the field up the street where Mary Beth pitched so many games as she was growing up and, as she's done the last couple of years, she'll throw batting practice to me. Probably for the last time. If I haven't had too many Anchor Steams at the party, it'll be an interesting contest. And if I am emotion-free, which is doubtful, I should be able to hit one or two off the fence in right field. That's out of maybe 40 pitches. Which means Mary Beth will win the overall battle, as she always does. It will be a wonderful afternoon and evening.

But the reason I'm writing the column a day early this week is to promote the cause of one of the best guys I've met in 24 years as a sportswriter. It's a Father's Day cause, and the man doing the promoting is Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, a father of five. He's the national spokesman for the All-Pro Dad Campaign, which is designed to help men become better fathers. Dungy is the focal point for an organization called Family First, a nonprofit research and communications organization dedicated to strengthening families. Dungy hopes to recruit 100,000 fathers to the All-Pro Dad drive, sending them to a Web site (allprodad.com) for more information and providing them with advice in the hopes of pounding home the idea that being a father -- daily, hourly -- is vital to the success of children and the family unit.

I know this is not specifically a football topic, but here's the way I look at it: The whole dad/family thing is the most important thing I do in my life. So it's selfish, in part. And Dungy, despite the strains that coaching puts on his fathering, still thinks being a dad is his most important role. So the score is 2-0. We both think that, once a year, it's a good idea to promote the family in a football space.

Dungy's own father, Wilbur, died from complications of leukemia on June 9. Tony called me the day after the funeral from Jackson, Mich., and I could tell the unexpected death of his dad, a retired school administrator and teacher, had worn on him.

"Sports was his hobby,'' Dungy said of Wilbur, "but education was his passion. I've got siblings who are [respectively] a doctor, a dentist and a nurse. He was such a great influence on us all, and part of the reason for that was he was around a lot. That's so important, being around. Being there for your kids. I regret I'm not around enough. I really do. To be honest, and I said this when I was let go in Tampa, I'm not sure how much longer I'll coach in the NFL. I've got five kids. The oldest is 17 [James], and I'm afraid I've missed so much in his life that I don't want the same thing to happen with my other children.''

How much longer, I wondered, would he coach? A year? Two?

"I don't know,'' he replied.

And what would he do if he weren't coaching?

"I could see myself being a high school coach and teacher,'' he said. "I'd be home more that way.''

Dungy said his life as an NFL coach "does make me question my priorities in life. To do it right in this profession, you're going to be gone a lot.''

Now, make no mistake: As long as Dungy coaches, he'll be one of the best there is. He's bright, he's tremendously disciplined, players love playing for him. But it sounds to me like the Colts might have two more years with him at the helm, maybe three. And there's not a decision he could make that I'd respect more than choosing to leave the NFL to coach junior varsity football at some high school, getting home at 6 every night to be a father for four hours while his family grows up around him.

I asked Dungy how he thinks the American father is doing these days.

"I think we lost a generation of fathers,'' he said. "With my parents, the family unit was so important, as important as a job. It's a fact of life that there are so many single-parent families in the United States now. I visit a lot of prisons, and I know that a major problem, particularly with African-American men, is not having dads at home to influence them. That's why I'm involved with Family First and the All-Pro Dad campaign. I want to see us get back to the family structure more. We're making progress, but there's work to do. I hope to reach out to fathers and help them realize how important it is for them to be real fathers.''

Then I asked Dungy what he plans to do this Father's Day. He paused.

"Spend time with my boys,'' he said. "No plans, really. Just do something they want to do. Just be there with them.''