MINNEAPOLIS – Only one team will emerge as the winner of the NFC Championship Game today and advance to Super Bowl XXXIII. One team will rejoice, leaving the other to agonize in defeat. One winner, one loser. At least, that’s how the sports critics around the country will view it.
Truth is, the respective coaches in today’s game at the Metrodome have all ready enjoyed championship seasons, turning their own personal turmoil into the kind of triumph that can’t be spoiled should their team fall short of Miami. Certainly, for one coach there will be disappointment, for the other a joyful exuberance. But neither Dan Reeves nor Dennis Green comes out a loser today. They’ve already won their private wars.
Reeves, who turns 55 Tuesday, will be coaching his Falcons in their first-ever NFC Championship Game, while Green, 49, tries to get the Vikings to their first Super Bowl in 22 years. That they will be standing on opposite sidelines today is a miracle in itself considering what each has endured just to maintain their reputations and their health.
We write a lot about the perseverance of people in sports, their ability to overcome adversity and not just endure but prosper. There may be no better examples of that than Green and Reeves. Two years ago Reeves was out of work, fired by the Giants after two straight losing seasons and some public bickering with the club’s front office. Reeves was portrayed as power-hungry, uncooperative, stubborn and too old-school for today’s modern athlete.
Even his resurgence in Atlanta hasn’t been without incident. The best season in the franchise’s 33-year history was threatened when Reeves underwent bypass surgery a month ago to avert an impending heart attack.
A year ago, Green was contemplating resigning as the Vikings’ head coach despite having led them to a playoff victory over the Giants. Along with being upset with the instability of the team’s front office, Green was embroiled in controversy over sexual harassment charges filed against him, charges that were later dropped.
He also was taking heat for a book he authored that was critical of Vikings ownership. And there was continuing bad blood between Green and the local media, which spread rumors that he would be replaced by Lou Holtz.
“What he has had to put up with in this town is a bunch of crap,” running back Robert Smith said of Green. “Some people formed a negative opinion of him and just wouldn’t change their minds. I don’t want to say race was the only reason, but it was part of it. ”
It is Green’s town now, the result of a series of events that has culminated with home-field advantage today. First Red McCombs, a former owner of the NBA Spurs, bought the Vikings for $206 million and streamlined the club’s ownership from a 10-person board to one. Then he signed Green to a three-year, $4.65 million contract.
With a strong owner behind him and with the security of his new contract, Green made several cunning personnel moves that turned a good team into a great one. He drafted wide receiver Randy Moss after 19 teams passed on him because of his troubled past, and made sure most of his key players had long-term contracts. He also lost 60 pounds, completing a physical and spiritual transformation that impressed his players.
“You have to have the ability to deal with what comes your way,” Green said. “I’ve never expected life to give you an easy hand. I also know that sometimes if you stick with it, things will come around. Regardless of what the battles were, I always saw myself as being the luckiest man in the world.”
Reeves has a similar viewpoint, especially after his heart surgery. Despite undergoing angioplasty procedures in 1990 and 1991 to clear blocked arteries in his heart, Reeves was reluctant to tell doctors about the burning in his throat. The Falcons were on a roll and he didn’t want to miss any of it. But after a Dec. 13 victory at New Orleans, Reeves consulted with doctors and within hours was undergoing open-heart surgery.
He would miss the final two regular-season games, but still served as an inspiration.
“He came in and addressed the team four days after open-heart surgery,” Pro Bowl linebacker Jessie Tuggle said. “He could barely breathe. He’s very inspirational.”
Being revered by their players is a trait Green and Reeves share. The Vikings and Falcons love their leaders and aren’t afraid to say it openly.
“It took somebody like coach Reeves to come in here and put his foot down,” said linebacker Cornelius Bennett, who played in four Super Bowls with Buffalo before joining the Falcons in 1996. “Not necessarily chewing guys out, but just knowing his presence demands respect. And as a player, that’s something I truly love.”
Wide receiver Cris Carter said of Green: “I think it has been a very fulfilling year for him, to set goals and accomplish them personally and professionally. But I don’t think he’s received his biggest reward yet. He’s focused in on the big prize.”
The prize, of course, is a trip to the Super Bowl, something that for Green and Reeves would be well-deserved.
