In a November 27 opinion piece the head of the Philadelphia NAACP, J. Whyatt Mondesire, called out an injured McNabb. He claimed the quarterback’s performance had been horrific because he has tried to defy some concocted reasoning which concludes African-American quarterbacks who run are lesser field generals. He seems to have neglected the obvious. McNabb has been one of the highest rated QB’s in the league over the last four seasons. He has taken his team to the NFL championship game four times. Last year took them to a Super Bowl. For years he has been the face for the Eagle’s organization despite the booing fans gave him on draft day in 1999. It should be noted Philly fans have been known to boo almost anything. To his credit, McNabb seems to have taken it all in stride with his focus never being lost in the soup.

McNabb has not only faced criticism from members of his community, he has also faced them from some of his teammates, most notably Terrell Owens. Owens criticized him for his heart during last year’s Super Bowl claiming McNabb was physically ill and not capable of performing at the end of the game when it was still in question. This could be discarded as Owens also criticized Hall of Famer Steve Young who did not deliver the ball enough as well as Pro-Bowler Jeff Garcia who T.O. claimed was both homosexual and an alcoholic. (Garcia did not deliver the ball enough either) Seems T.O has the ability to criticize everyone but himself yet never hit the target, unlike every quarterback he has played with. It might be time to put this whole African-American quarterback issue into some kind of perspective.

Despite some of the existing stereotypes, the first quarterback of the African-American persuasion to play in the NFL did not come from a small school nor did he play for the American Football League. Instead he played for an NFL legend on a team of mythic proportions. His name was Willie Thrower. Thrower played his college ball at Michigan State taking them to a Big Ten title in 1952. He was drafted by George Halas and the Chicago Bears in 1953 where he started one game his rookie season. It was another fifteen years before a player of color would start at QB and the same number of years before and African-American would be drafted number one as a quarterback.

In 1968 the Oakland Raiders drafted Eldridge Dickey number one out of Tennessee A&I State University. Unlike other African-American quarterbacks, he was drafted to be a quarterback. Some dispute this saying Dickey was drafted to be a wide receiver, this is disputed by his drafter Al Davis. His career did not last long, two years, and his career at the quarterback position was even shorter; about four pre-season games. I was fortunate enough to see his debut in the 1968 at the Coliseum. After the pre-season Al Davis, always thinking, decided Dickey would better be used as a wide receiver. Eldridge played another season before being cut and becoming a trivia question for erstwhile Raider fans.

1968 was memorable for yet another break through for African-American quarterbacks. In the draft the Denver Broncos selected All-American Marlon Briscoe from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He was selected to be a cornerback in the team’s system, but he negotiated his own contract with the club. In addition to a salary, he garnered himself a three-day try-out at the QB position. This was to pay dividends early into the '68 campaign.

In the third game of the season the starting quarterback, Steve Tensi, went down and out for the season. At the urging of the local press and fans, the Broncos decided to give Briscoe a shot at playing under center. He threw for 14 TD’s during the season, but never got the opportunity to play the position again. Instead he was converted to wide receiver (sounds familiar) but not before he earns the moniker, “The Magician.”

In 1969 another African-American quarterback was drafted into the ranks of professional football. James Harris came out of Grambling University after being a three-year starter for Coach Eddie Robinson. He could have been a higher selection than his eventual eighth round status, but he refused to compromise his beliefs to suit those in the front office of professional teams. They wanted him to play tight end or possibly wide out, but he felt quarterback was his calling.

He entered the Buffalo training camp listed at number five on the quarterback depth chart. By the season opened he had won the number one position, but was unable to start. He was injured in the last week of practice, then played in only four games during the season. He stuck it out for three seasons with the Bills before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams.

As a Ram he began the season behind an aging John Hadl. Five games into the 1974 season Hadl was traded to Green Bay allowing Harris the opportunity to start. He led the team to a 10-5 season ending it with a loss in the play offs one game short of the Super Bowl. He was the first African-American to lead a team into the NFL short season. Ironically the Rams were beaten by the Minnesota Vikings. They had a quarterback who ran too much to be a winner, yet Fran Tarkington made it into the Hall of Fame. Harris went on to become the first quarterback of color elected to the Pro-Bowl in 1974. He finished his career in 1979 with the San Diego Chargers. (the team formerly led by Hadl) It would be more than a decade before another Grambling quarterback would lead an NFL team into the play offs.

In 1978 the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made Doug Williams their first selection in the draft. His play with the hapless Bucs was often criticized, as was the play of nearly everyone on the team. He left the team to play with the defunct USFL in 1983, returning to the NFL in 1986 with the Joe Gibbs led Washington Redskins. In 1988 he led the team to the Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos. Washington would eventually win the game 42 to 10. Williams would be named MVP of the game. Despite the score, none of this would come easily.

Harris was playing well in the game when he dropped back to pass and was hit. His knee was hyper extended making his return doubtful. His replacement, Jay Schroeder, came off of the bench, he lasted two plays. Harris returned to the game inspiring his team to 35 unanswered points and the victory. He became an inspiration to young players throughout the country.

Irony in sports is a s common as ice in a freezer. Williams played another year for the Redskins before entering the coaching ranks. He took over the head coaching position at Grambling after Robinson left. He still resides there. Perhaps an even bigger twist of fate occurred in 2003 when James Harris became Vice-President of Player Personnel. In his first draft he selected Byron Leftwich out of Marshal University. When he was injured this season he was replaced David Garrard out of East Carolina; Garrard was fourth round selection in 2002 and is also African American.

With the door open at least a crack, more African-Americans have entered the league as bona fide quarterbacks, yet the path is still not easy. Despite taking the University of Washington to a Pac 10 championship, then a Rose Bowl victory, Warren Moon was ignored by the NFL. He went undrafted, then headed to Edmonton Canada seeking recognition. He led the Eskimos to five Grey Cups before re-entering American football for the Houston Oilers. He finally gained success at the NFL level when the Oilers installed the “Run and Shoot” offense. The Oilers selected another African-American quarterback in the 1995 draft.

Steve McNair was selected out of Alcorn State, but it was a few years before “Air McNair” could take wing. He spent time as a back up before being made the starter. Over his career he has been named MVP of the league and has led his team to a near win in the Super Bowl. He is known for being one of the toughest, yet most consistent quarterbacks in the league. Though his career is beginning to wind to a close he is still one of the most feared field generals in the game.

There have been other high profile African-Americans who have been a part of the league. Rodney Peete graduated from USC then spent a workman like career, long career in the league. Kordell Stewart came into the league as “Slash” out of the University of Colorado. He played wide receiver, quarterback and returned punts for the Steelers before finally being named the starting quarterback. He did not experience the success he hoped for and became a journeyman in the league. Jeff Blake, out of East Carolina, had some great seasons in Cincinnati with Carl Pickins before he too took the journeyman’s route. Daunte Culpepper had a great career at Central Florida. He was taken by the Minnesota Vikings, who had success with another African-American quarterback out of UNLV Randall Cunningham, and has led his team to the play offs. So far his career has had some mixed reviews. He was injured during the teams poor opening this season raising even more doubts, but he is working hard to be back for next season.

Of course there have been busts among the African-American quarterbacks seeking stardom at the professional level. Andre Ware won the Heisman Trophy before being selected by the Lions in round one of the draft. After four years in the league, two with the Lions, he is listed as the number one all time Heisman flop by ESPN. Joe Gilliam was taken by the Steelers during the Bradshaw era. He pushed Bradshaw for the starting position before succumbing to his own addiction problems. Akili Smith was supposed to take the Bengals to the Promised Land, but could never catch the glory he attained at the University of Oregon after becoming their number one selection.

There are other success and failures amongst the ranks of African-American quarterbacks. This is to be expected as no position in football attracts the attention of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. One might think the “real world” would see these quarterbacks for what they are; rare individuals with extraordinary talent who are making it (or not) in the toughest football league in the world. One might think this, but they would be wrong. It seems the “real world” is just not ready for African-American quarterbacks to go about the business of playing one of the toughest positions in sports. Fortunately there is one place where color does not matter; fantasy football.

Fantasy owners broke through the color barrier years ago. Their desires are simple; score points, play consistently and don’t get hurt. No owner really cares about color, just performance. In all of the drafts I have participated in I have never heard an owner say, “My team seems to be racially imbalanced. I better acquire an Hispanic kicker to even things out.” For us in Fantasyland the notion of color is ridiculous. We flat don’t care.

One day the real world might catch up to us who have chosen the path of colorblindness. In the mean time we will just have to suffer with the ignorance of the “real world” who have their own mental blinders. For once us shallow people in the fantasy pool are deeper than our “real world” counterparts. As shallow as we may be, the only color we care about is the black and white of the bottom line. It is here all arguments cease.