Last Sunday, I had the privilege of witnessing Brock Forsey's coming out party as a Chicago Bears running back in person. By the way, the new Soldier Field is, contrary to what you might have heard, an amazing setting for professional football. I sat about as far as you can possibly get from the playing field and thoroughly enjoyed the game.

Yes, I enjoyed the stadium, but I enjoyed watching Forsey even more. He's everything a football player should be. He follows and trusts his blockers. His legs don't stop moving until the whistle blows. He has deceptive strength.

When he runs for a first down he flips the ball to the ref and goes back to the huddle — it's good to see David Terrell hasn't brainwashed him yet. In short, he's just a hard worker.

Forsey is a former walk-on at Boise State that left as the school's leading rusher. The Bears took him in the sixth round of the NFL draft last April, and he wasn't even guaranteed a roster spot. Yet, there was Forsey compiling 134 yards rushing and a touchdown in his first NFL start on Sunday.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that Forsey is white — quite the anomaly for an NFL running back? I shouldn't have to. I wouldn't even necessarily want to.

What does it matter? I feel compelled to do so, though, because of what I heard during the post-game press conference on the radio.

A reporter, WBBM 780 Chicago didn't say which one during the broadcast, asked Forsey if he ever felt like he would never make it because of the color of his skin and what it meant to actually have a successful game as a white running back.

Forsey, a rookie undoubtedly new to media exposure, could have snapped, but he didn't. He kept his composure and thanked the Bears staff and his teammates for believing in him. He admitted that his teammates had made some jokes about it, but that none of them were ever serious and they all supported him.

Nicely done, Brock.

It didn't stop there. When Kordell Stewart's time came to speak with the media, things got even worse. An unidentified reporter asked Stewart if he thought it was "tougher being a white running back now or a black quarterback 20 years ago?" Stewart, ridiculed by the Chicago press all season, could have snapped as well, but he too resisted the urge. He calmly answered that being a black quarterback 20 years ago was tougher in his mind. He went on to say that Forsey being white has nothing to do with his ability to play football and that Forsey ran hard and played a great game.

Nicely done, Kordell.

Deep in my mind, I wished that one of the two guys had lashed out. The Bears had just clobbered a team they weren't supposed to beat on their home field. A rookie running back had the game of his life. A hard luck veteran quarterback played his best game as a Bear. The defense was playing like it was 1985. The win got the Bears back into the thick of the NFC North race. There were so many stories to pursue, but here we were discussing the relationship between race and ability.

I enjoyed watching Forsey and Stewart perform so well on the field and never once thought about their respective races until I turned on my radio. It wasn't an issue in my mind prior to the radio coverage. Honestly, why should it matter?

Remember when Mike Piazza called a press conference to announce that he wasn't gay? Why should it matter?

One of the things that is so special about sports in the United States is the diversity. Every day, men and women of different races, ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations work as one to entertain fans of all races, ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations. The whole setting is pretty amazing considering what was happening in this country 50 years ago.

That being said, there's always room for improvement. Judging by the questions the reporters asked after the Bears game on Sunday, race is still an important issue in some people's minds.

The only thing that should matter is if guys like Brock Forsey and Kordell Stewart do their jobs to entertain the fans. As long as they do that, it shouldn't matter that they are both the minority in their respective positions.

Mike Szwaja is a junior in communications. He can be reached at sports@dailyillini.com.