Denver's chief interest for multi-racial Edwards, Gonzalez

At least two Kansas City Chiefs are thinking about Denver this week.

Not the Broncos. They are thinking of Barack Obama, who will accept the nomination of his party for president this week in Colorado.

Herm Edwards is impressed with presidential candidate Barack Obama. (US Presswire)

"His story deeply resonates with me," said Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards, whose mother is German and father was African American. "Politics aside, I have great appreciation for the distance he has traveled."

Tony Gonzalez is multi-racial. He is Jamaican and Hispanic, plus a mixture of Cape Verde, native American and African American. At a campaign stop in California last month, Gonzalez was praised by Obama for saving the life of a man who was choking to death.

"I had 10 private minutes with the Senator and, in just that short time, I got a sense of him," said Gonzalez. "For every American -- black, white or multi-racial, he is very impressive."

We all know Obama's story, but how well do you know Herm Edwards or Tony Gonzalez?

Edwards mother, Martha, met Herm's father in post-war Germany while working at the PX on a Stuttgart military base. They fell in love, but everyone told them it wouldn't work. Undeterred, Sgt. Edwards brought his German bride back to New Jersey, where Herm was born.

In 1959, the family moved to Fort Ord, Calif., where they settled in nearby Seaside.

"It was very difficult," Herm Edwards said. "There were petitions in the neighborhood protesting our family moving to the district."

Edwards said his parents taught him exactly what he sees in Sen. Obama.

"My parents taught us that you will be treated the way you represent yourself, no matter what your color," Edwards said. "I try to teach my players that."

Edwards learned integrity from his parents and tries his best to live that way. As part of the Positive Coaching Alliance, he hosts a free football camp in Seaside where he stresses integrity.

"I think Sen. Obama is speaking across racial lines," Edwards said. "He is educated, well-spoken and moral, and he's demonstrating that you don't have to rant."

Gonzalez agrees.

"He holds his own with blacks of all economic backgrounds," said Gonzalez, who played basketball at Berkeley before going on to a Hall of Fame football career. "Plus he's got game."

We've seen Obama play basketball with ESPN's Stuart Scott, with neighborhood guys, with his brother-in-law Craig Robinson, the head coach at Oregon State. Whether he'll be the next president remains to be seen, but he has connected with people in the sports world.

"When I was growing up, I never fit in anywhere," Gonzalez said. "I was too white for the blacks, too mixed for the Hispanics. It's profound to see someone like Barack Obama running for president in my lifetime."

There will be many challenges for both these Chiefs in the coming months, but, for just one week, they were rejecting conventional wisdom.