I was asked the other day, what brings true joy?

This Thanksgiving, there is a new Dungy family member that I am thankful for.

Family First had its annual Challenges and Champions Dinner this past weekend, and it was a great event.  It’s always held on a Thursday in November, so I hadn’t been able to attend the last couple of years since I was coaching in Indianapolis.  I was amazed to see how it has grown and was also pleased to get to visit with a lot of Family First supporters.

There were several highlights during the evening. Family first honored Sherwood Pictures as its Ambassador of the Year.  Sherwood has released several inspiring movies such as Flywheel, Facing the Giants, and Fireproof that have been box office hits, but have also had the larger goal of pointing people to Christ.

My wife Lauren, and my mother-in-law, Doris Harris, were honored with the iMOM Inspiration Award.  They shared their stories of raising children, caring for foster children, and adopting infants.  Both of their stories were inspiring and people were amazed to learn that my mother-in-law did a lot of her child-rearing after her biological children had left the house – when she was in her 60′s and 70′s.

A gentleman named Matthew Mooney was awarded the All Pro Dad Father of the Year Award that’s named after my dad.  Matthew has an incredible story of his son Eliot, who was born with a congenital condition that took his life after only 99 days on earth.  However, Eliot is continuing to have a tremendous impact on people because of Matthew’s unique way of sharing his story through a ministry called 99 Balloons.

The evening ended with best-selling author and speaker Max Lucado encouraging everyone to overcome their fears by placing their faith in Jesus Christ.  It was a great ending to a wonderful evening. It was nice to be a part of it again

There’s no place in the world like New York City.  Over the past couple of months, I’ve gotten the chance to see more of it, firsthand.

I love Thanksgiving.  My childhood memories of the holiday have a lot to do with – you might have guessed it – football.

It is 2:05 in the morning and I’m having trouble going to sleep. We just finished our NBC broadcast of the Colts-Patriots game and it was a classic. The Colts came back from 13 points behind in the last five minutes to win 35-34.

As a broadcaster I have to be impartial and just report on the game, but as an ex-Colt I am very proud of the team the way they hung in and fought for 60 minutes.

Colts coach Jim Caldwell had a key decision to make after scoring with two and a half minutes to play, to cut the Patriots’ lead to six points. Should they gamble on an onside kick, or kick off deep and trust the defense to stop Tom Brady and the Patriots offense? He decided to kick deep and the defense did stop the Patriots on third down. New England coach Bill Belichick had a decision to make on 4th and 2–to punt to the Colts or go for it at his own 28 yard line? He decided to go for it, not wanting to give Peyton Manning a chance with the ball at the end of the game. New England’s 4th down pass came up a little short and the Colts now had a short field to drive for the winning touchdown. Caldwell played the percentages and Belichick didn’t, and that was really the story.

Before the game, I took my normal morning walk and it was a beautiful day in New York. I walked from my hotel in mid-town Manhattan up into Harlem and came back through Central Park. It was awesome and I got to see some great history in Harlem. I walked up W. Central Park Blvd which becomes Frederick Douglas Blvd. in Harlem. At 122nd St. there is a statue of Harriett Tubman, one of the famous “conductors” on the Underground Railroad, who led escaped slaves north to freedom in the 1800′s.

Then, three blocks further north at 125th St. is the Apollo Theater, which was the hub of African American entertainment in the 1900′s. It was special getting to see these spots first hand. Walking there and then back through the park, and seeing so many people enjoying a beautiful Sunday, was God’s way of speaking to me. It let me see that no matter how big the game that night seemed, there is much more to life than football.

My dad taught me many things, but I find myself becoming more and more grateful for his lessons in patience as I grow older.

Last week was one of the most memorable and gratifying weeks I’ve had in quite some time.

It started Sunday night with our NBC Football Night In America broadcast. When I agreed to work as an analyst for FNIA, Dick Ebersol, the President of NBC Sports, set it up to let me do one piece per month on a ministry I wanted to highlight. So last Sunday, we did a piece on Rocketown, a teen safe-haven in Nashville, Tennessee started by gospel singer Michael W. Smith. We showed how young people enjoy coming to Rocketown, and how such places can benefit our youth. It was the type of story you won’t often see on a football pre-game show.

On Monday, I flew from New York to Indianapolis to meet with the NCAA to discuss the lack of diversity in the college football coaching ranks, and how the NCAA might be more effective in reviewing the hiring process, much as the NFL has done. I came away from the meeting feeling that the NCAA was committed to helping boost the current numbers of minority head coaches in Division I football. (In 2009 only 3 percent of the 582 Head Coaches in all college football were minorities, and there is only one minority head coach at a BCS school.) Progress has been made in the last few years, but I think everyone who attended the meeting, from the university presidents down to me, felt there was more to.

On Tuesday, I went to Louisville, Kentucky with Mark Merrill, president of Family First, to talk to the Papa John’s Pizza team about working with All Pro Dad. I also spoke at a Chick-Fil-A event called “Desire to Inspire” in nearby New Albany, Indiana. It was then on to the University of Louisville to speak to their football team. Coach Steve Kragthorpe said that several players had started reading my book, Uncommon, over the summer, turned it into a team activity, and met once a week to discuss the book. I talked with the team about on-the-field topics, but focused more on off-the-field things like growing as a man, finding your path spiritually and being a role model to younger athletes. It made me feel so good about writing the book. It was gratifying to know that sharing my experience as a college student-athlete and a growing Christian could help other young men.

On Thursday night back in Tampa, the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs had a fundraiser and I was able to go and help raise support. They had a couple of young people at every table and it was great to talk with these kids and find out how much the Boys’ and Girls’ Club was doing to make a difference in their lives.

On Friday night I watched my son Eric’s team clinch the District Championship and a spot in the first round of the state playoffs.

This past Saturday, I was flying out to New York again to prepare for our show, and this time my wife, Lauren, went with me to enjoy a weekend in Manhattan. We walked around the city, had a nice dinner, and on Sunday while I was doing the show, Lauren met a friend for a Broadway play.

It was a wonderful week and illustrates why, when people ask me if I miss coaching, my answer is “No.” As much as I enjoyed coaching, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of these things during the season, and I feel blessed that I’m getting the opportunity to do them now.

When I was a head coach in the NFL, winning was definitely better than losing.  But there were still challenges even when my teams had a strong record.  I’ve been thinking about that as I watch the Colts, Saints and Vikings keep racking up the wins.

Michael Vick could be on the move.  Media reports today have zeroed in on Michael’s comments about not quite fitting into the Eagles wildcat offense.  In an off-the-field conversation I had this past weekend, I was asked about where Michael might end up next year.  When you consider that the Eagles are getting such good QB play from Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb, there’s speculation that they may try to trade Michael or release him from his contract.

I think Philadelphia has been the best spot for Michael this year as he’s rebuilding his family life and his personal life, but if they choose not to bring him back, there are a number of teams that are unsettled at QB.  I mentioned Cleveland, Washington, and St. Louis as obvious teams, but stated that one, not so obvious choice, could be Buffalo.  I don’t have any inside information but just feel that the Bills have some excellent players at their skill positions and could be a place where Michael—or any QB for that matter—would flourish; again, no inside information, just speculation.  So I guess that makes me an official member of the media!

And while we’re talking football, it’s the mid-point of the NFL season and we just finished our ninth show on Football Night In America.  There were some very good games Sunday with New Orleans and Indianapolis staying unbeaten and Tampa Bay winning their first game. Dallas took over first place in the NFC East with a hard-fought win over Philadelphia, and the New York Giants fell to third place with a tough loss to the San Diego Chargers.  With the Colts and the Patriots both winning, it’s set up a great game next week for us on NBC—the Colts vs. the Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.  It seems like the stakes are always high when these two teams meet and this year is no exception.  The Patriots will try to knock the Colts from the ranks of the unbeaten and tighten up the race for home field advantage in the AFC.  It should be a great game and it will give my broadcast partner, ex-Patriot Rodney Harrison, and I a chance to jockey for bragging rights on the show.