Holmgren's Wife on a Mission, but Not in Detroit

DETROIT -- Mike Holmgren could reach the pinnacle of coaching when his Seattle Seahawks face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl here on Sunday. He could become the first coach to lead two different teams to Super Bowl titles.

But if he does, his wife Kathy won't be here to see it.

As a Christmas present, Mike Holmgren arranged for Kathy, a nurse, and Calla, one of the couple's four daughters who is a doctor, to make a 2 1/2 -week trip to the Congo as part of a humanitarian mission. Kathy will be traveling to the same aid station where she worked as a missionary nurse 35 years ago, when the country was called Zaire.

And she's scheduled to leave Thursday for Africa.

Holmgren said arrangements were made four months ago, long before the Seahawks qualified for the Super Bowl, and the possibility of a conflict never occurred to him.

"We didn't even think about the dates being a problem," Holmgren said Sunday at the Seahawks' hotel in Dearborn, Mich.. " . . . It was the best present I could ever give her."

Kathy Holmgren serves on the board of Northwest Medical Teams, the nonprofit organization arranging the trip. Mike Holmgren said he didn't want her to reconsider making the trip.

"She said, 'Are you upset I'm not going to be there with you?' I said, 'Nah,' " he said. " . . . I'm very proud of her. She works very hard at a lot of things that are a lot more important than coaching a football game. Her heart is here even though she's going to be in Africa with my daughter. . . . . It's a 17-day trip. I'll let them know who wins when they get back."

Tatupu Okay After Slight Concussion

Seattle's Pro Bowl-bound rookie middle linebacker, Lofa Tatupu, said he's no longer feeling the effects of the slight concussion he suffered in a collision with Carolina Panthers tailback Nick Goings during the NFC title game.

Tatupu finished the game. Goings exited with a concussion.

"I'm all right," Tatupu said. "I'm back to normal. All the cobwebs are gone. I feel good." . . . There is a "12th-Man" flag flying outside the Dearborn hotel serving as the Seahawks' headquarters this week.

The flag, symbolizing the fan support the club receives in Seattle, has becoming increasingly popular during the Seahawks' run to the first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. The team raises such a flag at one end of Qwest Field before home games, and there has been a version hanging recently from the Space Needle in Seattle. . . .