WASHINGTON — Hall of Fame coach John Thompson calls it "the greatest thing to happen to African-Americans since the Emancipation Proclamation," and there's no way he's going to miss it.

"It hasn't been able to seep in," the longtime Georgetown college basketball coach told The Associated Press. "I will have tears in my eyes when that boy raises his hand."

From Tiger Woods to Muhammad Ali, Dave Winfield to Dikembe Mutombo, a sports world that has paid more attention to politics than usual the last few months wants to be part of the party when Barack Obama is inaugurated as the nation's first black president Tuesday.

Thompson, who has a ticket to the swearing-in ceremony, endured racial taunts when he first fielded a predominantly black team at Georgetown. He later became the first African American coach to win the NCAA title and boycotted two games in 1989 to protest an NCAA rule he felt would hinder minority athletes.

By contrast, Woods has been as apolitical as they come, keeping his views firmly to himself during his rise to become the world's top golfer. It was only after Obama's election in November that Woods expressed his excitement over "a person of color in the White House." On Sunday, however, he was part of the celebration, speaking in front of the Lincoln Memorial as part of the inauguration festivities.

Woods' two-minute speech during the "We Are One" concert paid tribute to the military and referenced his father, Earl Woods, who did two tours during the Vietnam War with the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Houston Rockets center Mutombo, who's been politically active in African causes for more than a decade, will attend the inauguration with wife Rose, oldest son Reagan, and his father Samuel, who is flying to Washington from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Mutombo was born.

"We have the son of an African man, not from a second or third generation, from the first generation. That brings so much joy and so much pride for me," said Mutombo.