Late Blogust Pt 2 “Here we go Falcons?” August 29, 2007
Posted by boydzone in : points, sports , trackbackI’m not going to spend a lot of time reiterating the reasons why I’m not a fan of Michael Vick. There is already enough negativity surrounding the man.
This doesn’t mean that I think he’s had his fair share of punishment. If he’s truly guilty of the things that he today admitted his guilt to, then I think he should take whatever the judge dishes out to him.
There are all types of people arguing both sides of his case outside of the courtroom. Some folks are furious and disgusted about the idea of dog fighting and the manner in which some of the dogs were supposedly forced to live and executed. Others, perhaps playing devil’s advocate, state that if we’re that upset about the cruelty to these animals, how can we hold a double standard and hunt, and eat/wear animal products? I can see where these people are coming from in a way, but I think the idea is that the normal deer hunter doesn’t go out electricuting a deer to death through its testicles, and the roast beef sandwich that I ate at Kelly’s didn’t come from a cow that was drowned or beaten to death.
At least I hope it wasn’t. Killing is killing. That is true to a degree. I would say 98% of my meals do not contain meat partially for this reason, but I do think there is a line that was crossed in this case. That is, according to what I’ve heard and read about the police report, the same report that Vick agreed he could not win by fighting it in court, thus pleading his guilt.
That being said, today was probably the first time I found myself rooting for Vick and for the Atlanta Falcons. I don’t particularly like what I’ve seen about Vick, but I watched his public apology press conference and I admit I was a little moved. I’m not saying that the guy should be pardoned completely or that he shouldn’t serve his time. What I’m saying is, I hope that I never really want someone’s life to fail and that includes star quarterbacks from teams I don’t like. I think what got me really questioning myself about the subject was a video that I saw on espn.com today where there was some discussion about the reaction of white football fans to the Vick case. It was said that “Take all his money way from him” was the first thing to come out of white spectators mouth’s when the Vick subject (or similar cases) were brought up. It was also said that this reaction stemmed from a barrier of racial jealousy and ignorance, where white fans view black athletes as thugs taking their money.
I thought back to my “Dirty Bird” post and wondered if this is how I came acrossed and if this was what fueled my desire to write that post.
Its part of the game to be a fan and root against the other team. I discussed this in the Barry Bonds Booing post as well. The point isn’t that he’s a rich black athlete. If that was my gripe with Vick, I would have a much bigger problem on my shoulders. Most NFL athletes are rich by my standards. As much as Chad Johnson is annoying to watch, I don’t hate the guy, he just annoys me because he’s good, he knows it, and I have to watch the Steelers play against him. I’m sure he’s pretty rich, but I don’t think he’s a bad dude. He actually seems like a pretty funny guy.
Its not that race doesn’t ever come into play, I could probably relate more to Brady Quinn or Ben Roethlisberger (who are obviously white and seem like middle-class rust-belt bred men) than I could with Michael Vick, who grew up in housing projects in Virginia. I’m sure that these quarterbacks came from different neighborhoods where the racial imbalance in our country is evident. Though I have seen black and white housing projects from trailers parks where I grew up to the ones in the city, I really don’t know what its like to be Vick.
Vick came from a impovershed background. Football took him out of that and into the life of one of the richest athletes in pro-sports. I’m sure it was a lot of pressure.
That doesn’t excuse what he did, but if there ever was a time where he came across as aware of his situation, his burden, his faults, his priviledge and influence, it was today.
He could have had someone script his public apology, but that doesn’t mean that he was going to hit it on the head and be convincing about it. Before this I’d never seen Vick humble. This might be the media’s fault, I don’t know.
He apologized to his teammates, his team’s owners and coaches, and to the commishioner of the NFL.
He also addressed fans of his that are children and was pretty blunt about being irresonsible and having to “grow up”. Hearing him speak to the kids helped me imagine how cool it would be to grow up in Atlanta and have Vick be your team’s quarterback and watch him do all that he’s done, then going out and imitating him in your backyard with your friends… but it also makes it apparent how much messier it gets when it comes time to have a parent explain his actions.
He also addressed his teammates, who unfortunately have to wear the Falcons’ logo, which at this point packs some heavy assocaitions. He stated that he was dishonest and wasn’t forthright with his teammates, and that he was sorry for that. This admition does not excuse or forgive him, but it does give his teammates some of their propers in attempt to take some heat off of them. I still don’t like the guy. I’m not a fan of the guy. In a strange way, he might have made one of his best team plays. With Vick out of the picture the Falcons have a lot to prove. Backup Joey Harrington has to step up and try to be a solid QB. His teammates have to work hard to redeem the Falcons name, even though they weren’t at fault for Vick’s actions. Now the Falcons have even more to prove. They’re not a team of superstars now that their superstar is gone. This makes them an underdog team. With the odds stacked against such a team, this underDOG just might be able to bring the PETA out in every one of us.
(Ps I just saw an article that I haven’t had a chance to read, but with all the negativity in sports these days, it might worth checking out)
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