Slumdog Millionaire? The Michael Vick Comeback Story

Every so often an event will occur that makes me stop on a dime and gasp. Literally, it’s why these moments are called breathtaking. Once it happened when I first heard that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were on the infamous “104” list. Another time it happened when I was innocently watching an episode of Scrubs, and it didn’t dawn on me until the very end that this was actually the series finale. A little part of me died that day.

The earliest memory I have of one of these “gasp” moments was back in 2004 when the Red Sox traded golden-boy Nomar Garciaparra. I can remember exactly whom I was with, where I was, and who told me the news (my friend Chris, his house, and a family friend from New York). As much as Nomar
had worn out his welcome in town, in my eyes he was still the cover boy of the Red Sox and it was a shock to hear that he had been traded for three players who didn’t mess with their batting gloves before each pitch.

The most recent gasp moment? Hearing that the Philadelphia Eagles signed Michael Vick. Finally after months of waiting for Vick to get out of jail, then weeks of waiting for the iron-fisted Goodell to decide on a suspension for him, then days of listening to rumors about Team X showing interest in the embattled quarterback while Team Y is holding team meetings to discuss him, finally we learn Vick is Philly-bound with an incentive-laden contract that includes a team option for a second year.

From a football standpoint, we already knew that when (no, not if) Vick signed with a team it would be the most interesting moves on the offseason. The Iggles made it as far as the NFC championship game using the same formula they have for the last half-decade: Donovan McNabb chucking 40+ balls a game, Brian Westbrook being surprisingly effective as a between-the-tackles runner and predictably effective catching balls out of the backfield, a stunting defense schemed up by Jim Johnson, and no legitimate shot at winning the Super Bowl. The addition of Vick doesn’t really change too much for the ’09 Eagles. Officially, it may be that Vick is listed as a quarterback on Philadelphia’s depth chart. But with McNabb on the roster and a contract that could be worth close to $10 million over two years, anyone in his right mind will make sure Vick sees the field as some kind of combo player. (To put the value of Vick’s contract in perspective, if Vick earns the full value of his contract over the two years, his base salary would be ranked #11 when compared to the 2008 salaries of quarterbacks in the league, just behind Tom Brady and ahead of Matt Schaub).  Now that he’s teamed up with McNabb and Westbrook, Vick assumes his previous role as the kind of player that defenses need to account for on every play, because every down he plays has the potential of becoming a game-changing trick play, whether it’s a long reverse, receiver pass, or some variation out of the Wildcat. And if for some reason you had never heard of or seen Michael Vick play football, Vick is the perfect Wildcat quarterback. And so with the addition of Vick, the Eagles offense becomes one of the most exciting and explosive in the league.

But that’s Vick, the football player. Then there’s the other side of the coin: Michael Vick, the person. August 2007 is when the walls fell in on Michael Vick’s world. Sentenced to 23 months in federal prison, people began to wonder if Vick would ever play again in the league.  After nearly two years in prison, would Vick be able to get himself back into shape to play professional football? Would any team even be willing to take a flyer on him, or the baggage he came with? Those were very real questions that had to be answered. But the real question to needs to be asked is “Why was Vick being punished so harshly?”

Let’s get one thing straight about the Vick situation. During the entire time of Vick’s dog fighting outfit, Vick never killed anyone. I’ll repeat that. Vick never killed anyone. Yes, the treatment of those dogs was horrifying, unethical, and utterly disgusting. But as far as anyone knows, no human was hurt. No men, women, or children. But still, 23 months in federal prison, and millions upon millions lost in salary, endorsements, and future opportunities.
Maybe 23 months doesn’t sound like a very long time. After all, it takes about 23 months for the US soccer team to put together a decent showing against international competition, yet every time they do we’re suckered into believing that now they’re the real deal. But for comparison’s sake, Donte Stallworth was sentenced to 24 days in jail when he struck and killed a man with his car while under the influence of alcohol earlier this year. 24 days! For taking the life of another man! Our society is in a bad place when we, become so desensitized to the death of another human being because day after day popular media bombards us with stories about people getting killed and shot, and only when something new or different happens, though equally horrific and tragic, the fact remains that it takes something ultimately unique, unique like a pro football player running an underground dog fighting operation, to wake us up and realize when tragedy occurs.

Michael Vick is not a bad man. He grew up in a culture that is different from the one that popular society is accustomed to. The idea of dog fighting is foreign to most of us. The mass population believes that dogs meant for cuddling, catching Frisbees, or toilet paper commercials, not for biting, clawing and fighting like canine gladiators. Vick was a victim of circumstance. His inner circle got the best of him, as did poor judgment and reckless spending habits.  It’s why the man who was once 33^rd on Forbes’ list of top celebrities in 2005, would later find himself 1^st on the same magazines list of most hated celebrities.

I’ve always believed that while celebrities, and in particular athletes, have a responsibility to their fans to behave as role models, what each does in the privacy of their homes should be their own business and no one else’s. Vick’s activities may have been an infraction on the law, but more than anything they were actions that were frowned upon by a very vocal, powerful organization (read: PETA). Yet the fact remains that it was conducted in the privacy of his home. This was not a public event, and Vick never made truly disgraceful actions in public (regardless of a certain “finger” indiscretion). In public, Vick was a decent man. He never shot a man in a nightclub and had his friend take to the fall for him (Ray Lewis). He never went into a strip club, made it rain, then beat the dancers he just paid to entertain him (Adam “Pac-Man” Jones). He also never went into a nightclub and shot himself in the leg with an illegal handgun (Plaxico Burress) and was never arrested for selling alcohol to minors (Chris Henry). He was also never convicted of DUI manslaughter (Donte Stallworth and Leonard Little). The funny thing is that none of those players previously mentioned faced a longer jail time than Vick, or more public scrutiny than Vick has had to face.

The time has come for Vick to redeem himself. Not redeem in the sense that he needs to make right on his previous actions. Vick spent his time in jail, and as far as I’m concerned, paid his debt to society. Redeem in the sense that he now has the chance to change the public’s perception of him. With the Eagles he has the opportunity to be remembered as one of the most uniquely talented players of this decade, instead of the punch line to every lame dog-fighting joke out there.  When Vick finally steps out onto that field, it’s going to be a sight to see. Thanks to Goodell, we’ll have to wait a few weeks into the regular season before we see it, but there will be a play, and Michael will do something that will, literally, breathtaking

Today is Madden Day 2009. It is the 6^th anniversary of Madden 2004, on which Michael Vick appeared as the cover athlete.