My Vick Dilemma

Last week on Facebook, I publicly asserted that the signing of Michael Vick officially made the Philadelphia Eagles dead to me. Was this a knee-jerk reaction based more on emotion than on an internal logical conclusion? Probably.

Am I stating now that I have absolutely no problem with bringing in a player who commited, was convicted of, and served 2 years for an absolutely abhorrent act? No. Resoundingly.

However, upon deeper reflection, am I also willing to discard almost 35 years of faithful fandom to an admittedly frustrating football franchise based on what seems to be a poor decision by management? I don't think I can.

If this was purely a decision that the coaching staff and front office made, that would be one thing. I could easily separate my distaste for the signing from my love of the team. But it was reported that Donovan McNabb actively campaigned to bring this guy in. And that complicates things for me. What were HIS motivations for such action? Does he know things about Vick that are not widely reported or is there something else?

Of course, Jeff Lurie said all the right things at the press conference introducing his newest Eagle. And it really sounded like he struggled with the decision, having put Vick through an extremely rough interview process before agreeing to proceed. Make no mistake, I don't believe that Michael Vick needs to merely show that he is reformed. Just one slip up, and the owner has already promised he is gone. He needs to go out of his way to attempt to mend his reputation as a human being. Above and beyond. Way above.

That means lots of dollars to the local SPCA's, shelters, and rescue organizations.

That means volunteer time at one or more of the above on a continual basis. Bathing strays, cleaning shit out of kennel runs, anything and everything.

That means speaking engagements and PSA's.

And that means never, and I mean never, have contact with anyone associated even tangentally with that operation.

This man is going to be under the microscope, and I honestly hope that he has been reborn in a way. For his sake, and for the sake of my team. I will leave it to the offensive coaching staff to make the best use of his unique on field talents and I have no doubt that it will be at least mildly successful. A guaranteed deep playoff run again? I don't think this guarantees anything, but with the proper schemes and some good fortune on the injury front, the Eagles go from having a lot of questions offensively pre-draft to a downright scary team for an opposing defensive coordinator to prepare for.

So what have I really been blabbering about? I am retaining my fandom and going to take a wait and see attitude with Vick in particular. I hope I'm not let down.

I'll let you know in Vegas at the Winter Gathering.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...