Sports has made me a hypocrite. Why? Because I'm a Philadelphia Eagles fan. You know where this is headed.
Like everyone else with the ability to discern right from wrong, I was appalled at Michael Vick's dog fighting scandal when that news broke. As more and more became known about the atrocities that he participated in, I was even more disgusted. He deserved everything he got. The prison time. The bankruptcy. Everything.
When Vick was released from prison, I knew he would play in the NFL again, and I was sure it would be this season. There's always a team that's willing to take a chance if they think it will help them win. I just didn't think it'd be "my" team. I was very surprised when I heard that he'd signed with the Eagles, and even more surprised when I heard that Donovan McNabb was the one who approached management with the idea. I figured that if he played it would be for a team with a history of signing players with baggage, like the Cowboys or the Raiders.
My initial response was shock. I couldn't believe the Eagles were taking a chance like this. Not after the Terrell Owens debacle anyway. But that only lasted a short while, and then I bought into it. I started thinking about how Vick might be able to help my team win games, and the prospect made me feel better about the upcoming season. So now I'm hoping he performs well. I have to. Either that or renounce my team, and I'm not willing to do that.
Had he signed with any other team, I'd probably still refer to him as the dog killer. Especially if it was the Cowboys. Now that he's on "my" team, I argue that he deserves a second chance. After all, I'd like to think that if I ever screwed up that I'd be able to do my time and be able to get a job doing something in the same field I was trained in (See how easy that is for me to rationalize? Not that I'd screw up as badly as he did, but still).
And that's why I'm a hypocrite. But at least I didn't take it as far as one Eagles fan who was asked about how he felt about Vick being on the team. His response was more along the lines of: Well, he didn't kill my dog.
13 comments:
and seeing as you don't even have a dog, you can like him. ;)
Hypocrite! :)
oh, definitely a hypocrite.
though, i might take him if he could help my jags out......
Dude.
The dog-torture conviction didn't actually change my opinion of Mikey Vick one iota. I'm quite sure that he and/or his posse have committed worse crimes.
As for you, the fact that you acknowledge your hypocracy puts you a cut-above 98% of Eagle's fans.
And you're taller than 98% of all pygmies. Grrherhahahhhahahaha!
hummmmm. I don't know how I feel about MV returning to the NFL. I don't think it has anything to do with getting a job in the same industry, as much as the message it sends to the public. It's sort of like he got a slap on the wrist. I can't imagine the same opprotunity happening to someone who wasn't an athlete or a celebrity.
I like TO. I liked him in Philly, I liked him in Dallas and I like him in Buffalo. I don't think he's the trouble maker that people make him out to be. I think he has a strong work ethic, and he holds his team mates (which ever team that may be) to the same standard, and he gets upset when they don't work as hard or put in the same amount of effort as he does.
Here's an interesting piece that's somewhat relevant to this post. It's long, but is well worth the read if you have the time.
I hope MV is able to get his life straightened up. I have been associated with some felons that just needed a shock to their system to get them going in the right direction. They'll never be what they coiuld have been but they are way better than they were.
The same thing happens here with our football code. You always have the bad boys who are gifted athletes but can't get their shit together in their personal lives. We've had players who have been given chance after chance and they still manage to screw it up. Eventually they run out of options and become too hot to handle.
I did like the way you managed to rationalise it all though. You should be a Spin Doctor, not a Fish Doctor :)
Nice Gladwell article that you linked to... Makes you think.
At least he served time. He can't take back what he did.
Nobody's perfect. Hopefully he won't ever hurt animals (or people) again.
?
I knew he'd play in the NFL again...
There's a TON of people who never get caught, so....
Embrace it! Go Eagles!
It's lucky for me that I'm not even an NFL fan, so it's easy to stay on my high horse. I wish he'd not been given a second chance. But then, I'm unforgiving like that to stupid and cruel people.
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