PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 28--The crowd at Lincoln Field gave superstar quarterback/convicted felon Michael Vick a standing ovation when he entered the game on the second play against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On his first play for the Philadelphia Eagles, Vick tossed an easy shovel pass for a four yard gain. "It was unbelievable the way I was embraced and the warm welcome I received," Vick told the Associated Press after the game.
In his other five plays, Vick completed three passes and rushed for a yard. Fans didn't even boo him when a lateral was mishandled and led to a Jaguars touchdown.
Although there had been heated discussions, especially on talk radio the previous two weeks, outside the stadium were only a few protestors. Most fans told each other, their bartenders, and any reporters within a hundred yard radius they were pleased that with Vick, once the NFL's highest paid player when he was with the Atlanta Falcons but now a possible back-up quarterback to All-Pro Donovan McNabb, the Eagles could finally win the Super Bowl.
As for Vick's federal conviction on charges of running an illegal interstate dog fighting operation, of providing the financing not only for the operation but also for extensive gambling as well, of involvement with illegal drugs, and with knowing, condoning, and the probability that he was directly involved in the abuse, torture, and murder of dogs, the fans enthusiastically explained that Vick completed his federal prison term, was "redeemed," and deserved a second chance, especially if it meantà ‚¬"yeahà ‚¬"a Super Bowl championship.
These are the same fans who probably wouldn't have embraced Vick if he was a second-string offensive guard who would never be an All-Pro. These are the same fans who once booed and threw snowballs at Santa during a half-time show. These are the fans who cheered when Dallas Cowboys' receiver Michael Irvin went to the ground for 20 minutes in 1999 with what proved to be a career-ending cervical spinal cord injury. These are the fans whose actions during games led the Philadelphia Municipal Court to put a jail and courtroom into Veterans Stadium in 1997. Eagles Court was terminated six seasons later only when Lincoln Field, with an extensive security system, replaced the Vet.
Michael Vick never saw Eagles Court, but in the U.S. District Court, Judge Henry Hudson said not only did Vick not cooperate fully with federal officials, as he promised, but that he failed both a drug test and a polygraph about what happened at Bad Newz Kennels and had not yet accepted full responsibility for "promoting, funding and facilitating this cruel and inhumane sporting activity." Football Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely.
At Leavenworth, where he completed 18 of his 20-month sentence, Vick claimed he realized the error of his ways and had found Jesus. But, the Atlanta Falcons didn't want Vick back; most NFL teams also didn't want him. The Eagles embraced him. For his part, Roger Goodell said if Vick showed remorse, he would allow him to play in the Eagles' last two pre-season games, and would rule on Vick's permanent reinstatement by the sixth game of the regular season.
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