mike vick to eagles.

[DukeUsul]

To break it down for you. The point is in reference to the poster referencing HIS city as if Michael Vick "representing" HIS city as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles is somehow tarnishing the city's image. You've got to be freaking kidding me. Have you ever BEEN to Philly? This is one city that will get over it and move on - ESPECIALLY if they get to catch lightning in a bottle.

The team has embraced him - including the owner and the coach. I'm sure they will be sensitive to the public's needs but if you've been watching Sportscenter any today then you would realize that they've made their mind up with Vick and any interference could just cost YOU dearly. Then those idiots will have their own charges to contend with.

It's fine to be unhappy with your team's choices but if it's your team then it's your team and you should try and be supportive no matter the circumstances - something we all try and practice around here at the DBR.

On a moral level we all know what Vick did was wrong but if you're not from our neck of the woods then you also don't understand some of the normalcy of it and why many folks just don't see it as such a bad thing. But guess what? We ALL learned something. Dogfighting has long been one of those things that goes on and noone ever gets caught. I know cops who got their dogs straight from pit farms - no license necessary. You think they would do that NOW?

You have to be able to see beyond all the smoke and mirrors sometime and see that we have a real chance to accomplish something here. It seems that Vick does and he's making the most of his time. He coulda pulled a Lawrence Phillips and perhaps many of you aren't realizing just how often that happens to athletes after mistakes.

We've gleefully at times watched the fall of athletes. No need to name names but just as it seems that some of your hatred is motivated by the amount of money that these people make these same athletes suffer consequences that the common man also never would. Many have crumpled from the media alone. The scrutiny would make you claustrophobic.

Vick is a young man. The book on Vick is far from over. If he does what he says then just a few years from now this will all seem like a distant memory (insert memory of athlete gone good here)...

But I promise you that #7 jersey will sell - and that's just based on the number of profiles I saw changed to the Philly Eagles on facebook today (I've got a good test size)...

You can take your opinion about Philly and... go fly a kite.

There are a lot of fine people in Philadelphia who love their city and don't care to see this "young man" represent them. I don't know who your Facebook friends are that support this decision, but EVERY SINGLE ONE of my friends from back home has been up in arms on FB over the signing.

I have no idea what you're talking about regarding supporting your team no matter the circumstances. I know if Duke signed a convicted dogfighting financer as an athlete or coach, this whole site would be up in arms and rightfully so.

[NYC Duke Fan]

If somebody wants to hire him I have no problem with his playing. He served his time.

There is a big jump between having served your time in prison and being a hero. There are many, many professional atheltes who learned to take responsbility for their actions before they smashed dogs brains into the concrete, participated in an interstate gambling ring, lied to their employer about it, and then went to jail.

Should he be allowed to play football? Sure. But he is a long, long way from hero status. We should have higher standards than that for a hero.

Sorry to respectfully disagree. He served his time as a debt to society. What he did was dispicable, and it was not a one-time thing that he did. He did it over and over. Goodell should have banned him from the NFL for life. Let him pursue another line of work...he disgraced pro football and should never have been allowed back.

[SoCalDukeFan]

I was raised in Philadelphia and am a lifelong Eagles fan.

My first thought was "I wish that they had not signed him." What Vick did was not some one time thing that might be blamed on bad judgment or weakness or immaturity or passion or whatever. He continually abused and tortured and killed dogs.

But he did the time. He deserves a chance to earn a living at what he does best.

I do doubt how sincere Vick is now. Obviously he needs to say what he is saying.

I guess I am back to my first thought. It is okay with me that Vick is back in the NFL but I wish he was not with the Eagles.

Of course I am also content with losing with the type of people K recruits rather than winning with some we play against. Much happier when we win, but proud of the players that have represented us.

SoCal

[cspan37421]

I have no idea what you're talking about regarding supporting your team no matter the circumstances. I know if Duke signed a convicted dogfighting financer as an athlete or coach, this whole site would be up in arms and rightfully so.

I agree, and meant to add that as another point - the "my team, right or wrong" is not an attitude I have, and I hope most Duke fans would feel the same. If we had a reputation for recruiting violations, fake SAT scores, fraudulent coursework or majors, I would not be a Duke basketball fan. Loyalty and trust is earned and if systematically violated (i.e., not a "mistake"), it should be withdrawn.

[SupaDave]

But oh those jerseys are selling...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4401105

[SoCalDukeFan]

I agree, and meant to add that as another point - the "my team, right or wrong" is not an attitude I have, and I hope most Duke fans would feel the same. If we had a reputation for recruiting violations, fake SAT scores, fraudulent coursework or majors, I would not be a Duke basketball fan. Loyalty and trust is earned and if systematically violated (i.e., not a "mistake"), it should be withdrawn.

but there is a still a lot of support for coaches that have some questionable players.

John Cal is being welcomed with generally open arms at Kentucky for example.
The whole state seems to love the UConnvicts for another.

SoCal

[JasonEvans]

I think the difference in opinions over fan reaction to the Vick signing may be at least partly a factor of race.

Here in Atlanta, numerous polls as well as anecdotal evidence showed that Vick had much stronger support in the African-American community than he did in the suburban white areas. Atlanta has 2 sportstalk radio stations and one of them has a show that caters very much to the African-American audience. Listening to the different radio talk shows and hearing their listeners, you get totally different views on Vick. I was listening to the Af-Am talk show on Friday and heard some folks say that they would be supporting the Eagles and changing to Eagle fans. I cannot say for sure, but I suspect most of the folks who were vocally supporting Vick were African-Americans.

This may be playing out somewhat similarly to the OJ case, where different segments of society had different views of the star athlete in legal trouble. I am not at all saying that all Blacks will feel one way about Vick and all whites feel the other way-- not at all. I am merely observing that there may be some cultural biases at play in our view of the situation and when someone says, "all my friends think Vick is evil/deserves a second chance" they should consider who their friends are allow for the fact that there may be a large segment of the population who disagrees with their view.

I am not sure this post accomplished anything worthwhile, but it took some time to write so I am hitting the button and taking it live

--Jason "I sorta see this debate as silly-- Vick is signed and will be an Eagle" Evans

[Indoor66]

--Jason "I sorta see this debate as silly-- Vick is signed and will be an Eagle" Evans

I agree with your signature sentiment. He broke the law, was convicted and society declared his penalty. He has paid that penalty. Let's play football. End of issue.

[DukeUsul]

--Jason "I sorta see this debate as silly-- Vick is signed and will be an Eagle" Evans

It's not silly if you are an Eagles fan and have to decide how you want to (or don't want to) support the team.

[Turk]

Everything I'm reading on this says The Powers That Be are going to make Vick grovel, roll over, play dead, sit up, beg, and fetch at their whim. With the Beagles' help, he is supposed to be "reaching out" to assorted animal rights groups around Philly prove good faith and "acceptable" remorse. Vick has no choice but to take whatever the NFL dishes out, and if they don't like how it's going, they can kick Vick to the curb any time they want.

As for Philly, it could work here - the management aren't egomaniacs in the Jerry Jones mold, and I think they are genuine in their desire to see Vick on the right path. But let's be realistic - there is huge football upside for them. We wouldn't be having this conversation if Vick was some third-string O-lineman.

Polls in yesterday's Inky had it 51-49% on the pro-Vick side, so there are a lot of people with both DUsul's and SupaD's viewpoints. Me, I am not a pet owner nor an Eagle fan, so I don't have a dog in this fight. (ouch). Vick's crimes had nothing to do with football (other than PR), and we already know athletes get the benefit of a double standard, so I think any comparisons to the corporate world are completely bogus.

I will predict that the only reasonable goal for Vick and the Eagles will just get through this season somehow. He might actually play in the second half of the season, and next year will be the real test of his football comeback. The cynic in me says that too many people have too much money at stake to let this fail...

[bird]

Individuals with much less in the way of mitigating factors, with more clear reprehensible characters and with worse offenses have found a happy home in the NFL.

[SupaDave]

Just an update...

Vick's replica Eagles jersey, which retails for $79.99, was the top seller on NFLShop.com as of Wednesday. Jersey maker Reebok did not return calls for comment.

And it's also on the front page...

http://www.nflshop.com/category/inde...goryId=2237409

Oh to be a QB - Vick and Favre are dominating the headlines. Normal foolishness such as Edwards case of the dropsies, Marshall's law troubles, random arrests, and Brady's return have all fallen to the wayside.

[allenmurray]

McDonalds sells more hamburgers than any other restaurant. That doesn't make them the best. It just shows the incredbily poor taste of the American public.

[YourLandlord]

The hot topic on Mike & Mike this morning: You can log onto nflshop.com and order a customized Eagles dog jersey with any name on the back. While certain words and profanity are blocked, the name "VICK" is not. The NFL has released a statement that it doesn't see a problem with this.

http://www.nflshop.com/product/index...entPage=search

[SupaDave]

The hot topic on Mike & Mike this morning: You can log onto nflshop.com and order a customized Eagles dog jersey with any name on the back. While certain words and profanity are blocked, the name "VICK" is not. The NFL has released a statement that it doesn't see a problem with this.

http://www.nflshop.com/product/index...entPage=search

Yeah b/c you know, other people have the last name Vick too...

[YourLandlord]

Yeah b/c you know, other people have the last name Vick too...

Not many

NAME (last)
VICK 0.007

%FREQ
0.007

FREQ RANK
1912

So, ~ 21,000. How many of those are a) Eagles fans, b) have a dog, c) would willingly associate Vick with their own dog, and d) buy apparel?

by the way, how cool is this stat?:
According the 2000 Census, 13.97% of Americans have a surname which occurs fewer than 100 times in the population.

That is wild for a country with 300,00,000 people.

[SupaDave]

Not many

NAME (last)
VICK 0.007

%FREQ
0.007

FREQ RANK
1912

So, ~ 21,000. How many of those are a) Eagles fans, b) have a dog, c) would willingly associate Vick with their own dog, and d) buy apparel?

by the way, how cool is this stat?:
According the 2000 Census, 13.97% of Americans have a surname which occurs fewer than 100 times in the population.

That is wild for a country with 300,00,000 people.

Well at least I know my tax dollars are being used efficiently...

[SupaDave]

Wow - that got me to thinking and this is totally off thread but since they had the time to break the name Vick down to the very last compound I thought I'd take a look at the Census funding.

Do they actually have a surplus or is it really a technical mistake?
http://www.independentsector.org/pro...nding_2010.htm

[YourLandlord]

Wow - that got me to thinking and this is totally off thread but since they had the time to break the name Vick down to the very last compound I thought I'd take a look at the Census funding.

Do they actually have a surplus or is it really a technical mistake?
http://www.independentsector.org/pro...nding_2010.htm

It looks like they incorrectly assumed there was a surplus, resulting in a current deficit? That article is unclear.

This is staggering though: $7.3 billion for the census effort. That efficiency would not impress Caeser Augustus.