Michael Vick

OK, I'll bite.

There have been somewhere in the neighborhood of 947592374092374725973049857 articles posted on Michael Vick since he was signed with my beloved Philadelphia Eagles. For me, the news broke when my bro-in-law called last Thursday when Missy and I were driving home from my mom's birthday dinner. Let me throw in my two cents along with every other person who owns a keyboard.

I couldn't believe it. Michael Vick? Here? In Philadelphia?

I remember watching an interview of Eagles head coach Andy Reid two days prior to the signing where he said that he was "very happy with the quarterback situation". So why the change?

Frankly, I have no idea. Not because he is an ex felon and that he did horrible things to dogs. If I can throw that out the window for a minute, it doesn't make a lot of sense when you consider that the Eagles just signed their overly-sensitive-doesn't-want-to-hear-that-his-job-may-be-in jeopardy franchise quarterback to a two year extension and they spent a high draft pick to get the supposed heir apparent to said quarterback two years ago. You don't drop $2 million on a third string QB. I could be the third string quarterback on the Eagles. So from that standpoint, it is an odd choice. And hearing that McNabb lobbied for it; that is either McNabb being extremely secure, self-confident and mature or being mind-blowingly stupid and potentially shooting himself in both feet.

Now to the part about the dogs. I love dogs. I balled my eyes out as a 29 year old (or was I 28?) when our family dog died. I cried for months after Cody died. We still have pictures up of him in our house. And I forgive Michael Vick. I think that people are so passionate about Michael Vick because people are passionate about animals and dogs specifically. Let's say you are in a room of 20 people and are watching the news. If a story about someone being shot and killed comes across the screen, no one will look up from their coffee. However, if a story about an abandoned dog comes up, people will be leaving the room and crying. Dogs are not people. However, they can instill an emotion that is as strong if not stronger than people can.

I don't understand the world of dogfighting. It doesn't make sense to me. It is a culture that I can't wrap my mind around. However, it exists and apparently Vick got into it at a young age. This idea that because he killed dogs he is on the same plane as a psychopath or serial killer - whose distinguishing feature is cruelty to animals - is absurd. Michael Vick is not a psychopath. He was (and it will remain to be seen if he still is) a stupid, immature, spoiled brat with horrendous taste in friends. And he paid dearly for it. Just because he did something horrible and did it specifically to dogs which people love doesn't mean he shouldn't be forgiven. And it doesn't mean that he can't move on with the rest of his life.

Michael Vick is not a doctor. He is not a lawyer. He is not even a burger flipper. He is a football player. He has a God-given ability that few on this Earth possess. He can do things with a football that no one can do. If he was any of the other things, I would think he should get a chance to be them again. It just so happens that his gifts are in the most popular and media-crazed occupation in the country. I give the Eagles props for sticking their neck out for him. Like with McNabb, time will tell if the move was made from a secure, confident stance or a desperate press of the panic button.

Of course, as an Eagles fan, I hope this works out. I hope NFL Films is running hour long specials in 20 years about the greatest offense in history featuring McNabb, Westbrook and Vick. The Michael Vick experiment will start in a few weeks. Here's hoping it works out better than the T.O. experiment. Because I sure would love a Super Bowl trophy to go along with our World Series ring.....