We all know about the terrible things Michael Vick has done in his past. These charges of animal cruelty quickly made Vick one of the top hated athletes in all sports. After serving his time in prison, Vick proclaimed himself ready to return the world of professional football. Many protests erupted causing many teams to be hesitant in signing this free agent with all of the baggage which came with him. It seemed as if the fans were not ready to forgive Vick and accept him as an NFL quarterback.
Eventually the Philadelphia Eagles signed Vick and due to trades and injuries, Vick found himself as a starting quarterback once again. Taking advantage of his opportunity, Vick has put up MVP worthy numbers and is leading the Eagles to the playoffs.
All of a sudden, Vick’s popularity has risen. Most likely due to the fact that he is having a phenomenal year so far. I find it interesting that because of his on-field success, the fans around the league are more willing to accept him and forgive his actions of years ago. Last year as a member of the Eagles, Vick hardly saw any playing time, and remained one of the most hated athletes. This year as a starting quarterback, he is cheered and admired. Which leads me to question, have the fans truly forgiven him? Or is the fact that he is performing at a high level allowed the fans to forgive him?
-Brian Cordeiro
Kin 332i Tu/Thur 12:30 - 1:45
3 comments:
I think the real question here is not only do the fans accept him back as a player but do we as fans accept him as a person? Like Dr. Kauer proclaimed in class so many times we love to hear that rags to riches story and in some sense Vick's career over the past few years is a direct example of that.
He was the franchise player with the Falcons just 4 years ago and then out of no where all these speculations of dog fighting came into play. He was convicted and sent to jail in turn, with no knowing whether or not he would ever be able to return to the NFL. Well look at him now one of the leading contenders for MVP and mostly likely taking his team to the playoffs.
I think some other things with Michael Vick that we have also discussed in this class is the whole role of the media. Do we hate Michael Vick because of what he did, or do we hate him because the media has made him out to be some monster that all he does is hurt dogs. To be totally honest I think a lot of people didn't even know who Vick was before all of his dog fighting speculations came out and now for the way the media portrayed him he was without a doubt one of the most hated people in America.
Corey Becker
kin332i TuTh 12:30
I feel that fans have forgiven him as a player more than as a person. As a sports fan, I feel like a lot of fans care more about Vick helping his team win more than his past with the dog fighting. When he was with the Falcons, people loved him because of his athleticism. When he got out of prison, most teams were hesitant to sign him, but the Eagles took a chance on him. He wasn't that popular at all last year because he didn't play much and fans were not begging for the team to start Vick over McNabb. Even after the McNabb trade, Vick was still back up to Kevin Kolb and it wasn't until Kolb got injured that Vick got his shot and took advantage of it. Now he's having an MVP season and everyone's pushing for him. To me it looks as if his performance is the reason fans are jumping on the Vick band-wagon.
Mondo T
Kin 332I Sec 3017
I think that even though Vick is having and amazing season this year, he is still extremely hated and unnaccepted by a large majority of them. Yes, they accept him on the field but should who vick is as a person matter too?? Even though Vick has a million dollar deal with the eagles he still finds himself in debt because of the well known dog fights he was involved with. Dont get me wrong i was completely against that and hated him just as much as anyone else. But i think that we should recognize his actions off the field just as much as on the field. Hes done amazing in this season, yes. But hes also working so hard to clear his name and working with PETA and various organizations saying that he knows what he did is wrong and i actually believe he is genuine and working towards the right things now. So, honestly i think that people have "forgiven" him on the field since theyre just thinking about football, but they should really look into forgiving him in general as well.
P. Macias Kin 332I
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