Patterico's Pontifications

Stupid quote of the day:

Jessie Jackson says that Vick’s return to the NFL is a lot like Jackie Robinson’s entry into major league baseball.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/sports/football/08rhoden.html?_r=1

JayC (935b29) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:21 pm

Like I said before, I am absolutely DONE with the NFL.

I am utterly disgusted.

Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:25 pm

Jackie Robinson tortured dogs to death?

Apogee (e2dc9b) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:25 pm

I wish the entire Eagle franchise to be first stabbed multiple times with ice picks, over a period of months and years, then strangled slowly, and then fed to pigs.

nk (54c569) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:29 pm

Oh, the Eagles.

I thought it said Beagles.

Marty Farty (cb1d38) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:36 pm

This should come as no surprise to anyone. The only thing that should surprise anyone is that Al Davis did not beat the Eagles to it.

JD (4f5e05) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:36 pm

I love dogs and have always had one or two and I think what Michael Vick did was cruel, and yes, even evil. But I have also made many mistakes in my life and if it weren’t for a loving and forgiving Christ Jesus as my Saviour, I don’t know where I would be…..actually I do and it is not a very nice place. I hope he truly repents and does some good for dogs and people, but I will not judge him, that is not my job. Thank God.

J. Raymond Wright (e8d0ca) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:40 pm

Stupid quote of the day:

Jessie Jackson says that Vick’s return to the NFL is a lot like Jackie Robinson’s entry into major league baseball.

When your life’s work is all about race hustling to line your own pockets and nothing to do with helping your fellow man,then you have to make idiotic statements and comparisons like this to try to seem relevant.
It was only a few months and about 25 approval ratings points ago that Obama was Kennedy,FDR,and Lincoln rolled all into one and he was going to save the world.

Now nobody believes a word this Jimmy Carter on steroids has to say.

If Obama didn’t throw like a girl,maybe Philly would pick him up also.

Baxter Greene (af5030) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:40 pm

The people of Philadelphia booed Santa Claus. Just saying.

Fritz (757674) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:44 pm

What Scott Jacobs said; what little remaining interest I had in the NFL just evaporated.

Old Coot (83c1d1) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:44 pm

I was an Eagles fan- no more. Like to see same thing done to Vick as he did to dogs.

aoibhneas (55634c) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:46 pm

Jesse Jackson has long since been unable to feel shame. Pity.

JD (4f5e05) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:47 pm

My guess is that when he takes the field for the
first time in an Eagle uniform, he will get
a standing ovation.

Only in America.

Zopilote (19b5fc) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:52 pm

Football has always seemed to me like two bands of gorillas wrestling over a coconut and this animal’s reinstatement confirms that impression. Although I am being unkind to gorillas, I think.

nk (0a78bf) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:53 pm

Jessie Jackson says that Vick’s return to the NFL is a lot like Jackie Robinson’s entry into major league baseball.

That settles it: Jesse Jackson is certifiable and once again outs himself in another attempt to make *everything* an issue of race. Funny thing, it’s not even that he cares first and foremost about a supposed injustice: it’s first and foremost about Jackson’s desperation to appear the wise sage, relevant and noble.

Epic fail.

Dana (57e332) — 8/13/2009 @ 7:53 pm

I wish the entire Eagle franchise to be first stabbed multiple times with ice picks, over a period of months and years, then strangled slowly, and then fed to pigs.

Comment by nk — 8/13/2009 @ 7:29 pm

I agree with this. Of course, I agreed this before they signed Vick, but they certainly deserve it either way.

carlitos (4a6653) — 8/13/2009 @ 8:12 pm

Welcome to Philly, Michael.

Philly Fans greet Vick in 2007.

Enjoy your stay.

Techie (482700) — 8/13/2009 @ 8:20 pm

THANK GOD THE PACKERS DIDN’T SIGN HIM!

PCD (fb6979) — 8/13/2009 @ 8:20 pm

I have now gone over to the dark side — no, not that one. Go Steelers!

either orr (466a1d) — 8/13/2009 @ 8:25 pm

Best Twitter comment regarding Vick:

Dear Eagles, i hope that if Vick misses a pass that he will be held under water, starved if he doesn’t play hard enough, and beaten daily.

Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/13/2009 @ 8:54 pm

surely the extreme elegance will win you over

happyfeet (42470c) — 8/13/2009 @ 9:05 pm

You just knew some team was going to throw Vick a bone.

daleyrocks (718861) — 8/13/2009 @ 9:09 pm

Raised English White Bull Terriers in my family as a child. We had as many as 47 of them over the years, kept 6 as family pets/guard dogs to protect my Mother. I loved them all….drank from the same cup, ate off the same fork, had my face licked a zillion times, slept with them under my covers….hunted, fished, camped, played…even had my sister’s life saved by one of them….

All that said….

Michael Vick is a convicted felon, much like Dollar Bill Jefferson, Governor Edwin Edwards, Councilman Oliver Thomas of New Orleans…all convicted felons in Louisiana….

All of whom could easily win an election in Louisiana under the right circumstances….a thought which all but makes me sick….

But….

Ain’t America the greatest place in the world???

Warts and all, I’d rather be here, watching an NFL game, being pissed off about Obama, cringing at every election in this fine state, home of Bobby Jindal….

Just another thing we all have to move past….more important things in the world….

Teach your children, talk with your friends, about having a moral compass, an ethical standard….

Fight the good fight….

And, enjoy the two highest paid QB’s in football, Eli and Peyton Manning, also home grown Louisianians….

Cheer the LSU TIGERS to another NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP as they crush the ohio state university (caps left off at the request of all TIGER FANS)….

And, be glad we’re all here debating this….

Ain’t America Grand???

reff (ee9f7a) — 8/13/2009 @ 9:21 pm

I think he should’ve done more then 30 days!

Kevin (b52f98) — 8/13/2009 @ 9:47 pm

The Misuse of Remorse
When is a crime paid for?
by Christopher Caldwell, The Weekly Standard
08/10/2009, Volume 014, Issue 44

Ingrid Newkirk of PETA told the New York Times last week: “We continue to ask Mr. Goodell to put him through psychological counseling and testing to see if he can be remorseful.” It was Vick’s lack of “remorse” that led the judge in his case to slap him with a longer sentence than his fellow defendants. But one cannot measure remorse. (One can measure servility, which is perhaps what those who call for remorse are generally seeking to procure.) And why should we care about remorse? We don’t need Vick to love dogs. We just need him not to repeat his crime.

One of the great things about incarceration is that it relieves us of the need to look into our fellow citizens’ hearts. “He’s done the time,” said Terrell Owens of the Buffalo Bills. He is right. We need to revive the idea of “paying one’s debt to society.”

Other-wise we blacklist people forever, which is to say, we establish “debts to society” incapable of being paid back.

Fritz (757674) — 8/13/2009 @ 9:50 pm

Way too much money involved. No way the guy who was the highest paid player in the league wasn’t going to get back in the game.

“No matter how cynical you become, it’s never enough to keep up.” – Lily Tomlin

Peccator Dubius (0a6237) — 8/13/2009 @ 9:56 pm

Fritz, Vick did not pay his debt to society. He paid the criminal penalty for his crime.

They amount of suffering he caused simply cannot be paid back in a full manner by any legit society.

Vick does owe a debt that cannot be repaid. We should consider him beyond polite society. At some point, we need to say that we as a people will not accept this level of greed in our entertainment. People with Eagles gear on have now marked themselves as complete losers.

If I want football, I guess I’ll watch the NCAA.

Juan (bd4b30) — 8/13/2009 @ 10:27 pm

I hope the Eagles’ opponents this season have lots of dog lovers playing at the outside linebacker and defensive end positions.

Dave (in MA) (d51df8) — 8/13/2009 @ 11:28 pm

“My guess is that when he takes the field for the
first time in an Eagle uniform, he will get
a standing ovation.”

You know absolutely NOTHING about Philly fans. There’s a LOT of negative feeling about the signing of Vick here. I GUARANTEE he will get roundly booed on his first trip out to the huddle.

In this twn we boo everybody. I went to a game about 10 years ago now and they were booing little kids performing @ halftime.

JEA (9f9fc9) — 8/14/2009 @ 3:27 am

Well, that’s a wrap on anything from *NFL sponsors:

Coors
Miller Distributing
Subway Restaurants
Quiznos
Pepsi
Coke
Doritos
Sierra Mist
Go-daddy.com

*Partial list, to be updated.

glenn (2d382b) — 8/14/2009 @ 5:11 am

The Raiders have to be furious.

JD (e7fedc) — 8/14/2009 @ 5:26 am

Fritz, if ANYONE need psychological evaluation and treatment, it is Ingrig Newkirk and the membership of PETA.

PCD (02f8c1) — 8/14/2009 @ 5:30 am

Comment by Peccator Dubius — 8/13/2009 @ 9:56 pm

Good point, about the money. We should have remembered the deal Michael Jordan got from the NBA.

nk (661b9f) — 8/14/2009 @ 5:33 am

I have to laugh at all of the “he paid his debt to society,” and “only Jesus can judge him” comments. Nobody is saying he has to wear a scarlet letter, or live off by himself in a hut in the woods eating gruel. The NFL just shouldn’t let him play football for millions of dollars because he is a vile, disgusting pig. And shame on my the Eagles for signing him. I honestly hope the crowd does more than boo him.

JohnW (fe75c1) — 8/14/2009 @ 5:44 am

Say what you will about Vick, he wins the prize for all time “Best Alias when getting tested for Herpes”………
Ta Da…………
“Ron Mexico”
I still laugh every time I see a “Mexico” #7 Jersey…
Get over it, they were DOGS, I run over em all the time,

Frank

Frank Drackman (3cbed8) — 8/14/2009 @ 5:51 am

I am mortified by the actions of the NFL. My family and I are big football fans but will never watch Michael Vick play so guess we won’t be watchin the “Beagles” o I mean Eagles.

Jeannie (76ba7c) — 8/14/2009 @ 6:14 am

I hope their season goes to the dogs.

jim2 (1333f0) — 8/14/2009 @ 6:21 am

OK, I’ve taken off my shirt and painted a big assed bulls eye on my chest in anticipation of the incoming I will receive from this forum.

Yes, I’m an Eagles fan. and, yes, I really don’t have a problem with this signing.

At least for now.

Let’s put aside the football questions for a moment (as every one else has) and concentrate on the whole “appropriateness” of the signing.

Love or hate the Eagles organization and fans the one thing this team has been noted for is an almost fanatical adherence to a policy of signing good people in addition to good players (sometimes to their detriment.) The one time they let that slip, due to McNabb’s vociferous and public lobbying, was with the TO signing. It would be fair to say that, despite a Super Bowl appearance, that didn’t work out so good and only hardened the team’s “quality people” approach.

So, yea, at first this signing threw me for a loop. Very uncharacteristic of a rather puritan organization. Certainly Vick doesn’t bring the “bang for a wack-job” return that TO promised.

So why do it, especially knowing that lots of people (as evidenced by the comments on this thread) would be viscerally opposed to the entire concept? It’s not a public relations move designed to increase interest in the time. Hell they have a 40,000 person waiting list for season tickets and a significant portion of their fan base is going to be pissed off by this move.

That anger is justified and certainly not without reason … but …

I was as harshly critical of Vick as just about anybody else (JD will back me up on this.) Beyond the gory details of the hideous scheme what he was a part of his enthusiastic participation speaks to a darker spirit of the human condition, a celebration of abject cruelty that, rightly so, places one outside the bounds of reasonable decency. It says something “evil” about a person’s character when the deliberate application suffering upon a reasonably intelligent animal for purely entertainment purposes constitutes a bitchin’ lifestyle choice.

But …

I’m simply not on board with the whole “burn him, he’s a witch!” mentality. At some point one should take the time to look closely at what this person who admittedly committed illegal and morally odious acts is doing to bring himself back to the “mainstream.” The NFL is as prissy about their public image as any sports organization in the world (compare and contrast: NBA and MLB.) This is a league so completely anal about image that they wouldn’t let Peyton Manning wear high top cleats in honor of Johnny Unitas’ passing. They have run Vick through the ringer and they appear to be satisfied that he gets it in terms of the gravity of his wrongs. In addition to that, he’s leaning on Tony Dungy as a personal advisor, a man who has more personal integrity and honor than almost any other four people in sports. Andy Reid, being the puritannical coach that he is, has said that he’s satisfied that Vick gets it.

So why shouldn’t he have a chance, just like anybody else seeking some sort of redemption? Maybe he’s playing the best con game in the world. If so, he’ll screw up again and will never be trusted. I’m certain that under those circumstances the Eagles will cut him loose like a sheaf of wheat.

Just ask TO.

Until then branding him with the scarlet letters of DF serves no purpose from both a professional and humanistic view. You may hate the Eagles, you may be a fan and want to say “not in my house” or you may just be continuously disgusted with Vick’s history but none of that in and of itself should deny this person the opportunity to do his penance and find a measure of personal atonement.

IMHO.

I shall now hunker down in my Green bunker and await the incoming. Helmet on!!

BJTexs (a2cb5a) — 8/14/2009 @ 6:28 am

Well said, you self-loathing oppressor of brown people. You probably think “So you Think You Can Dance” is high art. The cultural insensitivity and racist codewords flow from your fingers like lies from Barcky’s teleprompter.

JD (545da5) — 8/14/2009 @ 7:01 am

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

A serial denunciation from JD. It’s like standing under a waterfall of puppies!

BJTexs (a2cb5a) — 8/14/2009 @ 7:07 am

While I agree that Vick’s actions were reprehensible and that he should have been barred from the NFL for at least another season, consider the following:

– All – Star Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is convicted of obstruction of justice after two members of his “posse” murder someone in front of his eyes. He then receives no suspension from the NFL (he was fined).

– All – Star receiver Donte Stallworth just plead guilty for DUI manslaughter, yet only received a one season penalty from the NFL.

– Plaxico Burress brings a loaded gun into a crowded nightclub and shoots himself in the foot. Which sounds kind of funny until you consider the number of innocent bystanders that could have easily been seriously hurt and/or killed. His trial has been delayed, and he will not play in the NFL this season.

There are so many other instances of gang – related and in general thuggish actions of NFL players who almost always get off in the end from both the courts and the NFL that Vick’s actions look fairly tame by comparison. And keep in mind that at least Vick actually served time in prison, a unique concept for NFL players acting mostly like common criminals.

Dmac (e6d1c2) — 8/14/2009 @ 7:22 am

Listening to ESPN…the reporter stated a poll that was running 53-46 against Vick’s signing with the Eagles….I believe it was a Philly poll, or maybe something local…

I don’t know if the poll is anyway legit, but it did lead me to this thought…

Obama has run into a buzz saw on his health care proposals, and cap and trade, and anger over the stimulus….yet he won the election…

Maybe Americans are realizing that they are getting something they didn’t vote for….

At the same time, maybe the NFL will find out that same thing….

Might be a point that Americans are much MUCH more “conservative” in their beliefs than the media will ever give them credit for….

Hope that was somewhat clear….

reff (b996d9) — 8/14/2009 @ 1:29 pm

Makes me glad that Oregon doesn’t have a pro football team. OTOH, it can be argued that we don’t have a pro basketball team, either…

Red County Pete (2ebcd7) — 8/14/2009 @ 1:36 pm

Perhaps so, reff, but I think it’s more fundamental and ongoing.

Kids and animals.

People tend to react viscerally to those who deliberately harm kids and animals. I confess that I’d be hard pressed to take the attitude I wrote above if he had been convicted of beating children.

That having been said there were about 2 dozen protesters out side of his news conference, every one of them hard core animal rights people, none of whom “believe that he’s sincere.” It’s an emotional response to their chosen area of sympathy and they can’t separate the man from the act.

I love animals but am not anywhere near an animal rights advocate. While I fully recognize the odious nature of his acts I’m just not emotionally invested in continuing the diatribes.

As opposed to Health care reform, for instance.

BJTexs (a2cb5a) — 8/14/2009 @ 1:41 pm

Its just wrong for a team to have 2 negro quarterbacks. What is Philly thinking?

Guy Bauman (a3e773) — 8/15/2009 @ 8:24 am

Guy is a douchenozzle.

JD (ee337f) — 8/15/2009 @ 9:10 am

As far as I am concerned, dogfighting should be legal. If people don’t like it, don’t go to see it. And before anybody jumps all over me, I would point out that every day we kill multitudes of dogs in this country, many for no other crime than being inconvenient.

Animals are property. Seeing as how so many NFL stars have skated on crimes against people, I found the outcry against Vick to be hypocritical at best. And I am so very, very, very sick and tired of the “we WUV furry animals” crowd that I’m awaiting the backlash eagerly. What with the huge Hispanic influx, I expect both cockfighting and bullfighting to be legal within my lifetime.

technomad (eefe5a) — 8/15/2009 @ 9:34 am

8/13/2009

Michael Vick Signs With Eagles

47 Responses to “Michael Vick Signs With Eagles”

Favorite Sites

Links

Patterico Sells Out