Well, we’re all in now with Michael Vick.
We’re right there with Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie and coach Andy Reid, though those two have far more at stake in the success of Vick.
But make no mistake about it. We have left Vick the dog fighter behind, and we are now celebrating Vick the NFL superstar quarterback who is worth the price of admission, who will face the Redskins and former mentor Donovan McNabb Sunday in Philadelphia.
That’s what six passing touchdowns, no interceptions, 750 yards passing and 170 yards rushing in less than three full games will do.
It makes us want to watch him. It makes us envious of those who drafted him in their fantasy football drafts. It sells Vick’s No. 7 jerseys.
It makes us want to forget that Vick fought dogs for sport.
We nearly have forgotten that just four months ago, Vick had nearly squandered his second chance after coming out of prison having served nearly two years on a dog fighting conviction and other charges.
After Vick showed remarkably poor judgement by having a publicized birthday party this summer where some old acquaintances (ex-cons) from his dog fighting days showed up, and the results were one of them was shot in an altercation. Vick said he left before the shooting took place. He was on the brink of being released by the Eagles and banned by the NFL yet again.
At the same time, the Eagles had been peddling Vick to other teams all summer, with no one willing to make the deal.
Vick was on very thin ice. He was a backup quarterback who did little the year before to make anyone believe he still had the skills that made him such an exciting player during his time with the Atlanta Falcons.
Now he is the toast of the town in Philly. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, the former mayor of Philadelphia, a passionate Eagles fan — and a former prosecutor — wrote this on a blog last week: “[Vick] is playing so well and the team believes in him so strongly that Skins fans should face the harsh reality and pick the Eagles this week in their survivor pools, Donovan notwithstanding.”
With each standout performance, you have to believe the ice gets thicker. The more valuable Vick becomes, you have to believe the more tolerance will be shown in the Eagles’ so-called no tolerance policy that brought Vick to Philadelphia.
The same goes for football fans and the emotional investment they make in a player. If Vick continues to perform at this level, the investment will continue to be greater.
The risk, though, remains the same. The Eagles have reportedly put the clamps down on Vick since the birthday party incident, monitoring his behavior and making more demands of him personally as well as professionally.
One year ago, when the Eagles took Vick in, Lurie declared that when it came to Vick’s behavior, “There is no room for error.”
We saw this summer that there was a little room. And I suspect with each touchdown pass Vick throws, there will be even more room.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN 980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected]
