Michael Vick has plead guilty to a conspiracy charge (I think), and will be sentenced December 10. The prosecutors have recommended that Vick serve 12 to 18 months in prison, though the judge can sentence him for up to five years.
So, faster than anyone thought, it's just about all wrapped up. I, for one, am shocked. Who could have guessed that the people who found the "cute" in "electrocuting dogs" wouldn't always have Vick's back?
The question now is, where do we go for high-quality dogfighting? No, I mean, it's: will Vick play in the NFL again?
I don't think the answer is anywhere near a clear-cut "no", yet there are some reasons to think that he won't. For one, any team that signs a quarterback fresh out of prison is going to take a gigantic PR hit. And the offense is one that's surprisingly (to me, anyway) galvanizing. I mean, some people are losing their minds over this. Don't get me wrong. Torturing animals should offend anyone, but some athletes have been let off the hook for much more serious offenses. (Take Leonard Little, for instance.) I wonder, though. Are the people who would be completely turned off by Vick and swear off supporting a team forever the same people who love the NFL in the first place? I don't know. Any team that signs Vick will get negative press, but I'm not sure how bad their losses will really be at the box office.
Vick does have one factor going for him, and I think it's the deciding factor: his age. Though he's been a public figure for nearly a decade, Vick's only 27. If his sentence falls somewhere in the middle of the prosecutors' recommendation, he could come out of prison as a 29-year-old, free agent, proven-winner NFL quarterback. Yes, he'll have had a couple years away from the game, but Vick was never what you'd call "heady" to begin with. And he'll have had two years away from the wear-and-tear of the NFL. Don't you think someone would find a place for him?
I think he'll probably only get offers from teams like the Lions or Browns, though. I mean, some awful team, whoever that is in a couple years, will roll the dice. (Who knows what the Lions and Browns will be like in two years? Well, I do. They'll suck. But they won't get Vick.)
In other words...how can I put this...in 2009 or 2010, Broncos fans can expect to start seeing Michael Vick twice a season.
So, faster than anyone thought, it's just about all wrapped up. I, for one, am shocked. Who could have guessed that the people who found the "cute" in "electrocuting dogs" wouldn't always have Vick's back?
The question now is, where do we go for high-quality dogfighting? No, I mean, it's: will Vick play in the NFL again?
I don't think the answer is anywhere near a clear-cut "no", yet there are some reasons to think that he won't. For one, any team that signs a quarterback fresh out of prison is going to take a gigantic PR hit. And the offense is one that's surprisingly (to me, anyway) galvanizing. I mean, some people are losing their minds over this. Don't get me wrong. Torturing animals should offend anyone, but some athletes have been let off the hook for much more serious offenses. (Take Leonard Little, for instance.) I wonder, though. Are the people who would be completely turned off by Vick and swear off supporting a team forever the same people who love the NFL in the first place? I don't know. Any team that signs Vick will get negative press, but I'm not sure how bad their losses will really be at the box office.
Vick does have one factor going for him, and I think it's the deciding factor: his age. Though he's been a public figure for nearly a decade, Vick's only 27. If his sentence falls somewhere in the middle of the prosecutors' recommendation, he could come out of prison as a 29-year-old, free agent, proven-winner NFL quarterback. Yes, he'll have had a couple years away from the game, but Vick was never what you'd call "heady" to begin with. And he'll have had two years away from the wear-and-tear of the NFL. Don't you think someone would find a place for him?
I think he'll probably only get offers from teams like the Lions or Browns, though. I mean, some awful team, whoever that is in a couple years, will roll the dice. (Who knows what the Lions and Browns will be like in two years? Well, I do. They'll suck. But they won't get Vick.)
In other words...how can I put this...in 2009 or 2010, Broncos fans can expect to start seeing Michael Vick twice a season.
Comments
I agree that the uproar over dogfighting is a little strange. I mean, what about what Ray Lewis did?
I do think Vick will play again - he is young enough, will probably be allowed back into the league by 2010, and will have time not only away from the punishment of the NFL but to lift weights at taxpayer expense.
I originally thought he might have to go to Canada or the Arena League at first, but your prediction about the Raiders is spot-on. He will fit in perfectly with Al Davis's penchant for washed-up has beens with nothing left in the tank. And I don't think the PR hit will be as great as it would be if a team was letting him play now (especially for the Raiders) - by the time he gets out of prison, serves another year or so on league suspension, and does some PSA's about the evils of dog fighting, public sentiment may be that he has paid his debt to society. And we'll all be even more sick of PETA by then.
Where can we go for quality dogfighting? Just ask Deion Sanders.
The other funny thing to me is how Vick's apology tried to frame his problems as an issue of maturity. Say what? I never went through a "make animals fight to the death" stage when I was younger, and I don't know anyone who did. I don't necessarily think Vick's mentally ill or anything like that, but I also never looked at this and thought: "Hmmm, why hasn't he grown out of this yet?"
I think the real problem with Vick is that he has no real moral sense because no one has ever held him accountable before, so I guess that is a form of immaturity.
In any event, I can't believe anyone is feigning surprise that an alum of the Virginia Tech football program and the brother of Marcus Vick is a common street thug . . .