I suppose you could call me an unexpected Michael Vick fan.\nIt is so easy to root against Vick. He has so much going against him. You probably know most of it: He walked into the league with a sense of entitlement, secured the biggest contract in the NFL and spoiled his incredible gifts with arrogance and poor decisions. And then there are those terrible dogfighting crimes that landed him in federal prison for almost two years.\nFans of Virginia football are practically conditioned to hate him. He is a large reason the Virginia Tech football program is so prominent today. It could be argued that Vick is probably the third most influential person in Hokie football history, behind Frank Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster.\nNow that he is wearing a Philadelphia jersey, fans of any other team in the NFC East have an additional reason to root against him.\nWell, I am a hardcore Redskins fan. I am also a big-time Wahoo despite spending my freshman year as a Tech student. So Vick should be the scourge of my football fandom - but he is not.\nThe reasons I root for Vick to succeed run deeper than team rivalries. They run even deeper than the animals who lost their lives because of the Vick-funded dogfighting ring. They are about redemption, forgiveness and triumph of the human spirit. He now has an opportunity to make up for his animal cruelty and make sure the dogs killed in the Bad Newz Kennels ring did not die in vain.\nIf Vick returns to stability and prominence, he will have a chance to shine a light on some incredible organizations that promote the humane treatment of animals. He also will have the opportunity to work with society's youth who might face the temptation of pitting animals against each other.\nAnd then, maybe, he will end up saving more animals' lives than he destroyed.\n"I am making conscious efforts within the community, working with the Humane Society, and hopefully I can do that locally and continue with my disciplined efforts in bringing awareness to animal cruelty and dogfighting in the inner cities and our communities," Vick said Aug. 14 in his first press conference after signing with the Eagles.\n"I figure if I can help more animals than I hurt, then I am contributing, I am doing my part," he added.\nIt is possible he just said these things to quiet the animal rights advocates, but other parts of the press conference convinced me that he means it.\nVick expressed his pain and remorse in some of what I believe are the most genuine statements I have ever heard from a celebrity. He talked about how he had two years to sit in a prison with little to think about except how badly he screwed up. He knows how naive and stupid he's been.\n"There was a point in my life when - before I was convicted or before the allegations even came out - when I knew it was wrong and I felt that it was wrong," Vick said. "Just when I was trying to turn the corner and it was too late. But everything happens for a reason, and there is a reason I was sent to Kansas and a reason I was convicted. I was conscious of the fact that it was wrong and, to this day, I have to deal with that shame and embarrassment."\nHe will not grow beyond that na
Read More
Thank you, Reece Beekman
By Ben Istvan | 18 hours agoBeekman will leave Charlottesville as the program's all-time leader in steals.
Men’s basketball fills last scholarship, adds Kansas State transfer Dai Dai Ames
By Ben Istvan | YesterdayAmes will provide an offensive surge that the Cavaliers’ collective guard group lacked in 2023-24.
Baseball’s bullpen — previous despair and future repair
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers' struggles can be fixed by improved roster management and reliance on consistent relief pitchers.
