Sunday Question

Do we forgive or forget?

Last season, Michael Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as potentially the third-string quarterback. He had Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb in front of him. Then, the Eagles amazingly shipped McNabb to the Washington Redskins and proclaimed Kolb king for about a week.

Then, Vick took over.

And he was fantastic.

In seven games with the Eagles, Vick has completed 62.8 percent (120-for-191) of his passes, the best completion percentage of his career, has thrown for 1,608 yards and 11 touchdowns, and ran for 375 yards and four touchdowns. Remarkably, he has yet to thrown an interception.

Vick has led Philadelphia to a lead in the NFC East with a 7-3 record. Before the season, no one predicted the Eagles would have such a good record or that Vick would become an even better quarterback than he was when he played for Atlanta.

There was no way to know how a guy would play especially because he was in jail for about 18 months (I didn't look up the number).

When it comes to trading cards, Vick is king there too.

His 2001 SP Authentic Jersey/auto Rookie Card is on fire (ebay link). Right now, this card is selling far and above $1,000. Once upon a time, you could have gottten this card for less than $100.

Vick paid his debt by spending time in jail. He seems reformed by saying all the right things as he has become the center of attention again for this remarkable play on the field.

So the question is, have collectors forgiven or forgotten his past deeds?

I'll show you what a mistake is

I could not have asked for a better weekend to be away from home. I’m at my parent’s, but anything has to be better than being in the Philadelphia region right now.

Of course, all the talk is surrounding the fact that the Eagles have signed Michael Vick. I was one of those people who thought he deserved a second chance. I thought, he paid his time and he should be allowed to play.

I think it was easier to base my decision on this because I just assumed he would end up with a team with known criminals. That’s the persona of the NFL anyway, right?

I’m not an Eagles fan, but covering Philadelphia sports makes situations going on there close to me. I don’t cover the Eagles, but they still affect my life. Now, that Vick has been signed by Philadelphia, I can’t help but wonder if he really did deserve to come back.

Athletes have abilities that everyday people do not have. I will probably never be able to hit a 90-MPH fastball or take a hit from a middle linebacker. There are reasons these guys get paid millions of dollars for what they do (though I don’t fully understand that).

The argument that shouldn’t Vick be allowed to pursue a job in his chosen profession shouldn’t even be valid. He has abilities that others do not posses, but I feel like he gave up the opportunity to pursue his profession when he started killing dogs for sport.

You’ll hear people say he’s made a mistake.

A mistake isn’t something you do repeatedly. Mistakes, of course, happen. But they happen for two years?

You’ll hear people say he’s paid his debt to society.

Where? Serving time in jail didn’t pay me anything. In fact, my tax dollars went to paying for his imprisonment. So, right now, he owes me.

You’ll hear people say he deserves a second chance.

Why? Because he got caught? He should have stopped the situation on his own rather than feel sorry about it until he was caught.

So, I’ve jumped off the “Give Vick another try band wagon.” THAT was a mistake. Once you use sound reason and judgment, the mistakes usually show themselves.