From Quarterback to Convicted Felon- Vick's Fall From Grace

I can't help but wonder when the producers of The Longest Yard -both the 1974 original with Burt Reynolds, and the 2005 remake with Adam Sandler- had now suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in mind when they produced their respective films.

Vick plead guilty this morning to federal charges of dogfighting, in Richmond, Virginia. Vick admitted to helping kill six to eight pit bulls, and supplying money for the fights. He denies sharing in the profits or placing any bets on the fights.

Now, admittedly, I'm not much of a Falcons fan, but I thought that Vick was a pretty good quarterback in the NFL- 930 completed yards in 1730 attempts; total yardage 11,505 yards passing; 71 touchdowns; 3859 yards rushing. All of those stellar stats now gone to waste, as are all those millions of dollars of product endorsement and playing six seasons with the Falcons.

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, I might have been a bit more forgiving if Vick were some inner city resident living in poverty. But he was an idol to many adoring fans. A role model in the eyes of many. And now, he's nothing more than dirt. It's gotten so bad for Vick that even his #7 jerseys are now used for dog beds- and as this clip from Buck and Dex, of Albuquerque's 104.7 The Edge, KKED-FM shows, it's also useful for another purpose


EdgeMorningShow/YouTube

Special thanks to 104.7 The Edge, Albuquerque's New Rock Alternative.

Vick will be sentenced on December 10. The government wants Vick to serve 12 months- at least 85% (or 8 months)- plus be a material witness. But the judge who's handling the case, Henry Hudson, is known to be a tough jurist- and an animal lover- and is not bound to the government's recommendations of the 1 to 5 year sentence.

Click here: http://www.wsbtv.com/download/2007/0824/13967788.pdf for the document of Vick's plea agreement. For the full report from WSB-TV, just click on the title.

The only thing Vick can do now is probably get into hip-hop and rap. At least with all of the alleged thugs in that genre, at least he'll be in good company.

(C)2007, by Darren W. Alexander
All Rights Reserved.