Michael Vick vs. The Self-Righteous. Round 1. Fight!

Even those of you who don't follow sports know who Michael Vick is. Just three years ago, however, you probably didn't. He was the flashy quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, with the jaw-dropping speed and the heaviest wallet in the NFL. However, less than eighteen months removed from becoming the 120-million-dollar man, allegations began to surface that local authorities were investigating him in relation to some illegal dogfighting activity in the Virginia area where he'd grown up. Over the two or three months that followed it came to light that Vick was basically the kingpin and financier of an inter-state dogfighting ring that spanned the south-Atlantic region of our country. The details were shocking. Stacks of money being wagered, and under performing dogs suffered punishments that included electrocution, drowning, and hanging. Through an expedited legal process Vick pled guilty in a federal court to a dog-fighting charge, narrowly avoiding a perjury conviction as well, and was sentenced to nineteen months in federal prison.
Released last spring to finish his sentence under house arrest, talk immediately sprung up of Vick's employment options this NFL season. The largest hurdle would be the potential suspension levied by league commissioner Roger Goodell. That sentence was handed down two weeks ago, when Goodell put Vick on a probationary suspension that would allow him to sign with a team and practice, but not play in a regular season game pending further judgement two months from now.
Many teams immediately released statements of disinterest in the ex-QB, while some teams left it open through non-denials of interest. Rumors swirled, and yesterday it was revealed that Michael Vick had reached a one year agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles.
This is a hot-button topic that is going to bring forward a lot of opinions, and most of them are going to be perfectly valid.
Most NFL players seem to feel sorry for Vick, and seem to be happy that he's back in the league. I can understand that. Three years ago he was on top of the world, and due to his own decisions, he has had everything taken from him. Houses. Cars. He has been reduced to just another guy who needs a job. If he can land one that pays a million bucks, more power to him.
Most of the Philadelphia fans, and many other NFL fans, are outraged, and want him banned from the league. I can understand that too. He did some terrible things, and it wasn't like it was a lapse in judgement. He did terrible things for a long period of time and only stopped when he got caught. However, I think it's easy to be a Vick hater right now. Right now he has no value, so why side with him? I don't think you'll be hearing too many boos when he's scoring touchdowns for the Eagles in December. People like to do what's popular, and right now pretending to be better than Mike Vick is popular.
The Eagles are taking a huge PR risk. But, they're the Philadelphia Eagles, and their fan base will not desert them. Will Vick make a difference? Yeah, he most definitely will. The Eagles went all the way to the conference championship last year, and have most of their key players back along with some new talent. The Eagles were going to the playoffs this year anyway, so what they needed was someone who could make a difference at the highest level. Vick can do that. Give him five or six chances to make plays in the game, he'll make one or two. That's all he needs to do to make the Eagles the class of the league this year.
My thoughts? I don't care. If he gets on the field this year, I'll watch. If he hangs himself in his shower tonight, that's fine too. None of this makes any difference in my life. It doesn't make any difference in anyone else's life either. People are hating on him right now because everybody likes to feel superior. The guy is an idiot. Do I think he's sorry? No. I really don't. Today in his presser he called dogfighting "pointless" and said he regretted putting his career at risk. If he was sorry, he should know that dogfighting isn't pointless, it's disgusting. The point is to gain money and entertainment from the suffering of innocent animals. He should feel ashamed for what he did to those dogs, not for putting his NFL contract at risk. That doesn't matter though. He paid his debt, so as long as he isn't fighting dogs now, he can make a living however he'd like.
I guess in summary my point is this: If you want to jump on the anti-Vick bandwagon, please come up with a better argument than "What if it was your dog?," and if this is the position you're taking, please don't let me catch you talking Eagles or NFL this year. If you want to take a stance, take a stance. Boycott. Don't just rip the guy for the sake of being able to feel like you're better than him.