As a Philadelphia Eagles fan, allow me to first say that my initial reaction to Coach Andy Reid’s signing of the infamous Michael Vick was loud. And long. And probably should not be repeated in a high school newspaper. It was quite upsetting, to say the least. I had been following the ongoing saga within the NFL of which teams were and were not considering giving the disgraced quarterback another chance. My nana, a lifelong Eagles fan, and I had quite a few discussions about which team would be gullible enough to sign such an unpopular player.

            Little did we know that it would be our beloved Birds who would sign the recently reinstated former Atlanta Falcon. I understand that a team struggling with an injury plagued line would desire another option, at quarterback. I understand that Donavon McNabb is not young. But what about A.J. Feeley? He is certainly capable of running the offense. And McNabb is certainly not going anywhere.

            Maybe this is just the moral being in me coming out, but I just do not get why someone would encourage dogfighting. My uncle told me that the culture Vick grew up in encouraged those sorts of activities. I say anyone with a moral compass would know that punishing dogs and killing the ones that underperformed is so wrong they would not dare to do it, regardless of background.

            However, the football fan in me is anxiously waiting to see if the Eagles can once again shake off the preseason troubles and pull out another run into the postseason, and is timidly willing to try Vick out. Watch: if the Eagles are winning, I’ll be ecstatic and say “Ha! We knew it all along!” But if they are losing, well, I will probably look on it as a gamble we lost.

            Unfortunately, wherever Vick goes, whatever jersey he dons, he will carry the label and conviction of animal abuser. That is something he cannot shake off. People should not ignore his attempts to remediate his old ways. However, I feel the time may be a little too soon to allow Vick back on the field. Though the Eagles fan in me desires the strong player, the moral person in me wishes he would stay out of the spotlight a little while longer.