Who Let the Dog Out?

This is my most recent sports column from The Bates Student. It will probably be met with plenty of controversy, especially over the title. But hey, what fun is a newspaper if you do not get cranky letters to the editors?

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I believe in second chances. When someone screws up, they should absolutely be reprimanded and punished. Heck, to get the point across that some things are just not OK, punish them brutally. But when a person messes up, serves his time and has to live with the consequences of a poor decision for the rest of his life, I feel that that person should be given an opportunity to prove that he learned.

Yes, in this instance I am alluding to the overly-talked about Michael Vick. You all know the story: Vick was convicted for running a dog fighting operation on his property in 2007, killed a handful of dogs (the number varies depending on which source you read), got busted, lied about it until his nose resembled Pinocchio’s and served eighteen months in prison. Throw in the fact that Vick must recover from bankruptcy and live the rest of his life with myriad protesters, an insurmountable level of guilt and haunting memories from one enormously poor decision, and it is safe to say his life will never be the same.

I cannot tell you how many opinion pieces I have read since the middle of summer about the return of Michael Vick. Many of you have probably read the same amount and are sick of them just like me. I hate myself for devoting a column to the scumbag, but with all of my might, I am writing this to publicly show that I am glad he is back in the NFL following his 2009 debut on Sunday (because my endorsement means a lot to Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles).

I loved the guy’s style of play before he became one of the biggest screw ups in the NFL — though Adam "Pacman" Jones or Danté Stallworth could rival him for this prestigious title.

He was electric, young and seemed to have his head on his shoulders when playing the game of football (minus that one time in 2006 when he gave the double middle finger to his home fans after a loss to the New Orleans Saints). He had it all, and then it all went downhill in a hurry.

But Vick served his time. His life was drastically changed after his two-year prison sentence, and there is no way he can escape his troubled past and tarnished reputation. Michael Vick made those decisions, and Michael Vick has to live with them for the rest of his life. He will forever be linked to his immaturity, selfishness and overall stupidity that sent him to rock bottom, and there is no questioning that.

We can hate him for his actions and we can talk about how horrible he is, but doing so will not change a thing. Michael Vick is returning to the NFL with a rediscovered passion for football and an entirely new outlook on life.

In a "60 Minutes" interview in August, Vick publicly expressed his feelings about his mistakes and his time in jail for the first time.

"It's no way of, you know, explaining, you know, the hurt and the guilt that I felt. And that was the reason I cried so many nights. And that put it all into perspective," said Vick. "I was disgusted, you know, because of what I let happen to those animals. I could've put a stop to it. I could've walked away from it. I could've shut the whole operation down."

He did not shut the whole operation down, and while the "ifs" have run rampant through Vick’s mind, he knows there is no turning back the clock.

"I felt the guilt and I knew I was guilty, and I knew what I had done," he said. "And, not knowing at the time that, you know, actually telling the truth may have been better than, you know, not being honest. And it backfired on me tremendously."

Vick did a lot wrong in the time before his ultimate sentence—so much wrong, in fact, that whatever he does right for the rest of his life might not matter to some people.

That is foolish.

How can Stallworth drive drunk, kill a man and get off with 24 days in jail? I could care less about his honesty and his professionalism in dealing with the issue. He killed a person and somehow served 17 months fewer in jail than Vick.

Something is wrong with our legal system and this certainly highlights whatever it is.

In no way am I comparing drunken driving, murder and dog fighting. I am not saying that Vick deserved less time, but for Stallworth to be slapped with 24 days is literally getting away with murder.

Stallworth messed up and handled it well. Vick messed up and handled it horribly.

I am not here to criticize Vick’s morals or Stallworth’s incident. That is a different debate altogether. All I am saying is that the guy has served his time and will suffer the consequences for the rest of his life, regardless of what good comes his way. So with two years of prison under his belt and a lifetime full of regret ahead, he should at least be allowed to play the game that gave him so much (and that he said he took advantage of at times).

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision to re-instate Michael Vick was met with immense scrutiny; however, it is time that the general public look behind Vick’s morals and give him a second chance to prove himself as a player and a person.

When he was in the league, free of major legal troubles (there were some minor side issues), he was criticized for lacking the work ethic and passing efficiency needed from a pure quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl title.

When he was out of the league and sleeping in prison beds, he was criticized for having no morals and no self discipline.

All criticisms might be accurate — but they are old. They do not pertain to the Michael Vick you will see turning heads for the remainder of his NFL career, and he will be the first to tell you so.
"I was lazy. You know, I was the last guy in the building, first guy out," said Vick. "I know that. You know, I hear everything that people say. And that hurt me when I heard that, but I know it was true."

Vick has matured. He has changed. He has learned. And while he might not yet be faster or stronger than he was when he last played in 2006, he is ready to move on from his past — both on and off the field.

He probably will not start a game at quarterback in 2009, but that does not mean that his role with the Philadelphia Eagles is limited.

Instead of slotting him in as a pure passer, the Eagles can now take advantage of his college-style play and natural athleticism and use him as a "wildcat" quarterback. He can throw if he wants to throw, run if he wants to run and you might even see him lined up next to DeSean Jackson at wide receiver.

After all of the hustle and bustle, cat and mouse and "will he? won’t he?" talk this summer, Vick returned to the field on Sunday for the first time in 1,000 days. The last time he played? His current employers, the Philadelphia Eagles. Ironic? Indeed. Storybook ending? Not even close.

The numbers were underwhelming as Vick took nine snaps, threw two incomplete passes, rushed once for seven yards and lined up once as a slot receiver. Thankfully for him, no one was banking on him to win. This was not the Super Bowl nor was Vick the key to victory. His numbers did little to affect the flow of the game, but that is not what was important.

This was the first of many hurdles in the return of Michael Vick. His stats do not matter right now. Instead, making the most of his incredible opportunity will be most telling.

Thank you, Roger Goodell. It felt great to see one of the greatest athletes of my generation take the field again.

Long Awaited Update

Wow, I really dropped the ball. It has been almost a month since I last posted. If you were having a panic attack and wondering whether I would ever be back on this beast, have no fear. I will blame the hiatus on the start of senior year. It has been, without question, one of the most exciting but hectic few weeks of my life. I really cannot imagine what the last few weeks will bring.

With that being said, I do not have enough time to dig into my creative side and pull out some new material. Instead, I will post my first column of this years Bates Student (our student run newspaper). As Managing Sports Editor, I get to write a weekly column. So, have a look below.

While all of you might not go to Bates, you might be able to connect with this on some level.

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Fall is almost to here and there is no denying that fact. There are certain indicators of the coming autumn season every year, and I am beginning to take note of many of them:

The mornings and nights are getting cold. Really cold. Like I can see my breath cold. I am a cross-country skier and I still think it is ludicrous.

The trees on the quad are slowly starting to turn into those euphoric pictures in the Bates magazines that we all gawked at when we were pre-frosh. Really though, is fall foliage on the quad our biggest pitch to potential students? I know it is pretty, but…

Apple cider is back in Commons, though it is so damn good that it runs out far too often. On a similar level, the McIntosh apples are on the verge of excellent and that is an added bonus to the Commons experience.

The 80s dance just happened and while some of us opted for flannels, sweatshirts and sweatpants for Sunday brunch attire, there were a few stragglers that missed the memo and kept the party alive with their short shorts, vibrant shirts and weird hats (Brendan Julian, you looked good).

Lastly, there is that fall aura circulating about campus with complaints of too much homework, not enough sleep, jibber-jabber about our slow start to the fall sports seasons and the big Homecoming Weekend.

Ah yes, sports. That is what this column is supposed to be about anyways. Not the weather, pretty trees, apples or the 80s.

What can we expect from the upcoming Homecoming Weekend? If you came from a high school bigger than Bates, your homecoming was probably significantly different than what you will experience. We have no homecoming dance and no homecoming king or queen (Sylvan Ellefson if you are reading this, you know you would have won at least two out of your four years here). We do not win every single year nor do we pack our stands to their maximum capacity. But that can change.

While our fall sports have been hindered by slow starts, Homecoming Weekend can serve as a jumpstart to a hot-streak. Men’s soccer is 0-3, women’s soccer is 1-1-1, field hockey is 0-4, volleyball is 4-2 and football has yet to start. Bad news, right? Yes, but do not push the panic button just yet. A healthy dose of alumni, tailgating and home field advantage is just what the Bobcat ordered.

The Trinity College Bantams make the drive from Hartford, CT this weekend to take on our Bobcats in men’s and women’s soccer, football and field hockey. I have a friend that plays for the Bantams men’s soccer team and I will be sure to tell him that the Bobcats are hungry to scratch. What better animal to feast on than a lousy rooster?
Without a homecoming dance, we can shift our attention to the three battlegrounds known as Russell St. Field, Campus Avenue Field and Garcelon Field (can we do something about the lame names of the first two?).

While Trinity storms into Lewiston with just three combined losses from their soccer, field hockey, football and volleyball teams, the Bobcats are eager to score goals, touchdowns and points with a vengeance.

I cannot tell you the amount of times I have heard my friends or parents ask, “what happened?” after a Bobcat loss. I have no answers. It seems that lately things have not been going our way, but that is also the age-old excuse. If I could somehow analyze every game and inject my knowledge into each coach’s gameplan, I would do so in a heartbeat.

That being said, we can add a lot to each game just by showing up. First-years, take my word for it: Saturdays with multiple sporting events taking place are awesome. Drink a little extra water before you go to bed on Saturday and you will be ready to be a sports fan. Do not lose your voice shouting like a wild-man or woman at a party. Save it for some extreme heckling of Bantams instead. Betsy Weidner is the Bobcat Wrangler this weekend and you better do as she says.

I wrote a column last year criticizing our school’s fan spirit. Aside from Parents Weekend and NESCAC basketball games in Alumni Gymnasium, it was pretty poor. Do I feel the same to this point in 2009? Yes. Can it change? Absolutely. Do I think we have the least supportive fan groups in collegiate sports? No.

That award can go to Bowdoin.

I attended the Bates men’s soccer game at Bowdoin last week and was relieved to see that they have worse attendance levels than us. Between the group I went with, a group of Bates kids already there, my old high-school’s varsity soccer team and my parents, I think we could have outnumbered the number of Bowdoin kids in the stands.

Not only were they few in numbers, but their cheering and heckling was as bad, if not worse than ours.

Last year’s Managing Sports Editor, Mac King, wrote a column about the art of heckling. I almost copied and pasted that into this space because my computer died halfway through writing my own words that I refused to re-write everything. After wasting six hours of my Sunday on the couch, I succumbed and started to type.

Mac taught me a lot last year—namely how to successfully streak during pub crawl in front of the security department and Dean Tannenbaum (Keith, you will remember that kid forever). My mom just screamed thinking that I will actually be that guy. Do you really think I would do that,
Mom?

Seriously though, Mac taught me a more valuable lesson throughout the year: how to be a great sports fan at Bates.

There are not enough of us, and I am trying to convince you guys to indulge yourself in a Bates athletic event once a weekend. It takes two hours out of your day and who knows, you might actually enjoy the game. You might see a bicycle kick, a hailmary or a buzzer beating shot. Sports are spontaneous and that is what makes them great.

All tangents aside, our athletic teams need support this weekend. We have won one NESCAC competition over the first two weeks of the fall sports seasons. Not good enough.

Can fans win a game? Absolutely not. Can we give our home teams an advantage? Without a doubt. I know Garcelon Field is a far cry from the New York Jets’ stadium, but call up Tom Brady and ask him if the crowd played a factor in his sub-par performance last Sunday. I can guarantee he will say yes, hang up on you in an instant and have a hit-man at your doorstep in two hours.

There are going to be tons of alumni roaming about the athletic facilities, so why not come out of your dorm, catch some rays and let your voice go hoarse? I do not consider myself an artist in the realm of heckling, but I do know that it is far more effective and a lot less ridiculous if there are multiple people taking part.

It would be great to see our teams come away from Homecoming Weekend with multiple wins against a school that has tremendous athletics. Trinity is no slouch, but we can be just as good. They might be big, fast and strong but we do not want to be embarrassed during our homecoming by the Trinity College Bantams.

Seriously, a rooster? Come on, let’s do something different for a weekend and show that we are not the laughing stock of the NESCAC.

Come out on Saturday and give them the ol’ big cat scratch.