nin137

Michael Vick, Football, and Pit Bulls

never have three things that i love so much come to such a
crossroads.

Michael Vick: he vaulted my alma mater into the national
spotlight. only if you went to VT can you truly understand
what that man did for that school. i had the pleasure of
waatching him for one season, and man, he was electric. he
was treated like a god around that school, the rumor-mill
replete with the shenanigans he got himself into and out of
my the mere virtue of his stature. the thing is, he's part
of my alma mater. you can fuck with a lot of things in a
man's life but don't derogate his undergrad's football team,
especially VT football.
there was an "incident" in my first year of law school when
i was shooting the shit with some guy from ucla. he was
talking shit here and there about his school and we were
joking having a good time and then he said something like:
"man, VT sure blows this year," in a some what jesting
manner. the smile instantly left my face.
"what the fuck did you say?" his face completely changed
and he didn't now if i was still joking or not,
"uhhh, i mean...they are...they're struggling, um...right?"
he stammered, i was about to respond with a,
"mother-fucker you'd best take that shit back before i lose
my composure up out this bitch." but then realized i had
better proceed in a proper manner for higher education and
tersely said,
"yeah, but we're getting there."
you don't fuck with a man's alma mater.

Football: i love football. i like other sports, but i LOVE
football. one of the greatest mysteries to me is that i
have not been able to find but two other people in all of my
friends who share my die-hardism. only my brother and one
of my brother-in-laws share it. i can literally talk about
football for hours on end. you throw in talk about fantasy
football and i will talk until my vocal chords snap. i am a
taciturn person in general, i hate small talk. unless i can
talk about law i'm disinterested. but if you want to talk
about football or the fantasy variation? you have to mace
me to get me to stop talking. i fucking love football.
i am not joking, i sit in front of the tv promptly both
saturday and sunday mornings and soak up football. i'm sure
in a prior entry i talked about how my allegiance eventually
shifted from the 49ers to the patriots, but that's a whole
nother story.
i love football, so when a story affects football, it
affects me.

Pit Bulls: well...if you have ready any of my last 20
something journal entries you'll know that i am the owner of
a pit mix and all of the trial and tribulations that come
with it. i hate the rep they get, and there isn't one legal
issue i am more vehemently involved in than breed specific
legislation.
i think it stems from the same stupid ignorance and laziness
that envelopes all discrimination. i am a defender of pit
bulls to the end.
they have been described to me as "nigger dogs." and when
you watch rap videos i guess i can see where that hateful
term comes from.
that's the image they get. as derivatives of derelicts,
good-for-nothings and not worthy of human society.
what a bunch of shit.

so of course, as the news is replete with speculations on
vick's return to the nfl you can only imagine that i am
mixed with emotions on it.
on the one hand i join bill simmons the sports guy on
espn.com when he said, "when you hurt a dog...you're done to
me." i mean, to me, i get worked up in the following manner:
1) someone hurts a child
2) someone hurts an animal
3) the rest i don't give a shit
why? because those two are the most vulnerable. and the
thing with kids and dogs is that htey are so fucking
trusting towards adults. it's just the most sickening thing
when people misuse that trust.

i think a reason why some want vick to return is the
thought: "get the fuck over it PETA they're fucking dogs."
and in a way i understand this. leonard little of the rams
murdered a human being in a dui. and he is still playing,
as horrendouse as vick's actions are, it's hard,
comparatively, to treat him as more of a villain than little.
i don't know. i am all for second-chances, but there's a
limit, and that's where my impossible request comems in.

i want to talk to vick. no i don't want to talk to him. i
want to be able to see inside his mind. think his thoughts.
does he really feel remorse? does he feel remorse for what
he's done or what it's done to him?

if i could only know that he for once in his life feels
remorse (i doubt he ever did for the petty crimes he
committed at VT), i would feel better in saying "yes, give
him a chance"

but the determination of that is in roger goddell's hands.
i think goodell is a good man and i think he will make the
right decision. i am a bit worried that, with the ufl and
cfl breathing down vick's neck, goodell will be compelled to
make a financial over a moral decision, but whatever, i
guess at times like this you have to place your faith in the
good judgment of those in charge.

as for me, as my request can't be granted i stand at this
crossroad. here is a man who has proppeled my alma mater to
unbelievable heights. here is a man who has an animal i so
truly love to unbelievable degradation (rape stands...and
bloody deaths). and here is a man who i will see every
sunday once again if he is reinstated.

so i have been sitting here waiting to right this sentence
for five minutes, staring at my screen with a mix of
emotions and indian law flowing through my mind (fucking bar
exam). i think he regrets it. i do. i remember running on
a treadmill when he was sentenced in 2007. i remember his
statement. and i just remember thinknig to myself during
and after that statement:
"this man, for the first time in his life is feeling regret
and remorse."
and i felt in my gut that it wasn't because he'd been
caught, because he'd been made a pariah. but because he
truly felt bad, maybe partially for the deed, but mostly for
the effect he had. i remember how he looked down and away
when he said how he regretted his effect on children who
looked to him as role-models.
i remember that more than anything. and a man who can show
such body-language for remorse intertwining the two most
vulnerable beings in our society in a statement of utter
regret then well...he gets another chance in my book.