Vick to be featured on SI cover
Michael Vick continues to garner attention from the national media. This week, he'll be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Vick to be featured on SI cover
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
As Michael Vick continues to lead the Eagles to victories on the field, the national media continue to try and find different ways to tell his story.
In recent weeks, NFL Network, CBS and NBC have all ran one-on-one interviews with Vick.
And now Sports Illustrated will take its shot.
Vick will be featured on the cover of this week's issue with the headline: The Enigma: What Michael Vick Tells Us About Ourselves.
The piece is written by S.L. Price. In the article, Vick talks to Price about the summer shooting in Virginia Beach following his 30th birthday party.
"I’m sitting on the chair crying, looking all crazy in the face. My brother, he’s sitting there, he ain’t got no expression on his face because he ain’t going through what I’m going through. I’m going through something totally different: I know what I want in life. I love the game of football. I know what I can do on the field and what I can provide for a team. That’s where my heart’s at, and it would’ve killed me to have that taken away. And I could just see in [my mother’s] face, she was tired. She told us it was embarrassing. She wanted to disown us. That’s what she told me: She wanted to walk away. She’s like, ‘You went to prison for 19 months, and you come out and you still ain’t listening….’ Right then and there, I told myself, I am changing my life. I’m going to do everything they ask me to do. I’m getting myself away from this madness."
I took a quick look at SI's online vault of past covers, and it's fascinating how they tell the story of Vick's life and his career.
In August of 2000, he was the centerpiece on the cover with the headline: Mr. Electric: Why Michael Vick Of Virginia Tech Has Sparked A Revolution At Quarterback.
A little more than two years later (Dec. 2002), after Vick had been selected No. 1 overall by the Falcons, he was not the cover story, but a promo at the top read: Michael Vick: Mr. Excitement.
In May of 2003, the magazine listed the 101 most influential minorities in sports. Vick came in a No. 77. He was just short of his 23rd birthday and had led the Falcons to the NFC championship about four months earlier.
In November of 2003, the promo read Waiting for Michael Vick.
And in September of 2004, Vick was the centerpiece again, with the headline: Game On: The NFL Kicks Off And Michael Vick Is Rolling Again.
Another centerpiece for Vick the next summer. In July of 2005, the headline read: I Am A Quarterback: Michael Vick Just Wants A Little Respect.
In a touch of irony, given Vick's quote above, his brother, Marcus was featured in a promo on the bottom right of the cover in November of 2005 with the headline: Virginia Tech's Marcus Vick: Little Brother Is Making A Name For Himself.
By June of 2007, things had changed. This time, the promo at the top of the cover had nothing to do with football. It read: Special Report: Dogfighting And Michael Vick.
And finally, in December of 2008, SI ran a photo of Sweet Jasmine, a pit bull rescued from Vick's property, as its centerpiece. The caption said she had found a happy home. The headline read: Vick's Dogs: The Good Newz Out Of The Bad Newz Kennels.
That was less than two years ago. And now, for the first time since Sweet Jasmine was featured on the cover, Vick is being featured again. And also for the first time, he's in an Eagles helmet, with the story likely being about his path back.
It almost makes you wonder what the headline might be the next time Vick is featured.
In case you missed it, I wrote about the Trent Cole-Shawn Andrews matchup in a post on Monday night.
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Comments (56)
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There are a lot of posters that either need to educate themselves regarding what Vick really did or quit commenting. He did far more to the dogs than just fighting them. It is a matter of public record that when others involved in the "sport" asked him to let the dogs not suitable for fighting go, he refused and devised new and creative ways to torture them for "pleasure" and "fun". There is nothing cultural about that. It is a sociopathic sickness. Like they say, that's not something one does, it is something one is- a millionaire spending his leisure time torturing powerless animals for entertainment.— jtj06- iamkingdunlap -- you're a racist punk. Probably voted for George W. Bush, who, by the way, in case your moronic brain is so uninformed, was, or should I say, is a major alcoholic, was a cokehead, had a DUI, and whose wife actually killed someone in a reckless car accident, and then went on to be POTUS, which allowed him to get thousands more American troops killed senselessly in Iraq (Hey, I support Afghanistan, but Iraq will always be a train wreck). So go stick it with your self-righteous KKK BS.— Crystal Ball
- This article tells me that people look at things different then I do.I BELIEVE THAT IF YOU DO THE TIME YOU SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO REJOIN SOCIETY AND REBUILD UR LIFE.i THINK PEOPLE HAVE A PROBLEM THAT A SPORTS FIGURE CAN HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITY.— rneal
- Vick is being protected from himself by the handlers the Eagles employ to keep him from going back to his posse. Just wait til he gets his contract and the low life scum that is Vick will start acting out his ghetto thug mentality again.— NoMoreSection8
- SI doesn't dub Vick an enigma. The enigma that SI refers to is the question people have about whether they root for or against Vick. As we can tell from the comments here, people forgive him (redemption) or continue to hate him (heinous crimes). Scott Price points out that one's reaction is as much a reflection on oneself as it is on Michael Vick.— Displaced Birds fan
- Only a worthless thug like Vick who abused girls in college, abused drugs, lied to feds, has herpes, and killed dogs would be glorified in a disgraceful city like Philthydelphia. Vick and Philthy Losers together. Egals will NEVER win a SB. NEVER.
— Calabrese10 
If you find it that difficult to forgive a man who did the time for his crime, then don't go to the parade.— OldNavySteamer- So moron, eating meat and torturing dogs is the same thing in your tiny mind?? Wow. I weep for this country when people as stupid as you are able to log onto computers and post things as moronic as that.— hititwheretheyaint
- People eat dogs what's the problem, those same dogs kill people. Further more, America is a serve your own interest community. Money is all that counts. Everyman should have the freedom to profit from their talents. Some of you seem to be very dictatorial in social beliefs in denying a man to enter into the free market to earn a living. Nothing is more Un-American. The US Constitution protects each of us from that kind of Fascist Ideology— Dexter
- A career ending injury would quietly put this whole tired, played out subject to rest....— sadim
- Sorry, for the two typos..first: his crime. Second: not one you see from your couch.— danthony930
- ej610, your are just another individual who acts like he knows someone. Have you ever been to prison? I doubt it. Have you ever had to live around danger or grow up in around gangs. Although there is no excuse for his crime. He did pay the piper for hi crime. He may not have admitted to the crime at the beginning. He lived in a world where one does not admit guilt. Also, attorneys never tell a defendant to admit guilt. Welcome to the real world no one you see from your couch. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. If he is deemed an unlikely candidate by the supreme power, so it shall be. But you are not him nor is anyone else. Some people only follow the selected versus' in the Bible they choose. But they never follow the whole BOOK.— danthony930
- Loopy...Growing up mi Momma would go to la fratoria and watch the maialino get torn apart by un maiale grosso. She would take the maialino and make the best Shchav in all the shtetl. As for the un maiale grosso...mi Momma would just shoot it.— Alphonso Kravitz
- @Carcharios - you're right, animals are not the benign creatures people think they are. And according to U.S. law, only humans can be murdered, not animals. I have a friend who saw her cat ripped to pieces before her eyes by a pitbull, another whose Yorkie was so badly mauled by two of them that it had to be put down. I have cats and it's terrible the way they will capture a small animal and torture it for hours before they finally kill it. That doesn't make what Vick did right, of course, but if you're sitting down to anything but tofu turkey on Thursday, you are also guilty of being cruel to animals.
@ej610 -- I have never killed animals, but I've done things I'm not too proud of. ALL our lives are works in progress, unless, of course, you are perfect!— Tonksrock - It tells me that people... all people... are capable of horrible things. I don't care who you are; under certain or different circumstances you may be a different person. It tells me that some people are unable to forgive another human being for their transgressions, no matter what price they paid for it... MV paid over 100 million dollars, 19 months of his life and with his humility. And it tells me that other people are capable of forgiving him... of seeing that your actions can help turn someone elses life around, as Tony Dungy, Andy Reid and the Eagles FO did. To me, it shows that life is filled with the good, the bad, the unforgiving, the humble and the boisterous. It is up to each individual to live and learn from their mistakes. I can only hope that what is shown by MV is what's truly on the inside and that my trust is not misplaced. NOW, the king has spoken.— Cr0we
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Vick will never get it. 19 months in prison and he comes out and still hangs with his old posse and it takes a drive by for him to get it? He always has excuses! And he justifies it all by saying his life is a work in progress. His whole life is a lie and people want to forgive this sociopath?— ej610
Anyhoo, F the SI jinx. This is Eagles Nation.- ...and stop w/ the Ray Lewis and Donte Stallworth comparisons. There is none...Stallworth WENT TO BED after a night of hanging out, WOKE UP, decided to drive to get something to eat, and tragically hit a pedestrian that was racing across the street to catch a bus. By all accounts, there was nothing he could do to avoid that tragic accident regardless if there was alcohol in his system or not...and Ray Lewis did NOT murder anybody. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Just ask the victim's family.
http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/23037542#news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/23037542
Talk about men being unfairly judged... - Eesh, the sports world is one thing, but your Mother is a whole other story...Don't wanna disappoint Mom.
- FOR EVERYONE WHO IS CRITIZCING , COMPLAINING, FINGER-POINTING- BLAMING....STOP THROWING STONES AND GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSES. I THINK ITS WONDERFUL WHAT VICK IS DOING FOR HIMSELF AND THIS TEAM AND WHEN YOU SPITEFUL PEOPLE STOP PROJECTING UR HATE ONTO SOMEONE ELSE, MAYBE YOUR EYES CAN SEE SOMETHING GOOD FOR ONCE!!— DonovanMcNabb
- Once a thug, always a thug enless removed from thug people and surroundings------keep the spy guard & probation officer on 24/7 duty & he might cleanse himself of his imgrained devils.— jwatson
- Hey, I'm just glad we got this version of Vick - the new improved version. What I fear most is that he pulls an Iverson and can't shed his bad habits. But from what I've seen and heard from him so far, I think he's on the right path. The guy made mistakes and paid the price. There have been a lot worse crimes committed than what Vick did. In terms of dogs and how they're looked at by society, I think too many people forget that their natural instinct is not peaceful. They literally disembowel their prey while it's still alive. What Vick did was bring out that instinct for sport. Yes, this is wrong, but let's not lose sight of the fact that dogs by nature are predatory animals that also fight for dominance in their social structure, often times killing one another in order to step up in the hierarchy.— Carcharios
- The better questions is what Bush and the Republicans told Vick: You can be lying criminals that cause death and destruction and get away with it scott-free.— eldiablodelsol2009
The examples of moral outrage here are so fun to read. Root for the laundry if you have such a hard time rooting for the man. There are 52 other players on the active roster you can feel just fine about supporting.— jpk- Chicken fights? We fought the roosters outside the kabutz all the time. Mi Imah made the best brodo di pollo out of some of those chickens...oy.— Alphonso Kravitz
- NY media is getting desperate. Now they hope for that so called..jinx!!!— sarah89
- Let's jsut hope that the next cover says .....Michael wins a Lombardi Trophy for the EAGLES.....and the story chronicles his on the field successes and his growth as a man...— nuggett
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- You know who i don't want on my team? Slobodan Milosevic, Drop it with the whole dog thing already. It's so boring that I'm about to overdose on my yawns. The guy went to jail for a year and a half; not a celebrity country club prison, he went to Leavenworth. Donte Stallworth killed a man while he was driving drunk and got a slap on the wrist. Ray Lewis practically murdered somebody and was let off because he paid off the family and everybody forgets becasue he is all "praise the lord" every other sentence. We get it Ray-you dig Jesus. But seriously, you clowns need some new material.— vilesmiles
- Great, now he's going to get hurt in the first quarter because of the stupid SI cover jinx. Can't they just leave Philly alone for a change.— rob808pf
- jtj06 - Very good post. In 2009 I felt that Vick was just saying what he was supposed to and doing what he was told to do without being a truly changed man. Now, it's hard to tell. Maybe the shooting really did change him but I agree that it's very hard to tell in the context of the NFL.— s
- Again Charles Barkley told us we are not role models. They are athletes pure and simple. Does it excuse actions of course not but do you want to see a Nun throw a pass ???— batmann1
I rarely hear the uproar from people about rooster fighting in the Hispanic culture- how come?- Liberals think people from the Midwest are the "unwashed masses" so what is the diffference between that judgement and saying Mike Vick came from a different culture down south?
- The guy served 18 Months in a Federal Prison!!!!
He did his time. What more do you want from Vick?
I have had dogs my whole life- I think dog fighting bis appalling and cruel, but, what happened to forgiveness? All the "Jesus freaks" all probably the ones calling for Vick's head. He comes from a different backround/ upbringing than you white suburban, sheltered people. - Isn't it interesting that we were fed a constant diet of Mike Vick the changed man story throughout 2009 and beyond. He was going through the motions, saying the right things. His teammates gave him the Ed Block courage award. His mindless fans were all over his critics as "haters." Yet his OWN MOTHER wanted to disown him and according to the article it was then, last summer, that he decided to "get myself away from this madness." So, that's the most recent conversion, more recent than the jail house one, from a guy whose 'second chance' came years before he went to jail. When he can keep himself out of trouble for 2 years- something that seems fairly easy for the rest of the world- and instead of being surrounded by NFL PR hacks and enablers, he is next to his parents, who say that he has become a better man, then I will listen. It's funny how his hard working parents weren't forced into torturing animals or even the basic dog fighting scene by their culture. I guess that would be a surprise to limousine liberal Lurie.— jtj06
- Good stuff people. Keep it coming...— Grazman
- i hope the "eaglesbleedmoney" cuz they are gonna need it to sign ron mexico. wait till the dude gets his check. can't wait to see what's in store for his 31st b-day party... the king has spoken.— iamkingdunlap
- What does MV tell us about ourselves? A lot. I've heard some MV call what he did "murder" - so it tells me some of us think dogs are people. And on the other side, I've listened to people defend dogfighting as a "southern" thing or a "black" thing - so it tells me some people think cultural diversity excuses savagery. And finally, when people excuse MV through comparisons with Kolb and the pigs, it tells me some of us make no distinction between whats legal and whats illegal.— dragoon6
- imaqueendunlap is just bill20. LOL, mad and hurt that his wishes didnt come true. Poor fella, I guess his God has disowned him. Sorry queenie, looks like the man above favors Vick.— mlr710
- iamkingdunlap - if you have such a problem with our legal system, why don't you go move to Iraq or something? Maybe your views will fit in there nicely...— EaglesBleedMoney
- @iamkingdunlap - "get off your moral highhorse....its really funny that when anyone says anything objective about....vick... [you get your] thong in a twist." EXACTLY what I'm saying. Enjoy your own self righteousness.— micheleqj
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- "iamkingdunlap," I'm curious, have you even read the article yet to see what they mean by "What Michael Vick Tells Us About Ourselves" or are you basing your entire statement on the title of the article. I would think you would wait until the article comes out before inserting foot in mouth.
— John663 - @micheleqj - get off your moral highhorse you ron mexico apologist. its really funny that when anyone says anything objective about precious vick how everyone gets their collective thongs in a twist. wait till he signs his deal thats all i gotta say. the king has spoken.— iamkingdunlap
well, the fact of the matter is alot of these athletes are not model citiziens. from taking money in college, to cheatin on thier wives with younger women, steroids, the list goes on. If you only knew the dirt on half these players. Vick just happened to get caught. Also hundreds, maybe even thousands of dogs are killed and eaten every day in China. I think thats much more a problem then the half dozen dogs Vick killed like 5 years ago.- Good morning, folks. The reality here is this: If you eat meat in this country, 90% chance you are eating animals that have been through an inhumane factory farming system which tortures animals which have personalities and are proven as smart if not more so than dogs. So, unless you're vegetarian and protesting factory farming, kindly stfu with your self-righteous bs. And unless you're also mad that KK is on the team, whose killing of hogs with the intelligence of 3 year olds for fun, up close and personal, has been well documented, again quiet up and re-evaluate.
Vick's past actions were horrible and he went to jail for it. Do you believe in the US justice system or are you un-american? lol Do you believe in forgiveness or are you un-Christian? lol Again, do you eat animals who have been treated inhumanely and tortured? Every day? Are you doing anything about that? Ok then.
— micheleqj - @mebphila - and what exactly did I say that isn't true or going to be true? i would love to live in the fantasy land that you all do, the one where vick is a model citizen, but someone has to tell it like it is. the king has spoken.— iamkingdunlap
- would somebody please call off the dogs?— stoky
- Iamkingdunlap: I think the only guarantee is you ( and a multitude of other Internet trolls) will say something completely moronic and imbecilic. Congrats, you didn't disappoint.— mebphila
- What does Michael Vick tell us about ourselves? hmm... that we can go to prison for beating dogs and still land 40 mil in guarantees. ron mexico 4 prez— iamkingdunlap
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Sheil Kapadia is in his fifth season writing about the Eagles and the NFL for philly.com. His earliest
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