Gallery: Vick's first practice
Video: Vick takes the fieldBy now people know the new lyrics to the Eagles' fight song:
"Die, Fido, die . . ."
Or they've read other updated versions. Sarcastic verses are popping up on the Internet. And those are among the milder responses to the home team's signing of perhaps the most vilified athlete in pro football, Michael Vick.
"Now he represents Philadelphia. It's disgusting," said Jackie Cioci, 18, who joined a protest yesterday outside the NovaCare Complex, where Vick was speaking to reporters.
But for every fan like Cioci, there was another who said Vick had paid the penalty and served his time - and more, that he could help the Eagles win.
"That was the best move the Eagles ever made, one of the best," said Leroy Emerson of North Philadelphia.
The news that began to trickle out Thursday night, as the Eagles were losing an exhibition game to the New England Patriots at Lincoln Financial Field, had by yesterday become the talk of the town, even if no one could quite believe it at first.
Michael Vick, the dog-killer? An Eagle?
The signing of the disgraced quarterback, fresh from federal custody, dominated discussion on sports radio, television news and Internet sites, not to mention offices and taverns. By last night, more than 33,000 people had voted in a Philly.com poll, with the results split: Fifty-one percent opposed the signing, 49 percent supported it.
"When I heard it," said Bill Fey, who is active in Gloucester County politics, "I nearly drove off the road. . . . How can you sign a guy who hangs dogs from a tree and shocks them?"
Vick, 29, was the first pick in the 2001 NFL draft, chosen by the Atlanta Falcons. He served 18 months of a 23-month federal sentence after being convicted of running a dog-fighting operation in Newport News, Va.
Vick was released from federal custody on July 20 and quickly sought to renew his NFL career. Hardly anyone suspected it would be with the Eagles, which helped drive the reaction.
President Obama's difficulty in selling health-care changes? A tripling of the death toll in the Taiwan typhoon? Sorry, not news. Not in this town. Not yesterday.
"Am I going to buy his jersey? As soon as they make them, yes, I am. You can bet on that," said James Cutts, 72, of South Philadelphia.
He was interviewed at a Modell's sporting goods store on Chestnut Street in Center City, where staffers said they expected to have Vick jerseys on shelves Monday. Other area Modell's stores hope to offer them today, and the NFL's on-line merchandizing arm, theNFLshop.com, already had replica jerseys on sale for $79.99 yesterday.
"I think we should let bygones be bygones and start afresh," said Shantae Thorpe of Mount Airy, who said people needed to move beyond Vick's past.
On Twitter, the Vick signing ranked among the day's top three topics, and the tweets were overwhelmingly negative. Some people called for boycotts of the Eagles and their corporate partners.
The eBay auction site offered Michael Vick chew toys for dogs, along with T-shirts that say "Lock up your dogs Philly" and "Forgive Vick."
Some Eagles fans dumped their tickets. "If the Eagles are going to sell out, then so am I," read a sales listing on Craigslist.
But far more people begged for tickets. "If you're disappointed in the Eagles for picking up Michael Vick, I will gladly take your tickets off of your hands," one wrote.
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