Vick's march on Atlanta

The drumbeat already has begun. It will be deafening by Sunday.

Michael Vick is going back to Atlanta.

It isn't unusual for a professional athlete to return as an opponent to the place where he made his original mark. In just the last couple of years, Philadelphia fans have welcomed Donovan McNabb, Allen Iverson, Brian Dawkins, Pat Burrell, Jayson Werth, and Simon Gagne, to name just a handful. But this - Vick returning as a superstar quarterback to face the franchise he honored and dishonored over seven tumultuous years - will be a whole different kind of story.

Mostly that is because Vick's comeback from the abyss continues to compel and to intrigue and, yes, to polarize. But it's also because of the intensity of the relationship between cities and franchise quarterbacks. Atlanta fans were deeply passionate about Vick, both for and against, long before his legal troubles began. Just as Eagles fans were and are deeply passionate about McNabb.

One reason Sunday's matchup at the Georgia Dome is remarkable is that both teams have pulled the rare trick of moving successfully from one franchise QB to another without a long layover in Loserville. Vick's sudden departure from Atlanta wasn't without consequence - head coach Jim Mora and his assistants lost their jobs - but the selection of Matt Ryan in the 2008 draft allowed for a relatively quick rebound.

Despite their 30-12 loss in Chicago on opening day, the Falcons still are considered a legitimate contender in the NFC. Ryan, a Philly kid who went to Penn Charter, is one of the game's bright young stars.

The Eagles took an unmapped route, but also managed a seamless transition from McNabb to Kevin Kolb to Vick without so much as a losing season. That is not easy to do. Even Green Bay's much-praised succession plan, with Aaron Rodgers taking over for Brett Favre, required one step-back, 6-10 season. Two years after that, the Packers won the Super Bowl.

The Miami Dolphins never really did find that replacement for Dan Marino, who retired after the 1999 season. And the Denver Broncos have had a lot of men play the position, but they haven't had a Quarterback since John Elway stepped away a year later. Plenty of teams - the Bears, the Chiefs, the Raiders - never seem to find that franchise QB.

How'd you like to be in your third season cheering for Chad Henne?

So it makes sense that fans become so emotionally invested when their team does find and develop a legitimate, long-term fixture at the position.

Look at McNabb. His abysmal performance Sunday for Minnesota, his second team since his Eagles career ended 17 months ago, did not go unnoticed in Philadelphia. Some fans gloated at his numbers - 7 for 15 for 39 yards - certain their deeply held opinions of McNabb were validated. Some fans were saddened to see such a desultory fate for a guy who played hurt and played well for a decade here. Others wondered whether his heart just isn't in the game anymore, or if he aged overnight, or if he's just found himself in bad situations in Washington and now Minnesota.

It was a little like hearing Iverson was going to play in Turkey because no one in the NBA wanted him anymore.

But even if it's sad to see former heroes fade away in other uniforms, that has to be easier than what Falcons fans are going through with Vick. They had every reason to think they had their guy, their Super Bowl-worthy Quarterback, while Vick was stunning Favre's Packers in a playoff game at Lambeau Field and going to the NFC championship game against the Eagles in 2004.

There was the decline before the fall. Vick's admittedly poor work habits and a few unseemly incidents combined with two disappointing seasons to divide Atlanta fans even before the dogfighting compound was raided. There were those who believed (and surely believe still) that he was a victim of a poor supporting cast and those who felt (and feel) just as certain that he was simply a talented athlete unwilling to commit to working hard enough at his craft.

When Vick returned in an Eagles uniform two seasons ago, he was a relatively harmless backup. With Ryan injured, the Eagles beat the Falcons so handily that the fans were chanting to see Vick play. Andy Reid obliged them. It was the highlight of the day for Atlanta fans.

Now Vick is, once again, among the most dangerous and thrilling players in the league. He has applied himself to the game in a way he never did in Atlanta. He has a very real chance of winning a Super Bowl after all.

That would sting if Vick were a safety or a defensive end. He's not. He's a Quarterback, and that makes it personal.