WOULD RATHER BE IN CLEARWATER
From Daily News staff writer David Gambacorta ...
In the early evening around Lincoln Financial Field, the crowds were starting to gather but the expected showdown between animal right advocates and supporters of Michael Vick had yet to fully materialize.
A small protest group of eight people was near the subway station at Broad and Pattison, headed up by Peter Bentivegna, of Media, and with Lucky, his family’s dog that was rescued from a shelter.
“Ninety percent of the people we’ve encountered are in support of Michael Vick,” said Bentivegna, who said the group was an informal collection who decided to come out as individuals, not part of formal organization.
As he spoke a motorist slowed down and yelled from the window, “Vick is great.”
Asked why he was there, Bentivegna said, “I hope people will get active in rescuing or adopting dogs.”
Another woman held up a sign that had the words, “Ethics over athletics.”
Closer to the stadium, three teenagers held up a white sign with picture of pit bull and the phrase, “Murderers are not role models.” They were surrounded by media and a group that identified itself as part of the National Exodus Council.
Ronald Armour, a member, said they were out in support of Vick because “PETA is using distortion.”
“What I want to ask PETA is where we were you when they were sicking dogs on people in the civil right movements.”
Philadelphia NAACP President J. Whyatt Mondesire arrived about an hour before game with about a dozen people.
"We’re here to show support for Michael Vick," Mondesire said.
He said the Eagles have told the NAACP that it will get the chance to meet with Vick in the near future. He said the group hoped to get Vick involved in some community minded activities.
He also spoke of a "one-sided dialogue" on talk radio that was tinged with racism.
One thing that is apparent among the fans is that many people have purchased Michael Vick jerseys.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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