Point: Vick is Overrated
Atlanta is 3-0 for only the third time in their 39-year history. I am positive everyone knows why. It's because of Mike Vick, of course. You see it everywhere. SportsCenter, ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated, video game covers, ads on buses, water coolers, even on the Internet. Everywhere in the sports world, Mike Vick is hailed as the most exciting player in sports.
I realize he's done some cool things, like being the first African-American quarterback to be drafted No. 1 overall in the NFL draft. Then again, Kobe Bryant has done some cool things, too (and to those of you who think like that, I'm not talking about a girl in Colorado and now "some girl named Michelle in Virginia"), but that doesn't make him the best active basketball player.
The fact of the matter is that SportsFan Magazine brought me in for my no holds-barred opinion, and early on, I have delivered. I'm just going to tell it like it is; I'm not going to sugarcoat it for anyone. I finally realized why Mike Vick is such a big name. Here is my official theory.
I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that black quarterbacks do well. There is a little hope invested in Vick, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried his team.
This is something I have believed for quite a while; I don't mean it to hurt anybody. It's just an opinion. Or is it?
Let's look at some hard facts, since an argument is only good if it's backed up with something Pete Rose and I know best, "the truth."
Football's most exciting player beat the NFL's most boring and sub-par team, the Arizona Cardinals, by three points ... 6-3. One of the biggest offensive weapons in football was slightly more effective than DL Deion was on Sunday (Old man Sanders was out with an injury, but can you blame him, its tough playing five plays a game). Heck, the part about the defense carrying them is even what some guys on the team are saying.
"There's going to be games where the defense carries us," Falcons RB Warrick Dunn said. "They won this game."
Let's look at his individual performance. The most elusive player in sports history (who some say is more elusive than weapons of mass destruction in Iraq) was sacked five times by an Arizona defense that couldn't sack a bag of groceries. He even contributed in a solid two fumbles and an interception.
Vick also doesn't think about the team first. In USA Today's recap of the Arizona game, they have an interesting quote that backs me up on this.
"I was just thinking about getting the first down and getting out of bounds," Vick said.
Right there, in front of all of our eyes, all Vick cares about is himself and getting out of bounds before he gets hit. What a tough guy. He doesn't care about his family first, or his teammates, and he even doesn't care about the fans. And I did not take that quote out of context at all. For those readers who read my stuff on a consistent basis (a shout out to all the long-term readers, that means you D.J., Amanda, and ... well, that didn't take long), you know I am always 100% serious, just like I am now.
I'm sure if Vick reads this column; his response would be along the lines of:
"He said what he said. I'm sure he's not the only one that feels that way, but it's somewhat shocking to actually hear that on a national website. An apology would do no good because he obviously thought about it before he said it."
Sorry, Mike, but a fact is a fact. And just like Thad Matta, Pete Rose, and Bill Clinton, I always speak the truth.
Counterpoint: Mark is Racist
By: Mark "Don't Confuse Me With Jason Whitlock" Chalifoux
Mark Chalifoux is a racist because he thinks Mike Vick is overrated. You are racist if you don't like Mike Vick. You are racist if you did not cheer for the U.S. Men's Olympic Team. You are racist if you don't like Barry Bonds. You are racist if you dislike Terrell Owens. You are racist if you like the icing of the Oreo better than the cookie. You are racist if you like daytime better than nighttime. Everyone and everything is racist.
Conclusion
There you have it, two well thought-out and well-constructed arguments. So who is right? Like always, it's me.
Mark Chalifoux is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Tuesday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Mark at [email protected].
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