Brotherly Love or Hate?

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

What does QB Michael Vick have to look forward to now that he's a member of the Philadelphia Eagles?

Here is a list of what the City of Brotherly Love has in store for this controversial athlete, who has turned the animal world upside down after serving prison time for bankrolling a dogfighting operation.

1) Eleven years ago, the Philadelphia fans booed the selection of QB Donovan McNabb. I wonder how many busts were drafted in that time frame with the most notable one being Ryan Leaf of the San Diego Chargers.

2) Wednesday night, Pedro Martinez won his debut 12-5 over the Chicago Cubs for the World Series Champions Phillies. I'd hate to see how he reacts when he loses some games especially against the hated New York Mets and gets booed all the way to Alaska.

3) Philadelphia fans are known for booing Santa Claus.

4) The Philadelphia Flyers won two Stanley Cups in 1973-74 and 1974-75 and were known as The Broad Street Bullies. Their rough house style of play carried over to a January 11, 1976 game against the Soviet Red Army team that walked off the ice in what was billed as "Conflict On Ice."

5) Old Veterans Stadium had jail cells in the building for fans that deserved to be disciplined because of bad behavior.

6) Legendary Phillies Hall of Fame Pitcher Steve Carlton refused to talk to the local media for many years.

7) Vick will be playing for a compassionate coach in Andy Reid, who believes in giving second chances. Reid has had to deal with the legal difficulties of his sons who were involved in drugs.

8) Vick will be teammates with the classy McNabb, who tolerated Terrell Owens turbulent behavior. McNabb played a huge role in recruiting Vick.

9) Former Detroit Lions Coach Marty Mornhinweg (5-27) has rebounded well with the Eagles and has become an offensive genius as offensive coordinator for Reid.

10) Vick will go from one bird nickname to another leaving the Falcons and starting over with the Eagles. Both teams will face each other on December 6, 2009 at the Georgia Dome and you can bet that Atlanta Owner Arthur Blank can take this sellout and media circus to the bank.

Although the headlines in Philadelphia are reading "Hide Your Dogs" & What Are You Thinking?"-----The Eagles front office knew what they were thinking and believe that Vick will be an impact player once the right role is created for him. The Eagles know that Vick holds the NFL record for rushing yards for a quarterback with 1,039 and opposing defensive coaches will be loading up on Tylenol.

If you're in the Stock Market, Tylenol would be a great investment.

The addition of Vick gives the Eagles another athletic quarterback if McNabb does get injured. In recent years, McNabb's body has taken a pounding with injuries and the team won't miss a beat with his mobility.

If the Vick experiment does work, Philadelphia will be singing Kate Smith's God Bless America.

In the meantime, the NFL's version of One Life To Live or General Hospital will add a new soap opera to the lineup titled "Will Michael Vick Take Advantage Of His Second Chance?"

Stay tuned and good luck Michael because you're playing in front of the most demanding, negative & positive fans who are passionate about their sports teams and will love you if you succeed or blast you if you don't. Even though the reaction appears to be 90-95% negative at the moment, that could change with the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl 44 in Miami.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at Scottsports33@aol.com