Michael Vick Rallies Fall Short; Future Controversies Will Be on the Field

I live a Hail Mary's toss from the Philadelphia bridges, so when word came down that the NAACP was conducting a rally at last night's Eagles pre-season game – to ostentatiously protest the animal rights groups who planned to protest Michael Vick's first game in a Birds uniform – the tiny journalist sitting on my shoulder told me it was my responsibility to go and cover the event.

Good thing the tiny sports fan on the other shoulder smacked some common sense into me. Like most PR stunts, the NAACP event, led by J. Whyatt Mondesire, fell far short of an actual rally. It was more like a smattering ... a handful. If they were Jewish men, not black men, there may not have been enough to qualify for a minyan.

But, according to John Gonzalez of the Philadelphia Inquirer, there were plenty of media people, and their tiny journalists were told by their editors to get out there and find a story. Even if, per Gonzo, the story was the fact that there really was no story. You really should click the link to read Gonzo's full take on the situation, as the tiny journalist on my shoulder has told me it'd be wrong to blockquote his entire column, good as it is. Here are some highlights of the 'rally.'

Mondesire said the NAACP was joined by the Black Clergy of Philadelphia, and that both organizations want people to understand "Mike has a lot of support." When I asked Mondesire how many people were part of his protest, he quickly glanced around and said "30." I'm not very good at math, but I counted about 15 people with him - tops. But, hey, if you want to call it 30, go nuts. I'm still not sure how that qualifies as "a lot" of support for No. 7. And it certainly wasn't the "massive protest" that Mondesire promised ESPN.com the day before.

The anti-Vick crusade was similarly emaciated. Three women holding a "murderers are not role models" sign were swarmed by a pack of salivating reporters, as was a nice lady trying to raise money to rescue dalmatians in Southwest Virginia. Someone asked her if she hated Vick, and she said no. She thought he deserved a second chance. She was just there for her charity. But she had a piece of poster board with dogs on it, and that was good enough for us.

While the Eagles did a masterful job of diffusing any mass protest from animal rights groups, there were reports of a few fans who protested individually, holding signs like "My dog hates the Philadelphia Eagles" as cars passed them on the way to the Linc.

Mondesire's biggest claim, when speaking to Mike Missanelli on 950ESPN Radio about the NAACP rally, was that, "the overall thrust was, we were not going to let Michael Vick dress up in his first Eagles uniform and go out and be accosted – in the spiritual sense of that word – and the public not know that he had defenders as well."

But once inside the stadium, there were no boos at all for Vick. White, black, whatever. The Eagles fans want Vick to play well. In fact, on the second play from scrimmage, as Vick trotted onto the field for the first time in more than two years, the embattled quarterback got a standing ovation from those in the late-arriving crowd who had just begun to find their seats.

"The fans have spoken," proclaimed Herman Edwards on the Eagles Television Network telecast. And even though most of the seats were still empty during Vick's first few plays, the fans did genuinely seem excited, cheering whenever he stepped on the field and wildly clapping when Vick split out left as a decoy, thinking he might go out and catch a pass. It seems the fans were still in preseason mode as well.

And that's it. No real rallies against Vick, as the Eagles smartly brokered some deal with the animal rights groups before the game. And no real rally for Vick, either, as the on-again-off-again-on-again announcements by the NAACP in the days leading up to the game did more to confuse and diffuse than anything the Eagles could have done.

After Donovan McNabb's somewhat inconsistent play, including first-and-goal pass behind the line of scrimmage that careened off his own running back's helmet and was picked up by the Jags for a 92-yard touchdown, the great Vick debate went from 'should he be allowed to play' to 'when can he start?' Vick looked a bit rusty in his few snaps, but did fire off a laser to Hank Baskett that reminded fans what kind of player he was, and what Eagles fans hope he can be.

That's Philadelphia for you. Andy Reid was right -- it didn't even take one preseason game for this Vick controversy to blow over. Sure there will be small protests throughout the year, but the only controversy involving Michael Vick from this point forward will be a quarterback one, not a moral one.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.