Dec. 6, 2009: Vick vs. the Falcons – are we ready for this?
MIchael Vick has a team, and that team will come to the Georgia Dome on Dec. 6. We in Atlanta have seen some momentous days in our time as a big-league city — we’ve played host to the Super Bowl, to the World Series, to All-Star games in three different sports, to Muhammad Ali’s return-from-exile fight against Jerry Quarry, even to an Olympiad — but we won’t have seen anything quite like this.
The saga that has in many ways divided our city will be coming to our city for one last act. The man who packed the Dome will return on an opponent’s roster. Nothing says Vick will actually play that day — he’s being signed to back up the majorly successful Donovan McNabb — but what if he does?
Will there be a Deion Sanders “This Is My House” Moment? Will Vick take a Jeff George victory lap if the Eagles win? Will Vick jerseys outnumber those shirts bearing the names and numbers of current Falcons that day in the Dome?
We cannot know the answers to any of this today, same as we couldn’t know Michael Vick would ever be an ex-Falcon. On Dec. 23, 2004, he signed the $130 million contract that was supposed to have made him a Falcon for life. On Dec. 31, 2006, he played his final game for the franchise.
And we Atlantans know all too well how the past three years have been. The Falcons hit bottom and are climbing again. Vick went to prison and is starting anew. And some of us here have turned this into a zero-sum game: If you’re for the Falcons you can no longer be for Vick, and vice versa. It is that peculiar dynamic that will be the backdrop on Dec. 6. It is that peculiar dynamic that makes some among us wonder if the massive Dome is a big enough place to hold all the emotions that will be present therein.
Michael Vick was the biggest professional athlete in this city’s history — bigger than Dominique, bigger than Chipper, bigger even than Hammerin’ Hank. Now he again works in the NFL, works for another team. And that team is on the 2009 Falcons’ schedule, and that game is here. We knew this would have to come at some point, but we couldn’t know it would arrive so soon.
And now, from the distance of August, we ask: Will we be able to handle it? Will there be fights in the stands? Fights on the field? (When last the Eagles played here, on a Monday night in September 2005, there was a brawl in pregame warmups.) Will the fabric of Atlanta be rent by a single football game on that one given Sunday?
And the guess, again from a faraway perch, is that we’ll all be just fine. The crowd will be alive but not overwrought. The teams will play a game and someone will win and Vick may or may not participate, and then we’ll all get along with the rest of our lives. It’s what people do. It’s what we Atlantans have come to do rather well.
Loading ...We’re supposed to be the city too busy to hate, remember? We can also be the city big enough to root for both: We can wish Michael Vick well and still support the hometown team.
And it’s not as if we haven’t been through Big Events. Indeed, the day before the Eagles play the Falcons, there’ll be another event in the Dome that figures to stir some passions — the SEC championship. And you know what will happen after that titanic tilt? The Dome crews will sweep the aisles and redo the field markings and get ready for another game the next day.
Because, at bottom, that’s all these are. Just games.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
167 comments Add your comment
Sovereign1
August 14th, 2009
1:56 pm
Hey, for you “HATERS” that didn’t except the apology that Mike gave both you and Arthor Blank before he went to prison(while still a Falcon), your day will come. As both Fran Tarkenton and Jamie Dukes stated “there is no apology that people who flat out hate Vick will except”. The “MACHINE” that Philly has put together now I have to give credit to the HATERS for. This much hate has put together a MACHINE THAT THE WHOLE LEAGUE NOW HAS TO RECKON WITH AND “OH WHAT A MACHINE”. COME ON DECEMBER!!!!!!!!,DO YOUR THING MIKE & PHILLY!!!!!!!!!!!
Saint Simons
August 14th, 2009
2:04 pm
Bum
Krunk
August 14th, 2009
2:10 pm
Dog haters. F Vick, and the F the Eagles.
Tee
August 14th, 2009
2:18 pm
90% of you hypcrits don’t give a d@mn about pitbulls…you’ve been hating Mike Vick since 2001….You reep what you sow!!
SWAT Native
August 14th, 2009
2:41 pm
Mark,
December 6 will be huge, but could you imagine an NFC Championship Game in the Georgia Dome with the Eagles and Michael Vick?
falconexile
August 14th, 2009
2:58 pm
Its a sad week for the National Felons League
ThaMan
August 14th, 2009
3:20 pm
Freaknik – now that’s something to be proud of. Thug Life is just Falcons Sorry with the correct name. You are the kind that allow haters to stereotype blacks as being uneducated buffoons. You are a real credit to your race.
SARA
August 14th, 2009
3:36 pm
PETA HATERS stay home on December 6 — You will be outnumbered!!! THAMAN — you have a nasty mind!! grow up!!!
SARA
August 14th, 2009
3:37 pm
Sorry THAMAN — it KRUNK with the nasty mind!!!
FalconsRule
August 14th, 2009
3:56 pm
MATTY ICE, MATTY ICE, MATTY ICE!!!!! That’s my QB. I don’t care about any other thug on another thug team from Philly!
Matty Ice, Gonzolez, Turner, Norwood, and White are 1 billion times the football players than Prick, I mean Vick, will ever be.
I will boooo the hell out of him for taking a dump on my team. He doesn’t deserve anything. Maybe he’ll break his leg.
FalconsRule
August 14th, 2009
3:58 pm
What most of you all fail to realize is that Vick may not play for 8 games. You all also fail to realize he is not going to just be able to jump into a team and contribute. If the Phillies make it to the playoff’s it won’t be because of Vick at all.
Hi Haters!!
August 14th, 2009
10:40 pm
Good Article Bradley. Now that is very good unbais reporting.
Hi Haters!!
August 14th, 2009
10:59 pm
Hey Falconsrule, here is a bit of advise for you……. First of all learn how to spell, just say no, wash your hands after you use the bathroom, and stop blowing your nose while others are eating.
The Falcons suck and if you wonder why Ryan is struggling in 09 just know that teams have game film on him now. Stop Turner and that will take care of Ryan. Vick will play just as soon as he can. He won’t only be in the wildcat formation but he will be on the field and have plenty of attempts to score. Like Andy Reid, I won’t give up the details but it will come soon enough in how the Eagles plan to use him to win the Super Bowl in 2009. The Falcons meanwhile had one good season before Vick but didn’t really become a national favorite until Vick put on a Falcons Uniform. Get ready to a steady decline Falcons fans. Fans like the idiot “falconsrule” deserve it!!!! By the way, the correct spelling is “Gonzalez” numbnuts! You can thank my KC Chiefs for Tony G. but that’s fine, I’m an Eagles Fan Now !!!!
Jackie
August 16th, 2009
9:34 pm
Falcons have sold out that game. Hhhmmmmm….Vick haters, I guess you would conclude that there are a lot of dumb fans in Atlanta huh? Guess what, get used to it….the NFL right now is about filling seats and MV7 does just that. Besides, you wouldn’t be crying if this was a different QB. Such dummies.
stacksondeckatl
August 16th, 2009
11:18 pm
I don’t understand why people are saying he destroyed the city and the team. Maybe we forgot with all of the winning with Vick. Before Vick came to Atlanta we were crap. Not just in football everything. The Braves won 11 division titles and only won 1 World Series. The Hawks before two years ago had not made the playoffs in 10 years. Our WNBA time lost 17 straight games before ending the season 4-30. The thrashers and the Force seem to learn how to tank the end of the season from the braves. The falcons first super bowl was in 99 and Vick was drafted two years later which goes to show how great a franchise we have. Vick made people pay attention to Atlanta, A city with low self esteem when it comes to sports. So if he did anything he definitely didn’t do anything in destroying the groud zero of sports which is Atlanta.
Ex-Dome GM on Vick's return: 'I don't think it'll be a big thing' | Mark Bradley
December 3rd, 2009
11:08 am
[...] Eagle now, and the Eagles play here Sunday. From the moment Vick signed with Philly back in August, we Atlantans have had the game circled. Will the crowd be for a visiting player or the home team? Will there be more Vick shirts than [...]
nitta
December 5th, 2009
2:14 am
Its ok that dog fighting is a sport for some people, but the minute he flick his finger and not show up its all over for him, as long as he’s a puppet everybodys good. I say get over it keep your boos and enjoy a good game. The dome was empty you can buy tickets cheap and scalpers was not on the streets before Vick hyped us back up. He played and filled seats and sold out tickets. Stop hating adopt a dog and move on let the man play the sport he loves. You can still like Vick without the Falcons and still like the Falcons. That’s why the city is the way it is were ignorant for the wrong reasons. Real sport fans come to watch a good game not a player. I pray the eagles win and Mike get his shine back, let him move on. Go Falcons, Go Mike Vick. Its 2009 not 1949 grow up and enjoy the game. I know I will.