Why? Perhaps it is because of this nation's history. We went from being a blip on the world's radar screen to being a world power in 250 years. We experienced the Great Depression, arguably this nation's lowest point, and fought back to become even stronger. We experienced 9/11. Look no further than the famous words of Vince Lombardi: "It isn't about whether you got knocked down, it's about whether you get back up."
Some of the movies we love, movies that have become ingrained in our minds, deal with that simple theme. Look at Rocky. Have you ever met someone that doesn't like Rocky? Rocky is about a guy who comes from nothing and all of a sudden becomes a champion boxer. To continue with Sylvester Stallone movies, another example is Rambo. John Rambo is a Vietnam vet who comes back to America to realize he is an outcast. He essentially is a "bad guy" who blows up a whole town because they arrested him for being a drifter. It's odd, but you are rooting for Rambo the entire time. There are more examples of movies like this. You've got Scarface, where the main character is a coke snorting crazy Cuban drug lord, yet at the end of the movie when his house is infiltrated by Colombians who have been hired to kill him you are cheering for him to somehow survive the ambush.
It should be no surprise that we do the same exact thing with athletes. Most of America believes Pete Rose should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He gambled on baseball and denied it for years, was banned from the game, and for a long time we were angry with him. But America has moved on. The same goes for Ron Artest, who in 2004 during a basketball game between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons went into the crowd and started a brawl between the fans and the teams. Now he is a Laker and is fresh off a championship. America has moved on. Miami Dolphin fans were enraged when Ricky Williams quit the team to smoke dope, but now he is a fan favorite. He has been forgiven.
It happens over and over again. A player hits rock bottom, but over time you want to see him succeed again. Most recently we have dealt with athletes like Tiger Woods, who we thought was squeaky clean for all these years and now we see he has been having extra-marital affairs for years with several women. Tiger Woods will eventually win a major tournament and be back in America's good graces in no time.
This brings me to Michael Vick. In 2005, Michael Vick was the NFL's highest paid player. He was 24 years old at that point and had just signed a 10 year contract with the Atlanta Falcons. We all know what happened next. The dog fighting scandal. The gambling. The tax evasion. Michael Vick went from being one of the NFL's most popular players to a convict. Fast forward to September 2010. Michael Vick is now the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. He gets his shot at redemption.
