Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is pushing for his old team to beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
Michael Vick never went to the Super Bowl as the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. But he is rooting for the Falcons to win their first championship.In a letter posted on The Players’ Tribune, Vick said that he’s been rooting for his former squad all year long. There isn’t another person who wants the Falcons to win the Super Bowl more than Vick.
“A lot of people are surprised when they find out how passionately I’ve been rooting for the Falcons this season,” Vick wrote in his letter. “They assume that there is some sort of tension between us, some level of bitterness. And even when I tell people that it isn’t the case…I have a feeling they may not exactly believe me.”
The former speedster played for the Philadelphia Eagles for five years and had backup stints with the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers. But his longest tenure was in Atlanta, where he played for six seasons. With Vick at the helm, the Falcons had two playoff appearances, even making it to the NFC championship game once.
In 2007, Vick was sentenced to prison for his hand in running a dog-fighting operation. Even when he was actually locked up, he still thought he would be able to rejoin the Dirty Birds.
“I wanted to lead the Falcons to the Super Bowl,” Vick said. “In my mind, even from a prison cell, there was at least one thing I hadn’t lost: I was still the Atlanta Falcons quarterback.”
According to the Associated Press, the former quarterback learned while in prison that the Falcons had drafted Matt Ryan and given him the quarterback job. He said that Ryan should be the NFL’s MVP and predicted the Falcons would beat the New England Patriots 23-16 this Sunday.
Vick said that he would be nothing without the Falcons and that’s why he’s rooting for them in the biggest of all games.
