Rankin Blank

iwouldn’twearthattoadogfight
So, Michael Vick was indicted for dogfighting. Maybe we can get rid of him and move the program forward.
The Falcons have been an embarrassment to the city ever since they were hatched in 1966. As an oldtimer, I remember the excitement of that first season, and the disappointment that quickly set it. In the forty odd years since then, the "dirty birds" have never but back to back winning seasons together. A football mad city has been deprived of it's birthright.
Once, a christmas shopper at Lenox Square left two Falcons tickets under his windshield wipers. When he got back to his car, there were four.
In the late eighties, Falcons owner Jed Clampett threatened to move the team if he couldn't get a new stadium. The first time the Atlanta City Council voted on the plan, the answer was no. A second vote a week later saw enough councilpeople changing their votes to get the Dome built. A hotel motel tax was enacted to pay for it.
Jacksonville soon got an expansion franchise, and is no longer on the market.
And so we go into the nineties. Deion Sanders and Jerry Glanville came and went. Coach Dan Reeves/Milburn Drysdale got the birds into the super bowl, but a defensive player was arrested the night before the game for soliciting a hooker. The game turned into a retirement party for John Elway.
By this time original owner Rankin Smith/Jed Clampett had moved on to that cement pond in the sky, and the "Five Smiths" put the team on the market. Home Depot big wheel Arthur Blank bought the team, and decided not to make orange aprons the new uniform.
There was great hope when Mr. Blank bought the team. At some point the Birds drafted Michael Vick, who created great excitement in his first season.
Now, Mr. Vick is an exciting player, no doubt. The marketing oriented Mr. Blank saw a national brand he could put on display, and offered Mr. Vick a nine figure contract.
Now we are stuck with the idiot. Unless Mr. Vick's contract has some clause about indictments/convictions, even if we don't play him, we still own him a pile of money. No way he can be traded, unless an owner even dumber than Rankin Blank wants a "hot dog" quarterback. Maybe Rush Limbaugh will buy a team.
After he got the big bucks, his motivation went bye bye. His passing and leadership qualities do not keep pace with his running, and one day soon he will slow down a step and not be good for running.
This all makes Mr. Blank's business smarts look less and less impressive. While side kick Bernie Marcus has built a highly successful aquarium (and no doubt gotten some nifty tax breaks in the process), Rankin Blank has given the bank to a dog fighter in the tank.
The best thing that could happen to the Falcons would be to ditch Vick, and build a boring team that wins games with defense and hard hitting. Mr. Vick seems to want to show his bite in Virginia.