This week the major corporate advertisers were just not present and a second or third string round up of advertisers were cycled by BET in between the shows breaks.  Most of the advertising was for BET shows or for Public announcement spots.  Three upcoming major motion picture releases were the largest ads present, followed by an advertisement by Dell.com.  You can see the full list below, which is likely representative of a rapidly dwindling amount of ad revenue for this show.  I have not heard what the viewership numbers might be this second episode, but the network can’t be making much if anything off this show in its second week.

One comment by Michael Vick stuck out in this episode

Michael Vick blamed his bankruptcy on a financial advisor who ‘did not do the right thing.’  

I have to admit that made me laugh in disgust a bit, as one more example of Michael Vick not really taking responsibility for his own actions.

There were extremely few references to dog fighting in this episode.  They did show what I believe is the first speech Michael Vick gave to a junior high in Philadelphia, where he walked on stage crossing the stage in front of a DJ to an audience of cheering kids.  Not exactly the type of introduction you would expect for an ex felon who killed dogs with his bare hands and was coming to talk to kids at risk of following in his foot steps. (actually the last thing I would hope for for any kids)  Michael Vick is comfortable on camera in the one on one asides, but he has a long long way to go before he will become an effective public speaker, he got by on his celebrity and fame and the message if he had one never really made it out anywhere.

Advertisements on Vick Project week of 2-16-2010

• Movie – Shutter Island with Leonardo Decaprio
• BET TV Shows
• Rap-it-up – Public spot, multiple spots
• Dear World – Public Spot Girls Inc. Spot
• Dell.com
• Movie – Green Zone with Matt Damon
• Centric Network
• Heart Disease awareness for African American women public spot ahealthybet.com
• TaxAct.com  (not sure this might have been a local Cable Spot insertion over top of the BET broadcast)
• Movie – Brooklyn’s Finest Richard Geer, Ethan Hawk and Wesley Snipes
• Lysol
• GoodHairDVD.com Chris Rock DVD
• RuPaul Drag Race on Logo Channel

Video Clip (where Vick also pledges to continue making these speeches for the next 10 years)

Michael Vick spoke out against an illegal blood sport he once participated in to Miami’s children; Vick spoke to Overtown Youth Monday as part of the Humane Society’s campaign to end dog fighting.
Vick, now the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, served an 18-month sentence in jail after pleading guilty to federal dog fighting charges because of his involvement in a dog fighting ring.
Now, he’s on a mission to educate and warn youths against participating in dog fighting.
He said it was a series of bad choices that got him in trouble and the consequences that followed: "I stayed involved in things that I was never supposed to be involved in. That was my downfall."
Vick says nowadays his priority is helping children make better choices for themselves. These youths are about the same age Vick was when he got involved in dog fighting.
"I want to contribute; I never thought about doing this before I was incarcerated, before my situation happened. I want to turn lives around. I want to help kids believe that they can achieve and succeed."
When he played for the Falcons, Vick said, he would go home every week to fight dogs.
"For what reason, I don’t know to this day," he said in September. "Something so pointless."
Now he is a spokesman for the humane society, and goes around the country talking to children.

Source CBS 4 in Miami

Maybe in Michael Vick’s old world it was cool for his dogs to get so worked up they frothed at the mouth, but even Michael Vick seems to want to present a new side.  According to all accounts so far, he hasn’t flown the bird at fans nor protesters.  He hasn’t attacked anyone, hit anyone, bit anyone or passed on viral diseases across the border.  By that alone, he would ‘appear’ to be a new man.

I still don’t think he should be in the NFL, not because of who he is today, but because of what he has done in the past, what he represents with a lifetime achievement of mostly criminal behavior during his previous stint in the NFL.  One of the reasons why I think his past should be a measure of whether or not he is in the NFL today, is due to the fact that he does influence people.

Case in point

His fans and supporters in Atlanta went out and spit on dog fighting protesters that want Michael Vick and the NFL to add dog fighting and cockfighting to the list of banned activities for ALL NFL players.  Michael Vick has no authority over the NFL, but he IS the poster child for dog fighting promoters IN the NFL.  Like it or not, his name, image and number 7, will forever be associated with dog fighting, BECAUSE he spent many many years running a dog fighting ring paid for with NFL money.  (his current problem not anyone else’s).

His past activity seems to inspire his own former Atlanta fans, people that might have been Falcons fans at one time, but now rally against their own home team for any team that Michael Vick might be able to find work with these days.  His disregard for laws against dog fighting, could possibly be a major influence in his fan boys and girls who would completely disregard the law themselves and assault people in Atlanta, showing just how nasty southern hospitality can be.

Welcome to Atlanta, where we will spit in your face if we disagree with you!

Sorry, but that is not the Atlanta motto.  Even Michael Vick has enough composure these days not to go spitting on people.  That goes to show just how deep the damage is that he caused.  Even if he has moved on beyond the criminal that he was (and I’d hazard to suspect that he is still as sociopathic as he used to be, just more careful), but giving him the benefit of the doubt for the sake of argument, if he is no longer a criminal, no longer acting like a criminal, the damage he did when he was a criminal and acted the part, has in Atlanta and probably in many other areas, inspired too many people to engage in criminal activities as well.

This IS why, it will take Michael Vick, years and decades to begin to repair the damage he has done.  He has negatively impacted and inspired people to be criminals, to engage in criminal activities, to disregard the safety of others, to harm others, and to do so in the name of Michael Vick.

A few related articles on this sad topic

• http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Vick-protesters-say-they-were-spit-on-by-fans.html
• http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2009/12/animal-activists-claim-fans-assaulted-them-outside-michael-vicks-return-to-atlanta/1
• http://life.atlantafalcons.com/topic/3877794-im-disgusted/
• http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/21881976/detail.html#
• http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Vick-exits-with-injured-thigh.html