If they play well we will forget

What I find very intriguing about professional athletes is not their incredible talents, but rather their normality compared to your everyday Joe Schmo. Professional athletes are just like everyone else on this planet, with one exclusion, their superstardom.

In recent years professional athletes have made public appearances not as a result of their respective sports, but in response to some sort of criminal activity. As fans, and parents, we have every right to scrutinize these players behavior. However, despite our right to criticize these athletes and their actions, we are often quick to forgive them, under one circumstance, they win!

This past NFL season gave us two redemption stories in Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger, or as they are known outside the gridiron, the convicted felon, and the twice accused rapist. Don't get me wrong, both of these individuals actions were inappropriate, but the question that comes to my mind is twofold. Which of these two individuals most redeemed themselves this year, and does their race have any impact on their redemption?

In my opinion Michael Vick is the player who most redeemed himself this year. After only playing a small role in the 2009 NFL season for Philadelphia, Vick earned the starting QB role in 2010 and threw 21 touchdowns and over 3,000 yards, despite the fact that he did not play in four of the seasons games. On the other hand you have the accused rapist Ben Roethlisberger, who was originally suspended 6 games, but ultimately only served 4. Roethlisberger has a somewhat fine showing after his suspension, leading the Steelers to Superbowl XLV only to lose to the Green Bay Packers.

I feel that Vick has most redeemed himself for multiple reasons. First of all he is very open about the mistakes that he has made in the past, and genuinely regrets them. Furthermore, it seems as though he values his job in the NFL more so than he ever has before.The competitiveness we saw in Michael Vick this year was unlike any of his previous seasons. Roethlisberger on the other hand refused to answer the media's questions regarding his sexual assault accusations.

I also feel that Vick has more redeemed himself than Big Ben due to the Madden 12 cover selection process. NFL fans this year voted for their favorite player from each team and those 32 individuals will face off in a March Madness style bracket to determine who graces the cover of Madden this year. Eagles fans chose Michael Vick, and Steelers fans chose Hines Ward. These two selections are very surprising in my opinion because in Philadelphia you have Deshawn Jackson, who is arguably as popular as Vick, and in Pittsburgh you have Big Ben, who almost led the Steelers to an unprecedented 7th Superbowl title.

I feel that Michael Vick's race, in a sport that is predominantly African American, most certainly helped him redeem himself. The effort he put forward to rehabilitate his image, as well as his athletic performance is 10 times that of Big Ben. It was that extra effort that helped Vick garner the franchise tag from Philadelphia.