As the year dwindles to a close, many institutions, teams, and organizations are, like the rest of the population, the gift-giving mood, givings gifts of congratulations, kudos, and hearty slaps on the back. Recently, Michael Vick was the recipient of such an award, winning the Eagles’ “Ed Block Courage Award”, awarded to a player who has shown courage in rebounding from adversity. Recent recipients included Correll Buckhalter, who returned from his 7 billionth knee injury, and a long-snapper who was dealing with the recent murder of his mother. Vick, who showed immense courage by getting out of prison, was typically humble:

“I’ve had to overcome a lot, more than probably one single individual can bear,” Vick said. “Take a look at what I’ve been through. You ask certain people to walk in my shoes, they probably couldn’t do it. Probably 95 percent of the people in this world – because nobody had to endure what I’ve been through, situations I’ve been put in, situations I’ve placed myself in, decisions that I’ve made – whether they were good or bad.”

Truly, Michael Vick demonstrated immeasurable courage in being paroled from prison and choosing to play football rather than slay animals. OJ Simpson, a recent recipient of the National Forensic Society’s “Gil Grissom” Award for Courage in the field of Forensic science was complimentary of Vick:

“It’s not easy to return from hard times and to thrive. I overcame the death of my ex-wife to lead a dogged search for her real killer. Michael’s done an excellent job since getting out of jail – I’m sure, given time, he will tirelessly devote himself to finding the real killer of his prized dogs.”

Certainly, many would wilt under the pressure and microscope under which Vick currently operates. His former business associate, Quanis L. Phillips, currently in  Leavenworth Prison, was awed at Vick’s accomplishments:

“I don’t know how he does it. If I was getting a pretty hefty per diem for daily expenses on top of a $1.6 million dollar salary to appear on nationally televised games with nearly twenty people assigned to follow me around to keep me out of trouble, I don’t know how I could avoid killing anything. I mean, he has the massive stress of knowing he may have to take 4 snaps every Sunday wearing down – he’s gotta be tempted to blow off some steam.”

It’s not just former and current athletes and former business associates who have spoken up in appreciation of Vick’s accomplishments this year. Waste Disposal expert Walter Jonathan Grimes of Newport News, VA, an “everyman” if ever there was one, was similiarly awed:

“Man, I’m one of those 95% of the people out there that Mike was talking about. NONE of us could deal with the stress that man has. I mean, all I have to do is clear trash for 10 hours a day and work as a handy-man in my spare time to make ends meet, and my wife has been working 12 hours a day as a maid after I got laid off from the car plant. Our kids work part-time jobs after school to chip in, and our 401K’s are worthless - but I wouldn’t trade any of that for what Vick has. $1.6 million a year to run a few wildcat plays? AND he can’t needlessly murder any animals? Fuck that.”