Anybody wanna buy some Philadelphia Eagles football merchandise cheap? Lots of fans claim they're going to get rid of their Eagles stuff, in disgust over the signing of disgraced quarterback Michael Vick to the team yesterday. He's got a one-year deal with an option for a second year.

This is the reprehensible piece of slime who was convicted in 2007 of conspiracy and running a dogfighting ring, and served 18 months out of a 23-month sentence in a federal prison. Details of the horrible things that he put those dogs through can easily be found on the internet, and are too painful to describe here.

Beyond that, he's shown himself to have a bad attitude: he repeatedly failed drug tests while out on bail awaiting trial for the dogfighting and was reincarcerated; he had sex with a woman without telling her he had genital herpes and he gave her the disease (her lawsuite was settled out of court); he has flipped the bird at fans; he was a no-show when he was scheduled to appear before Congress to lobby for after-school-program funding. Not exactly a good role model for kids.

In addition, he hasn't played since 2006, he'll be one of FOUR quarterbacks on the team, and he won't be allowed to play in a regular-season game until mid-October. Based on the team's experience with Terrell Owens in 2004-2005, it seems obvious that history is going to repeat itself and that controversy over this player's off-field behavior will overshadow any success he might achieve on-field.

Fan reaction in Philly today is overwhelmingly negative. One local TV station's informal survey shows that 69% of respondents don't like it and only 22% do. This doesn't bode well for the coming season!

Back to the merchandising angle: What Philadelphian in his right mind would risk wearing a Vick jersey while walking down the street? Such a fan would be asking for trouble. Mark my words, we will hear news stories about Vick fans being beaten up and even shot in Philly. By the same token, I'll bet we'll hear about protesters against Vick clashing with fans at the football field.