Finally Free (8 page)

Coach Beamer meant the world to me—and still does to this day. He's a great man whose principles are valuable far beyond the playing field. Coach Beamer reiterates this phrase so much: “You've got to do things the right way.” It sticks in your mind and it gets embedded in your heart—that you've got to do things the right way. It's what he teaches in his program, and that's a quality you can carry into your life after football.

I wish I had heeded that principle more in the years that followed. Like Professor Giovanni's quote says, everything changes. Surroundings change. Situations change. And in change—in transition—you can change for the better, or you can change for the worse.

I was flying. The landscape below was changing.

I would either grow up, or I would decay.

Chapter Four

Favorite Falcon

“I could have done more.”

 

T
he moment I announced my decision, my life changed forever. I was leaving behind all that I knew and had become accustomed to—leaving the nest. There was no turning back; I felt I was ready to spread my wings and fly even higher than before.

The cast around me was changing. The landscape below was changing. There was no more Coach Beamer, Tech support staff, or anything like that. I had my friends, my marketing reps, and my agents. People were coming at me from all over the place to be in the “Business of Michael Vick.” There was a lot happening around me, and all I wanted was to get drafted. I was a kid. I wasn't even twenty-one years old.

For me, the whole draft process began when I was invited to attend the annual NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Elite players from across the country are selected by NFL general managers and other executives to attend the combine. The players are put through a series of physical tests, medical exams, football drills, psychological evaluations, and interviews with team personnel.

I chose not to participate in many of the activities at the combine. But I did sit for all of the exams and interviews, which I believe went really well. I waited until my Pro Day at Virginia Tech to show my athletic abilities. Pro Days are held by college football programs to showcase their prospects' talent to NFL scouts. Essentially, they are mini-combines held on campus for NFL teams to attend if they want.

I was a little nervous that morning in March when my Pro Day arrived, but in the end, I tore it up. I ran the forty-yard dash in 4.33 seconds, a speed unmatched by any other quarterback. More importantly though, I performed at an extremely high level in the football drills; I don't know if I could have done better than I did. I think I completed all but one of my throws, putting only one ball on the ground. My accuracy was on, and my velocity was excellent as well. My arm felt strong, and I was throwing hard—so hard, in fact, that I broke one of my receiver's fingers with a pass. In addition to that, my timing was on. I was putting it all together: accuracy, velocity, timing, and footwork.

I felt great after my Pro Day; I was full of confidence. I felt like I put in strong performances at my individual workouts with the teams too. What I had accomplished made me feel like the top prospect for the draft. In reality, I didn't care if I was the first pick in the first round or the third pick in the third round; I just wanted the opportunity to play professional football.

Just like the prior year, I had become a national story and was on the cover of
ESPN The Magazine
. Every football pundit on television was talking about me during predraft coverage on CBS, NBC, ESPN, etc.; some of the talk was positive, some was negative, and some of it just raised questions.

A few experts had the opportunity to share their thoughts with
Sports Illustrated
.

Former New York Giants Super Bowl-winning quarterback Phil Simms was quoted as saying, “The real question you have to ask yourself is whether any person in this draft can change your franchise. There's one: Michael Vick.”

James Harris, the director of pro personnel for the Baltimore Ravens at the time, said, “He could well become one of the greatest playmakers in NFL history.”

But on the flip side, Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh—the 49ers vice president and GM at the time—said, “He has more potential than [Drew] Brees, but I don't see how he'll be able to play regularly until his third year.”

Some people said I wouldn't stay healthy or play for long, given my penchant for running and throwing my body around; plus, I was considered small. They also questioned whether I could transfer my skills and the excitement I brought in college to the NFL.

All of it was talk. I just wanted to start my professional career.

The San Diego Chargers had the first pick in the 2001 draft and were widely expected to pick me as they looked to rebuild their franchise, but they had been burned by quarterback Ryan Leaf, a major bust. In the buildup to the draft, the Chargers waived Leaf and traded their No. 1 selection to the Atlanta Falcons just one day before the draft. In exchange, Atlanta gave San Diego their first-round choice (No. 5 overall), a third-round pick, a 2002 second-round selection, plus veteran wide receiver/kick returner Tim Dwight.

At the time, I thought that was an odd trade. I felt like my visit with the Chargers had gone well, and I knew they had some preliminary contract talks with my agents. I also knew they were looking for a quarterback and maybe a running back.

I later heard that the Chargers made the trade because they became uncomfortable with drafting me. I had brought friends with me to a workout—friends they didn't trust would be positive influences in my life—thus making me too great a risk for them to take with the top pick.

I acknowledge that showing up with friends for my workout was very unprofessional. I've heard it said that the world is 90 percent perception and 10 percent reality. I'd agree. The Chargers didn't know my friends. They may have actually been good people, but the Chargers automatically assumed that those weren't the right people to have around because of the image and persona they projected.

In the big picture though, I was actually ecstatic about the trade because it worked in my favor. I didn't want to go all the way out to California and leave my family. Atlanta was a one-hour flight away,
and an eight-hour drive by car, and I love driving. So if I went as the first pick, it was perfect for me.

Around the time of the draft, I had the opportunity to meet two of my quarterbacking heroes who, like me, had nimble feet to go with strong arms: Steve Young and Randall Cunningham. I was very flattered that Young said he believed I had once-in-a-generation potential. The admiration was entirely mutual.

Young was my favorite player growing up because, like me, he was a lefty and a runner. He played for the San Francisco 49ers, and I loved him with the 49ers. He had all types of weapons around him—Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Ricky Watters—and Deion Sanders was there a couple of years too. The defense had Ken Norton, Merton Hanks, Tim McDonald, Eric Davis, and Charles Haley. They were stacked!

I always dreamed of being the leader of a team like that.

The day of the draft was beautiful. It was a perfect spring day in New York City, and I just knew I would be the first pick. I had been waiting for this day since I was seven years old—when I told my grandmother that I wanted to play professional football and she looked at me and said, “Well, you have to learn how to play.”

And here I was.

At the draft, I was with my mom, dad, brother, both sisters, two close friends, cousins, and my then-girlfriend and high school sweetheart, Tameka Taylor. We were really excited because we knew going to the NFL would be a life-changing situation.

Shortly after the draft began, I watched as then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue stepped up to the podium and said, “With the first selection in the 2001 NFL draft, the Atlanta Falcons select Michael Vick, quarterback, Virginia Tech.” I was beyond emotion. I hugged everyone I was with. Then I walked onto the stage of the theater at Madison Square Garden, shook hands with the commissioner, and was handed an Atlanta Falcons hat and a jersey with No. 1 on it, just like high school—only this time I knew I would only wear No. 7. I couldn't keep the smile off my face. I was an Atlanta Falcon.

I was headed to a talented team. They had a veteran quarterback I could learn from in Chris Chandler, Pro Bowl running back Jamal Anderson, and talented receivers Terance Mathis and Tony Martin. On defense, there were up-and-coming youngsters Keith Brooking and Patrick Kerney. It was a great situation.

Not only had I become an NFL quarterback and the second No. 1 pick from Virginia Tech (Bruce Smith, 1985), most importantly, I was the first African-American quarterback in history to be picked first overall in the NFL draft.

It was, and still is, a tremendous honor. It's something that will stand forever—the first one. I was the first to overcome that barrier in African-American history. Others, like Donovan McNabb, were capable, but I don't think it was ever a racial thing. Teams pick based on their needs. Since then, two more black quarterbacks have been drafted first overall: LSU's JaMarcus Russell in
2007 by the Oakland Raiders, and Auburn's Cam Newton in 2011 by the Carolina Panthers.