Philly Embraces Two Fallen Sports Stars

(Dec. 7) -- In sports circles, Philadelphia has long been known for its impassioned, boisterous, and often horrifically behaved fans.

Famously, they booed Santa, and they jeer visiting teams and underperforming home players with equal vehemence. As recently as this summer, a 22-year-old man was killed in a local bar brawl during a Phillies game. (I can still remember the news item I saw when I was living in the city, about a decade ago, describing a shooting death. The reason: a heated argument between two men over whether Allen Iverson or Gary Payton was the better basketball player.)

And yet, in a mere two-day stretch, Philadelphia has done a lot to recast its reputation.

On Sunday, Eagles reserve Michael Vick played a prominent role in his team's 34-7 drubbing of the Atlanta Falcons -- an emotional game that marked Vick's first at the Georgia Dome since the one-time Falcons star served 23 months in prison for dog-fighting conspiracy charges. Vick threw for one touchdown and ran for another while drawing both cheers and boos, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

But it was also a vindication for Philly fans, who have generally given Vick a hospitable reception since he joined the team as a backup to Donovan McNabb. "I'm a believer that as long as people go through the right process, they deserve a second chance," Eagles coach Andy Reid said upon Vick's signing.

Meanwhile, Monday night marks Allen Iverson's return to the Philadelphia 76ers, the team that drafted him with the first pick in 1996. He led the Sixers to the 2001 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, but as in the case with Vick, it has long been unclear whether Iverson's almost unparalleled individual talents - he's a four-time scoring leader and 10-time All Star - translate into team success.

The Sixers traded their pouty star in 2006, and he shuffled unhappily from Denver to Detroit and finally to Memphis, where he played only three games before "retiring" earlier this year. Also like Vick, Iverson's athletic feats often have been overshadowed by off-the-field troubles. In high school, before coming to Georgetown, and as a pro he's had other run-ins with the law. None amounted to much, but Iverson's image as a hip-hop, inner-city icon has always created friction with the NBA's corporate brass, who prefer the relatively bland public personalities of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant (who, of course, have had their own off-court issues).

While the Eagles are 8-4 and likely playoff-bound, the Sixers are a woeful 5-15 and on a nine-game losing streak. Iverson will be asked to do what he says, at 34, he still can do: perform at superstar level. The re-signing has already electrified the city; the Sixers have the league's lowest home attendance, but tonight's home game against the Denver Nuggets is sold out. Perhaps Iverson can, in fact, will his team - and make no doubt, the Sixers are now his team again - back to the playoffs in the less-competitive Eastern Conference.

But wherever the Sixers stand at season's end, Iverson - again like Vick - has already won something valuable: the chance to end his career on his terms. And by embracing these fallen stars, Philadelphia, too, has shown that along with cruelly hounding its professional athletes, it is also willing to offer at least two of them its arms in therapeutic embrace.