To Hell and Back

In 2007, Michael Vick had it all.

He had recently signed the richest contract in NFL history with the Atlanta Falcons, a 10 year/ $130 million deal with $37 million guaranteed.  But all of that disappeared when he was arrested and found guilty on dogfighting charges, causing him to go to jail for 18 months of his life.  The 18 month penalty was a much harsher penalty than what the law had called for, but Vick was used as a scapegoat.

Following his release, Vick signed as a free agent in 2009 with the Philadelphia Eagles and has since seen himself go from a near MVP candidate, to one of the most hated men in Philly.  But, back in 2010, ABC News' Bob Woodruff had a chance to sit down with Vick and talk about everything that Vick had been through: his time in Atlanta, how he lost everything, and how he has found his way back.

Coupled with the piece was a written story by Jennifer Metz that goes into more detail than the two and half minute video piece that Woodruff put together that details Vick's life in more detail.  By putting the two together, you get the visual side of the story, seeing Vick's life through highlights and video interviews and then the much more in-depth story of how Vick lost everything and got it all back again in the written piece.

Together, the multimedia package does a fantastic job of putting everything out there about Vick, but the one thing that really stood out to me as odd was the one-on-one interview that Woodruff had with Vick in the auditorium.  I didn't really like how they had the interview side-by-side as opposed to being face-to-face.  Had they been set up in front of each other, it would have forced Vick to look more directly towards Woodruff and talk TO him, rather than be next to him and talk BY him.  By setting them up that way, it was almost giving Vick a chance to avoid eye contact and not make it as personal as what it could have been.

On a positive not, I liked how there were multiple video packages put together.  The first one, the 2:33 package is the real story.  The next video that pops up is all the interview that Woodruff has with Vick, so you're able to hear more about what Vick has to say about his life.  The final video is Vick at his introductory press conference when he signed with the Eagles in 2009, giving you the full sports aspect of the story and showing him finally back from where he had gone.

Overall, this piece was well put together, nothing less than what one would expect from ABC News.  Even though I wish the video could have been longer, the written story did a fantastic job capturing everything about Vick and is certainly a great piece about a person trying to get a second chance at life.