Tony “The Tornado” Penecale Haloween Costume Highlights Michael Vick Debate

Posted on | August 14, 2009 | No Comments

By: Rich Bergeron

Tony “The Tornado” Penecale is the co-host of the weekly Fight News Unlimited radio show, but he’s also a big fan of Halloween and inventive costumes. Amidst the Michael Vick dog fighting controversy, Tony took third place in a costume contest for his portrayal of “ConVick” before the controversial quarterback became a Philadelphia Eagle. Click on the picture above to see how Tony’s costume is now being used to make light of the QB’s 2-year signing with the Eagles.

Vick will surely be chased by the dog fighting scandal for a long time, but second chance advocates are hoping he can make a smooth transition back to the sport that put him on the map. Tony’s frustration goes beyond the dog fighting aspect, as he’s not convinced Vick will ever be a good quarterback. You can hear all of Tony’s complaints about the situation on last night’s Fight News Unlimited Combat Sports Show, where Tony was distracted repeatedly by the news of the signing.

Although most people may be wondering why the heck Philly would take the PR risk on a guy like Vick, it seems that it was actually Philly QB Donovan McNabb who lobbied for Vick to join the squad. McNabb and Vick are longtime friends dating back to their college days. It was McNabb who hosted Vick as a Syracuse recruit, and they have been close ever since. The only logical explanation for McNabb wanting Vick on the squad other than the friendship looks to be the competitive aspect, as a guy like Vick will surely help keep McNabb on his toes. Vick could also take the weight off McNabb’s shoulders in what will be a long season ahead. McNabb is injury prone, and everyone knows from the example of the Patriots last year that you can’t expect the backup to be as good as your star QB if he’s not really a star himself.

As they say, birds of a feather flock together. The Former Falcon Vick is getting an upgrade in that sense, going to a bigger and better bird for a mascot and a much better city in my opinion. As for the Philly faithful and whether they will ever truly accept and embrace Vick, don’t count on it happening overnight. It will take at least a year for the controversy to die down and for Vick to raise enough eyebrows with his playing to prove he belongs back in the NFL on any team.

As for the dog fighting, it goes without saying that Vick allowed incredibly irresponsible behavior to occur on his property and funded a despicable and disgusting enterprise. Many might ask whether time served is enough to ease the criticism, but others will say he didn’t serve enough time. A recent interview with Vick revealed that he sometimes cried at night in prison, which a man in that kind of spotlight is really foolish to admit. At the same time, he must be aware that all his critics and detractors want to be convinced that he truly suffered the consequences. Still, he can’t expect an easy road ahead by any means. He might be able to shed the ankle bracelet and the prison garb, but he will be forever handcuffed by his own bad reputation.

As for Tony “The Tornado” Penecale, his own Halloween costume has come back to haunt him. How ironic is that?