Report: Protestors show up, Vick doesn’t

Apparently Michael Vick isn't the party animal a Florida promoter thought he was.

Twenty protestors made it, but the Eagles backup quarterback, paid to be a big-name guest, was a no-show for a pre-Memorial Day bash at Gulfstream Park, Darnell Aponte, 23, told the Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale.

This story, though, may more be bark than bite - despite catching on as Internet scuttlebutt.

Aponte was upset that he forked out $20,000 - for advertising, Vick's $5,000 advance, and travel and stay expenses for Vick and company.

Booking agent Fred Grant of Atlanta responded that Vick's flight was canceled because of bad weather.

"We're not trying to be shady or stiff anybody," Grant said.

But Aponte figured out that the flight was delayed, not canceled, and Vick could have caught a timely connecting flight - with a little fancy footwork.

Aponte also groused to the newspaper that Vick "had a really poor attitude" about missing the event, saying, "I missed my flight, what the heck do you want me to do about it?"

Aponte also acknowledged he's a bit of a rookie, saying, "This was my first full-blown event."

Supposedly he also invited rapper 50 Cent, ex-Sixer Allen Iverson, and boxer Floyd Mayweather - and they didn't show up either.

The protestors were expressing their displeasure with Vick, who spent 21 months in prison for running a dog-fighting operation in Virginia.

This season, Vick is expected to back up Kevin Kolb, designated the Eagle's starter after the trade of Donovan McNabb. Rumors persisted in the off-season, however, that the Birds repeatedly tried to deal Vick, too.