So Deadspin is running yet another post about Michael Vick and his dog fighting issue. Personally, we try to stay away from the "look at athletes' personal lives, let's point at them" type of stories. Nothing wrong with it, I guess it humanizes athletes, though I doubt that's really why people a) write them and b) read them. But whatever.
However, we are pointing this story out because... it's time for a SML "Real New Yorker Sh*t" Story:
When I was in high school one of my classmates lived in Soundview. Which, for those of you who don't know, is in the South Bronx. Sadly this includes 80% of "NYC residents" right now, which, by the way, are not the same as real New Yorkers - those 80% are all newbies who have been here less than 10 years. They live in Brooklyn mostly, though you will also find tons of them in the areas formerly known as Uptown (now Hamilton Heights through Inwood), the L.E.S./Alphabet City area, and pretty much anywhere in Manhattan except for East Harlem (which is why I lived there for three years) and Queens (where most of the "real New Yorkers" move to). But I disgress.
Anyway, Soundview is in the South Bronx. The South South Bronx. Like remember when the Yankees were complaining about the crime in the South Bronx, and how dangerous it was? Well, in reality the area around the Stadium has always been pretty safe (relatively speaking); the police stats they used for effect were for the South Bronx police district, which was "aided" by the, um, impressive crime stats racked up in the Soundview (south central area) and Mott Haven (south south) areas of the "South Bronx".
My friend once got a day off from school due to a "family emergency". That emergency was that his Aunt, who lived in a house around the corner from his family in Soundview, across the streets from the infamous Soundview projects ("Latin Kings do they thing, ice pick for gats") had found a piece of luggage in her front yard with a human torso in it. No arms or legs or head, just the torso.
Soundview invented the Bodies exhibit. But I digress once again.
Anyway, Soundview was real in the early 90's crack era, got it? He always had lots of stories along those lines. A lot of them involved watching pit bull fights in the projects. They were weekly events. So one day he invited us over to his neighborhood to check out the realness first hand.
We didn't stick around after dark (hell no! I admit I was shook - you would, too, if you weren't from there) to actually watch a live pit bull fight. Instead we hit up the local video store. Past all the new releases ("Cliffhanger", "Jurassic Park"), in the back were videotapes of the local pit bull fights for rent! Featuring titles like "Jason vs. Apache" and my fave "Killer vs. Son of Sam 3", he picked up the one from the prior week.
The actual video footage was really grainy and hard to see - it was clearly shot by a guy who was either sitting or, judging from the shakiness, hanging, from a tree over the fight area (a little area in the middle of the projects). There was a small group of spectators in a circle around the fight. You really could see much except for the occasion flash of dogs' teeth, as it was quite grainy and shaky.
Alright, that concludes today's "Real New York Sh*t" story. For the record, I don't condone pit bull or dog fighting in general, so please don't bombard me with e-mails or comments about what a terrible thing it is. I agree with ya'll. Also, don't pass judgment on the people who viewed or "supported" this - before you get all high and righteous with speeches about how "inhumane" dog fighting is, realize that "inhumane" is also an apt description for the living conditions those people who grew up in these projects had, okay? Get irate about changing that first....
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I heard mike vicks fed small dogs like the one paris hilton has for bate for his dogs