I looked forward to New Year’s Eve 2006 for months. It wasn’t because there was a great party on the horizon or a cozy night at home awaiting me.

    I planned to spend my day freezing half to death at Lincoln Financial Field watching my first pro-football game from the stands, cheering on my second-favorite NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles (who are a close second to my New York Jets).

    Besides the frigid temperature, the day couldn’t be better. The late-season Eagles-Falcons game actually mattered, something my husband worried about when he bought the tickets. A few minutes into the game, the Linc erupted into cheers as word got around that Dallas lost, allowing the Eagles to clinch the NFC East title.

    That was the last game Michael Vick played before being sentenced to prison for running his infamous dog-fighting ring.

    And now he will wear the jersey of one of this dog lover’s favorite teams.

    Like most Philadelphia fans, I am conflicted by the thought of Vick playing for the Eagles. I can understand why the team picked him up, albeit I was shocked at the announcement like everyone else. But I’m still not sure I want someone like that on my team.

    Vick’s actions in running a dog-fighting ring — for six years, no less — were not a momentary lapse in judgment. Financing the killing and harming of innocent dogs was a calculated and thought-out part of Vick’s everyday life, something I find so abhorrent that it is difficult to understand, not that I really want to.

    But I guess I didn’t grow up that way.

    Now remorseful about his brutality, Vick says dog fighting was a part of his upbringing, which is as a shallow as an excuse can get.

    He said he cried in prison.

    Well, good. I have a feeling, however, he wasn’t crying over dead puppies.

    He said in Sunday’s “60 Minutes” interview that he was “disgusted” about what happened to those animals at Bad Newz Kennels.

    Maybe now, since he’s had 18 months to think about it, but for six years, it must have seemed like a good idea. It must have been a fun sport to be a part of for him. It must have been more fun than football for Vick to risk everything.

    Luckily for Vick, the NFL believes he paid for his crimes. And it’s possible Philly and its fans may feel that way (eventually).

    I do believe that people deserve a second chance, which is where my conflict lies. For now, I think I’ll relegate myself to the sidelines this season (more than usual). I will continue to support the Eagles and cheer them on, but not Vick. He’ll always be a dog killer to me.

    And if somehow the Eagles are successful this season with Michael Vick on their roster, there’s no way he’ll ever pet my dogs.

Email Maureen Raitz at maureen.raitz@doverpost.com.