Where does public relations redemption end?

If you follow the NFL, the last few weeks have been heavy with redemption stories featuring Michael Vick, who was famously the NFL superstar who went to jail for animal cruelty. His return to the game last summer gathered some interest, but since he spent the year relatively stuck to the bench for the Philadelphia Eagles his redemption story sort of petered out. The lesson learned is that no one cares if a back-up learned anything.

This year has been different. He again started the year as the replacement quarterback, but got the chance to play in the first game. He was fantastic. And the redemption stories came out again. He followed it up with another fantastic game and the stories grew. Television pundits were chomping at the bit to talk about Vick's comeback. He put up another game, and I swear people were calling this the greatest comeback in NFL history as Vick spoke humbly of what he learned behind bars.

And then Vick got injured.

But have no fear because here comes the next great redemption story -- Ben Roethlisberger and the Return from the Four Game Suspension for Violating League Policies. It's not exactly the Electric Boogaloo of sequel titles, but we're selling emotion here. Come Tuesday the waves of cameras and reporters will descend on Western Pennsylvania in hunt of the elusive Roethlisberger. What did he eat for breakfast? What do his teammates say? What do the fans say? What do the blogger say? It will be breathtaking. It will be maudlin. It will reach a crescendo Sunday when the Steelers play the Cleveland Browns. Every dropped pass will be dubbed a result of him being away. Every score will be labeled as proof Ben has been waiting for this moment.

Like the Vick redemption story, it won't be about what he has learned until we see if he has learned anything on the field. If he plays great for one game, the world is at peace, all is forgiven and the NFL has a shiny story. It's kind of sad. So much is dumped on a few trivial things that the the big picture becomes invisible.

The question, though, is where does the public relations redemption end?

Brett Banter