ATLANTA – Michael Vick never led the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl. His career with the team ended in disgrace.

Yet no one is rooting harder for the Falcons to win their first championship.

“A lot of people are surprised when they find out how passionately I’ve been rooting for the Falcons this season,” Vick wrote in a letter posted Wednesday on The Players’ Tribune. “They assume that there is some sort of tension between us, some level of bitterness. And even when I tell people that it isn’t the case … I have a feeling they may not exactly believe me.”

After six years with the Falcons, including two playoff appearances and one trip to the NFC championship game, Vick was sent to prison in 2007 for running a dogfighting operation.

While there, Vick learned the Falcons had taken Matt Ryan with the No. 3 overall pick in 2008.

Heartbroken, he finally realized there was no going back.

Vick played five years for the Philadelphia Eagles, and had backup stints with the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn’t play this past season and reportedly will hold a retirement bash the night before the Super Bowl in Houston.

“As my playing career in the NFL winds down, and as I reflect on the past and really start to contemplate where I go from here … well, one thing that I’ve known I always wanted to do was write a letter. And not just any letter. I wanted to write a letter to the city of Atlanta,” Vick said. “Without Atlanta, I’m nothing. Without Atlanta, I might not even be here to write this today.”

After initially being resentful of Ryan, Vick said he’s enormously proud of what his successor has done. He said Ryan should be the league’s MVP and predicted the Falcons will beat the New England Patriots, 23-16.

“I can’t help but feel I am finally coming full circle: The Falcons are back in the Super Bowl and I’ll be rooting for my team as hard as anyone.”

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