By Kas
Alright… Alright… You haters in the sports media! Now I have to say something about this whole Terrell Owens “witch-hunt” I feel is going on. I get sick of reading article after article of hate on Terrell Owens. Though, I do feel some of his “supposed” off-field, on-field, locker room, antics might have been a tad divisive. He is still one of the most productive and entertaining wide receivers in the NFL today. The reason I say “supposed,” is because no one truly knows what goes on behind the closed doors of the NFL. The media is always looking for a story and the public loves drama; thus we will always have these types of players in professional sports.
Every professional sport has their T.O. type players. Tennis had McEnroe; Golf has Sergio, who changed his name just like the Bengals Chad Ocho Cinco. Hockey had Eric Lindros who whined his entire career and coincidently, played in Dallas as well. MLB has Manny, NBA has Artest (among others) and even the UEFA (European Football or “soccer”) has Cristiano Ronaldo; the best player Europeans love to hate. All of these athletes are/were top tier players in their respective sports and played integral parts to their teams’ success. Yet, these players are hated by many fans for different reasons and loathed by many sports writers for their off and on the field transgressions. But, sometimes the truth is in the eye of the beholder.
Take for instance the talk about T.O. being an aging wide-out who is losing a step. Many sports reporters and sports websites have made mention of how he dropped 33 balls this past season. They have also reported that the majority of NFL teams would be reluctant to sign Owens because he is poison in a NFL locker-room. But, Owens, at the age of 35, was 13th in the NFL in receiving yards (7th NFC), tied for 5th in receiving TD’s (4th NFC) and had only one fumble in 2008. He was arguably the Cowboys top offensive weapon and led the team in TD’s. It wasn’t T.O. that lost that pivotal week 17 game against the Eagles (6 rec. 103 yds.) or the week 16 defensive collapse against the Ravens (5 rec. 63 yds. 1 TD). Terrell Owens was never the problem in Dallas and I believe he was used as the scapegoat for an underachieving franchise. The Cowboys haven’t won a playoff game since 1996, which proves that they couldn’t win with T.O. or without him. The Buffalo Bills let Owens sit on the market for only two days after being released by the Cowboys. So much for that reluctant to sign T.O. attitude that everybody was been talking about.
Look, if you don’t like the man… Fine! But, you can not deny his talent and passion for the game. Stop hating in the media and report the facts. Stop fishing and making up stories from hearsay and give dude his proper’s for being the game changer he is. He is 35 years old and still has the swag to talk and back it up on the gridiron. I personal look at sports as entertainment and just a game. I want to see those 200 yd-3 TD games and crazy ass taunting celebrations. I want to see the passion of him blowing up on a dumb ass coach for not getting him the ball, when he is clearly the best player on the field. I want to see him call out his QB for getting tired in the Super Bowl and cry while defending a QB who just lost them a playoff game.
So, I’m sure T.O. will do just fine as a Bill and keep getting me silly points for my fantasy team.
Get your popcorn ready!
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