I'm sure he doesn't believe it, but Terrell Owens is in danger of talking his way out of a football livelihood. And for an athlete as enormously talented as he is, that's just a damn shame. How frustrating must this situation be for Philadelphia football fans? All that talent, so little success.
At this point, the only team in the NFL you could envision putting up with his poisonous, cancerous, putrid, cataclysmic, pestiferous (insert your favorite adjective here) personality is the Oakland Raiders. One insider with that team has said "We're doing our best to get rid of troublemakers. Why would we want him?" And, Raiders owner Al Davis doesn't have enough cap room to take on the Owens contract anyway. Besides, Randy Moss, thought by most to be as talented, only caught one pass in yesterday's loss to KC. They're having trouble getting the ball to whoever plays wide receiver.
Noone, at this point, seems capable of getting through to this numbskull Owens that he is his own worst enemy. I'm sure his agent (the almost equally obnoxious Drew Rosenhaus) has tried to impress upon him that he may be killing the Golden Goose. Certainly he knows the press will always give him enough rope to hang himself. And he proceeds to do it with regularity anyway. As talented as he is physically, that's how thick-headed he seems to be when it comes to the stuff that comes out of his mouth in front of cameras and microphones. He is more than willing to go out of his way to say anything that might ensure that he is the center of the sports universe. And he does it with total disregard of how those words might affect his standing with his teammates, coaches, team ownership, and fans. His total lack of ability in that regard is as laughable as his athleticism is admirable.
The fact that I am writing about a wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles is evidence enough that the guy is a fascinating case study. He is one of those people that you just can't help but be interested in. You wish you had a small percentage of his physical ability, but you wouldn't want to actually be him for all the tea in China. I've often wished I could dunk a basketball, but I wouldn't want to at the cost of everyone else in the world hating me.
One must wonder just what kind of true mindset a man such as this actually has. I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day. Does he really believe all the stuff he says? Or is he trying to convince himself that he's "the greatest" by saying stuff that he wishes were true? Does he hurt those around him to make himself feel more powerful and influential? Is he compensating for some other shortcomings in his life? Is he putting on an act? If so, can he stop it? Does he really care more about himself, and his place in the sports world's salary structure, than everything else? Like football and winning.
Terrell Owens sure appears to be the quintessential "me first" athlete. He's taking it to the level of becoming a caricature of himself. The "Leon" Bud Light commercials couldn't even live up to his level of self-aggrandizement and greed. I guess that's why we don't see them any more.
It appears that Owens may have to take up professional wrestling soon to actually make a living with all that physical prowess. But I doubt, even then, that he could be trusted by his fellow wrestlers to "act out the script".
Where will it end? Ask T.O. I'm sure he believes he has the answer.
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