None of his comments, when taken by themselves, are all that alarming… at least not in the context of Terrell Owens. Owens unburdened himself to reporters yesterday, and here’s a sampling of quotes:
“I do have a problem when I don’t feel like I’m involved enough,” he said. “I know I can make a difference. That’s not me being arrogant. I just know what I bring to the table. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. … I want to win. I came here to help this team win.”
“Dude, I am playmaker,” he said. “These guys know that. It’s simple. … Get the ball in the playmaker’s hands.”
“The guys in the booth are saying, ‘There he goes again, he’s up to his old stuff again,”‘ he said. “It’s very unfair. … It makes me hesitant to try to do what I need to do.”
Ninety-nine percent of the time, I’ll be siding against Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, but I don’t think that’s unfair at all. All wide receivers want the ball, man. Steve Smith wants it. Marvin Harrison wants it. Torry Holt wants it. But you never see any of those guys screaming about it on the sidelines, they’re not bitching about it in the media, they’re not drawing attention to themselves, because that doesn’t do anyone any good.
I’ve tried really hard to not hate Terrell Owens. I’d still rather have him around than Stephon Marbury… but he makes it so damn hard. I really don’t think he’s purposefully a huge prick, I just think he doesn’t know any better. When he says, “I’m for the team,” and things like that, I believe that he believes what he’s saying… but there’s just some part of his brain missing, the part that allows him to think about things from a point of view that isn’t his.
For example, there should be something that kicks in and says, “Hey, I know you want the ball, but don’t be an asshole about it, because that’s going to fuck with the team, your quarterback, the coach, the media and everything else.” But it doesn’t. It never gets past, “Hey, I know you want the ball.” And then he goes on to rail for something he believes he deserves.
There was also this interesting little note…
He even revealed that the ongoing issues he’s faced the last few months, from a hamstring injury in training camp to an accidental overdose, have driven him to “sit in my house in the dark” instead of having much of a social life.
Well, that lends some credence to the “cry for help” overdose theories, as opposed to the “Terrell Owens is rich, and therefore happy” theory. What kind of a depressed athlete tells the media that they sit around in the dark?
Nelly… you’re a disgrace to depression.
Matt Moore
Comparing the man favorably to Stephon Marbury has to be the faintest praise ever faintly praised.
That’s just cold.
October 12, 2006 at 1:20 am
Sean G
HAHAHAHA I love what T.O. is doing to the Cowgirls…..I’m a huge eagles fan and I can admitt I did think T.O. would be a different guy when he came to the eagles….but now that he’s gone…..i love watching what he does to destroy the league….he’s the most selfish person on this planet…what will he do next???
October 12, 2006 at 1:21 am
The Big Picture
based on TO’s facial expression in the photo, it appears Bledsoe ate some jalepenos for lunch.
October 12, 2006 at 1:49 am
insomniac
Given how god-awful Drew Bledsoe’s performance was against Owens’ former team, I think Terrell Owens has handled himself pretty well this time around…by his standards at least.
Damn you for turning me into an Owens apologist!
October 12, 2006 at 2:46 am
unc_samurai
Thanks to the use of Starbury in his article, mjd’s ad box is offering “Quality new and used items. Search for Stephon Marbury now!”
Somehow, the words “quality” and “Marbury” should never come within a mile of each other.
October 12, 2006 at 7:03 am
brooshkin
Does anyone really believe the T.O. experiment in Dallas is going to end any differently than it did in San Francisco or Philly? Talk about handwriting on the wall. I think I see it … it says “REDRUM”.
I mean honestly … who throws a shoe?
October 12, 2006 at 9:21 am
Mr. Bojangles
There’s something not right in the guy’s head. If Bledsoe has a couple more outings like this, if Glenn or Witten keep getting the TD passes – he’s going to explode.
I honestly think he’s going to regret his decisions in Philadelphia for a long, long time. The guy had a great QB with a long ball and a fan base that loved him, and he pissed it all away for a paycheck that he almost certainly could have made on local endorsements alone. With the injuries and other problems, I’m starting to
think that 2004 was the height of the man’s career.
October 12, 2006 at 10:04 am
Adam
I honestly don’t see what he’s doing wrong. Oh no, he wants the ball and is pissed when his shitty QB makes a terrible throw when he’s wide open! What an unresonable asshole he is! Come on, it was the middle of a close game, people get pissed in situations like that. Aikman (who I usually love) and Buck were being douchebags. If say, Brett Favre went over and starting throwing a shit fit and yelling at his wideouts on the sidelines they’d be talking about what a firey leader he is, but because it’s TO it’s “the same old tired act”.
October 12, 2006 at 11:11 am
MP
Yeah Adam, but as MJD said, quite accurately, every receiver wants the damn ball. T.O. is just crying louder than all of them, and there really can’t be any doubt that it IS an incredibly tired act.
And the man is a prick. I don’t care if it’s because society made him that way, he doesn’t know any better, blah, blah, blah. When an entire nation is screaming, “You’re a prick,” take a fucking hint. If you’re a prick and just really can’t bring yourself to care, fine. I hope you get drilled. I hope you get knocked unconscious. I hope you finally pay for the bullshit you pull because you just refuse to learn a lesson in civility.
In other words, I feel the same way about T.O. that I feel about the guy tailgating me when I’m going 85 who later cuts me off for no apparent reason other than that I didn’t let him go 100 on the highway. Fuck you, T.O. Get over yourself.
October 12, 2006 at 12:26 pm
Chucky Atkins Jr.
Good point, Adam. I still like T.O., but the problem is that he’s cried wolf too many times. He’s been so destructive in the past, that the media completely attacks anything that he says or does, whether it’s deserved or not. His prior actions have made it impossible for him to ever be considered a “firery leader” again. He’s walking on eggshells for the rest of his career now. But yeah, in T.O.’s defense, the sports media is still a huge collection of douchebags.
October 12, 2006 at 12:33 pm
TMan
Give me a break. TO represents everything that is wrong with professional sports: he is painfully self-involved to the point that he can’t see the team perspective, no one has ever given him a full dose of “act right” (thanks Gramps) and he insists on being the center of attention no matter the situation (Hello “Tour de TO”). While I normally want to throw the TV out the window whenever Joe Buck speaks, TO is such a monumental pain in the ass, I actually found myself agreeing with him.
Adam: when has having a hissy fit on camera on the sidelines EVER helped a team win a game? Never. If you have a problem with another player, pull him aside and discuss it like adults. Screaming and throwing a fit is just, well, childish. For a person who likes to call himself a “grown-ass man”, he certainly doesn’t know how to behave like one.
October 12, 2006 at 1:20 pm
father figure
This is another media made controversy. Think about it; if TO yelled on the sidelines, but cameras didn’t catch it, would it be a big deal? If every reporter south of the intelligence line didn’t constantly ask TO to “tell his side of the story” or “make a statement,” there wouldn’t be any controversy. If TO talks for 25 minutes in boring professional athlete speak (one game at a time, day by day, heart, etc.), and makes potentially controversial statements for 10 seconds, everyone focuses on the 10 seconds. Leve him alone! If reporters hadn’t be asking Donovan McNabb 1000 questions per day about the effect of TO’s injury on the Eagles’ super bowl chances in 2004 (the incident that lead to all the problems in Philly), McNabb wouldn’t have said that the team could win without him, and they wouldn’t have had all of last season’s controversy. I’m so tired of the TO story that it makes me hate the NFL. I’m sorry, but this is simply going to far. Joe Buck and Troy Aikmen talk about TO because they simply refuse to focus on the actual game that is being played beneath them; they are the anti-Vermeil. Instead of pontificating about players actions on the sidelines, the commentators should talk about the action on the field. Instead of treating the Dallas Cowboys like a afternoon soap opera, sports reporters should wither focus on the game-day strategy, or cover other events. This personality driven drivel bores me beyond belief…
October 12, 2006 at 2:25 pm
the mighty mjd
“If say, Brett Favre went over and starting throwing a shit fit and yelling at his wideouts on the sidelines they’d be talking about what a firey leader he is.”
Not here, they wouldn’t…
October 12, 2006 at 5:19 pm
brooshkin
Oh puh-leeze! Leave him alone? Like he would allow that to happen. Come on. The man spent 45 minutes spewing anything and everything out of his idiotic mouth. I think the press just stands there, writes down what he says and thanks their lucky stars there’s such a self-centered prick who just won’t shut up that writes their story for them.
Following him on the sidelines? Did you even watch the game? He did the same shit on the field. What is the cameraman supposed to do when he gets thrown a bad ball … cut to the cheerleaders?
Fuck T.O.
October 12, 2006 at 5:59 pm
Mandalay
*continues fervent prayer that when Parcells finally snaps and beats T.O. to a bloody pulp it’ll be done on national TV so everyone can enjoy it*
October 12, 2006 at 6:40 pm
brooshkin
Terrell Owens and Cowboys wide receivers coach Todd Haley got into a heated argument during a meeting Wednesday.
The incident ended with both yelling, shouting, “Don’t disrespect me like that,” ESPN’s Ed Werder reported Friday.
Media made controversy … yup.
He was apparently late for the meeting then took offense when the coach took him to task for it.
Guess Coach Haley should say “Just show up whenever you want, man.”
And Ed Werder should just bury the story lest he be accused of blowing things out of proportion.
But T.Blow’s not doing anything wrong here. He’s just misunderstood. What an asshole.
October 13, 2006 at 8:49 pm
The MSauce
Hm…funny brooshkin…because Jerry Jones seems to have disciplined the COACH for the argument, and the organization seems to agree Owens did nothing wrong. He was just sick, let the team know about it, showed up on the field late, and was barated by the coach. Also, the organization had agreed to leave what was behind closed doors private, but the coach was the person who revealed the fight, not Owens. And, to play devils advocate, could the reason TO is always yelling on the sidelines be that the noise level in the stadium is around 80 decibles.
October 15, 2006 at 9:22 pm