2008 Woodie Awards
Owens embodies all that's bad about pro sports
Kevin B. Blackistone ; The Dallas Morning News (KRT)
Issue date: 11/19/05 Section: Sports
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DALLAS - The thing about Leon was that Leon was a joke whom we looked forward to for a good laugh.
"Leon's whole career is like a highlight reel, baby," Leon states on his Web site maintained by his sponsor, Budweiser. "My personal favorite moment came during the 1995 playoffs. We were down 14-10 in the final two minutes of the game and who gets the call? Leon. It was a call from my publicist, Tina, who had just landed a sweet photo op with me and the cheerleaders after the game."
The thing about Leon's real-life alter ego, Terrell Owens, is that he's just a joke, period.
It is difficult at this moment to think of a more conceited character in the egotistical history of the self-absorbed world of professional athletics than the narcissistic fellow we've all come to know as T.O., which, come to think of it, rhymes with pee-oh. He has taken self-indulgence to a level not even Leon could've invented.
No wonder his latest employers, the Philadelphia Eagles, announced Monday that they'd had enough, kicking the attention-starved wide receiver off the team for the rest of the season, if not for good. What got Owens riled most recently? Was it his team's surprising struggles during the season's first half? No. Was it the momentum it lost coming off last season's Super Bowl? No. Was it even an understandable bout with ego, like the team wasn't calling his number enough and he felt he could help more? No.
It was that the club didn't recognize to his satisfaction the 100th career touchdown reception of his career.
"It just shows a lack of class they have," Owens railed on ESPN.com last Thursday. "My publicist talked to the head PR guy, and they made an excuse they didn't recognize that was coming up. But that was a blatant lie. Had it been somebody else, they probably would have popped fireworks around the stadium."
And with Michael Irvin inexplicably egging him on in an ESPN television interview, Owens also continued throwing barbs at his quarterback, Donovan McNabb, for no good reason. After all, he'd caught 47 passes for 763 and six touchdowns from McNabb through seven games, which made him, once again, one of the most prolific and dangerous receivers in the game.
"Leon's whole career is like a highlight reel, baby," Leon states on his Web site maintained by his sponsor, Budweiser. "My personal favorite moment came during the 1995 playoffs. We were down 14-10 in the final two minutes of the game and who gets the call? Leon. It was a call from my publicist, Tina, who had just landed a sweet photo op with me and the cheerleaders after the game."
The thing about Leon's real-life alter ego, Terrell Owens, is that he's just a joke, period.
It is difficult at this moment to think of a more conceited character in the egotistical history of the self-absorbed world of professional athletics than the narcissistic fellow we've all come to know as T.O., which, come to think of it, rhymes with pee-oh. He has taken self-indulgence to a level not even Leon could've invented.
No wonder his latest employers, the Philadelphia Eagles, announced Monday that they'd had enough, kicking the attention-starved wide receiver off the team for the rest of the season, if not for good. What got Owens riled most recently? Was it his team's surprising struggles during the season's first half? No. Was it the momentum it lost coming off last season's Super Bowl? No. Was it even an understandable bout with ego, like the team wasn't calling his number enough and he felt he could help more? No.
It was that the club didn't recognize to his satisfaction the 100th career touchdown reception of his career.
"It just shows a lack of class they have," Owens railed on ESPN.com last Thursday. "My publicist talked to the head PR guy, and they made an excuse they didn't recognize that was coming up. But that was a blatant lie. Had it been somebody else, they probably would have popped fireworks around the stadium."
And with Michael Irvin inexplicably egging him on in an ESPN television interview, Owens also continued throwing barbs at his quarterback, Donovan McNabb, for no good reason. After all, he'd caught 47 passes for 763 and six touchdowns from McNabb through seven games, which made him, once again, one of the most prolific and dangerous receivers in the game.