Thank you for ending Terrell Owens' overcooked Hall of Fame debate
Terrell Owens is a Hall of Famer now.
Owens was included Saturday as part of the widely reported 2018 class that will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August. You can either lionize Owens the star receiver and prop up his case as the perfect teammate, or tear him down as the self-serving "Me O" whose honeymoons with NFL teams led to production on the field followed by destruction and unceremonious exits off it. The question has been answered once and for all.
CONGRATS to the HOF CLASS OF 2018.
We’re GOLDEN! 🧥
https://t.co/cGcDqCgFER
— Terrell Owens (@terrellowens) February 3, 2018
Thank you. Thank you? Are you serious?
Next question.
Those two words are part of the reason we're here first place. That's what allowed this needless debate to happen. Voters made Owens wait, and the superstar receiver passed off like it doesn't matter when it at least does to both sides of that divisive, annoying argument that has reached exhaustive levels after the snubs.
Don't act like Owens was the consummate teammate. He wasn't.
Don't act like he wasn't a once-in-a-generation player with the production to match. He was.
In other words, Owens is a Hall of Famer now. You don't have to like him, but you have to respect the talent.
Why was this even a debate? It doesn't matter what T.O. says now. It can't change what most remember about Owens' playing days, which didn't have anything to do with his incredible talent.
Need a refresher? He questioned former San Francisco 49ers teammate Jeff Garcia's sexuality . He's been taking shots at former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb for almost a decade. Check out what former Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe said in 2004 after Owens had an allergic reaction that was originally reported as a suicide attempt .
"Because of the reputation that T.O. has because of the attention that has been around him in the past, anything that happens turns into a bigger deal," Bledsoe said. "I understand that. We understand that as a team."
In other words, it was understood that Owens would get most of the attention. Owens didn't exactly shy away from all that drama, and it didn't hurt his performance or the team’s performance on the field.
Until it did. Somehow, all that attention wasn't enough.
The one you remember most? Owens standing behind Drew Rosenhaus in a press conference during a season in which he fought with teammate Hugh Douglas and said Brett Favre would be better for the Eagles than McNabb. Owens was suspended and deactivated that season in 2005.
All that happened one year after Owens turned in a remarkable season, played in the Super Bowl on one leg and proved how his showmanship impacted the game both on and off the field. Remember Owens and Nicollette Sheridan on the Monday Night Football opening ? Owens appealed to an audience that wasn't down with "act like you've been there before."
In that regard, Owens was ahead of his time.
"Growing up watching him he was unstoppable," Pittsburgh's JuJu Smith-Schuster told Sporting News on Friday. "The celebrations? It's funny because the rule changed now. He was by himself, and he was getting fined because he wasn't allowed to celebrate. That changed a lot for us, and now it's going to be an even bigger thing for us next year."
Everybody does elaborate end-zone dances now. Social media has put more attention on the players than ever before. If Owens played today, he would be fighting for attention with Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr., much like he did Randy Moss and Chad Ochocinco.
Owens and Moss, who also was elected to the Hall of Fame Saturday, were the best at the position when they played — the next-best answers after Jerry Rice when talking about the greatest receivers of all time. That’s why Owens is a Hall of Famer as a player. He's that good.
The problem? "Act live you've been there before" never goes away, and it won't as long as the game is played and coaches have to preach teamwork. In fact, most of us made up our mind on Owens on Sept. 24, 2000, when he spiked a football on a star and Dallas safety George Teague drilled him in the back.
I wanted Teague to hit him harder, but it was mostly because Owens was unstoppable. I never liked Owens or the antics and the media attention trap he created — and to some extent still creates. He torched Cowboys coach Jason Garrett this week . It literally never stops.
Here's the difference. Owens can do that on TV now, but it’s easier to turn off sports talk shows than a football game. I don't care what Owens says or does anymore, even if I wasted a lot of time doing just that when he played.
That's still not enough to disregard the talent or the fact that by the numbers alone he's a Hall of Famer. Seriously, it's taken us this long to get to the numbers. Owens ranks second all time in receiving yards (15,934) and third in TDs (153). He had eight seasons with 10 TDs or more and averaged 14.8 yards per catch for his career. Can you name a more physically magnificent receiver other than maybe Calvin Johnson or Julio Jones?
That’s why I'm glad he's finally in the Hall of Fame. I think the argument about Owens is more annoying than the player in question. Great player. Hall of Fame player. Never won a Super Bowl, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Great teammate? Owens says so . Enough voters didn't buy that, and he waited a while longer. Who cares?
It's time to press along. Find the seldom-used middle ground we never found once reporters crowded around him in the driveway while he did sit-ups and won't find even when (or if) he shows up for the induction speech.
Owens is a Hall of Famer now. You don't have to like him, but you have to respect the talent.
Next question?
There shouldn't be any left.
Thank you.
