Terrell Owens - Guide to Terrell Owns "TO" The Answer

Terrell Owens (full name: Terrell Eldorado Owens, popularly referred to as T.O., born December 7, 1973, in Alexander City, Alabama) is an American football wide receiver, who's future is in question with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Owens played college football for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and was drafted by the NFL's San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1996 NFL draft, in which he was the 89th overall player selected.

Although Owens is recognized as one of the most dominant receivers in the NFL today, he is also known for being a troublesome, high-maintenance player on and off the field. While he is generally dependable on the field, he has developed a reputation for causing controversies with teammates, coaches, opposing players, and fans.

Writing about Owens in Philadelphia Magazine in early 2005, critic Camille Paglia wrote that "Terrell Owens rescued Philadelphia. He brought glamour and glitz and an electrifying jolt of good vibrations to the city, which was suffering in the spiritual desert of the 10-year regime of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie."

One of Owens' most adamant critics, Skip Bayless, describes him as having "history of creating often inexplicable feuds with executives, coaches and teammates - especially quarterbacks."  He often refers to Owens as "Terrible Owens".

Biography

Flamboyant celebrations

He is known for his occasional, flamboyant celebrations after scoring touchdowns.

    * On September 24, 2000 in Dallas, Terrell Owens showed off his excitement after his two touchdown catches by celebrating on the Dallas Cowboys' famous star logo. The second time Owens made a trip to the star, Cowboys defensive back George Teague blindsided him during the celebration, sending him sprawling to the turf. Owens was suspended a week for his actions by his head coach at the time Steve Mariucci, and had a week's pay docked as well.
    * During a Monday Night Football game against the Seattle Seahawks on October 14, 2002, Owens pulled a Sharpie marker out of his sock to sign the football he caught to score a touchdown, and then gave the ball to his financial planner, who was in the stands.
    * After he scored a 45-yard touchdown run against the Green Bay Packers on December 15, 2002, Owens celebrated by waving a pair of pom-poms borrowed from a 49ers cheerleader.
    * On November 17, 2003, the 49ers hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Monday night game, and Owens wore a wristband with the words "The Answer" emblazoned on it. Just over eight minutes into the game, he caught a 61-yard touchdown pass from Tim Rattay (who was starting at quarterback because Jeff Garcia was injured), and excitedly pointed to the wristband after reaching the end zone to draw attention to it. After the game (won by San Francisco 30-14), Owens was asked by a sideline reporter the significance of the slogan on the wristband, and he replied: "Because I am The Answer."

Since "The Answer" is the widely known nickname of Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson, some observers wondered if Owens might have been signalling his intentions to play for the Philadelphia Eagles after the 2003 season, as it was common knowledge that Owens was slated to become a free agent once the season was over.

    * Owens also imitated and mocked the trademark pre-game ritual of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis after scoring a touchdown while playing against the Ravens in the 2004 season. This caused somewhat of a story with the media, but Owens later apologized to Lewis.

    * After Owens ran the ball on a reverse, he ran the field 90 yards on the play against the Jacksonville Jaguars, as his celebration he turned his helmet around and ran around like a blind man.

On November 15, 2004, controversy shrouded Owens once again, when he appeared with popular TV actress Nicolette Sheridan (of the ABC series Desperate Housewives) in an introductory skit which opened that evening's Monday Night Football telecast, in which Owens and the Eagles played the Cowboys at Texas Stadium. The skit was widely condemned as being sexually suggestive (see video [2]) and ABC was forced to apologize for airing it (the Eagles went on to win the game, 49-21, with Owens catching three touchdown passes). However, on March 14, 2005, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that the skit did not violate decency standards, because it contained no outright nudity or foul language.

Leg injury and Super Bowl XXXIX

On December 19, 2004, Owens sustained a severely sprained ankle and a fractured fibula during a home game against the Dallas Cowboys; the injury was expected to carry thoughout the post-season. With the Eagles heading to Super Bowl XXXIX, Owens shocked the media by announcing he would play no matter what, even though team doctors stated that his injury would take several more weeks to heal. Skeptics were silenced when Owens started the game and played as if he had no injury at all; the result was 9 receptions and 122 yards, though the Eagles still lost to the New England Patriots. After the game, Owens criticized the media by saying that a player like Brett Favre would have been praised for such bravery.

Terrell Owens' number 81 jersey for the Philadelphia Eagles is a record-breaking piece of sports merchandise. As of the 2004 season, it was the most purchased NFL jersey.

On August 10, 2005, Owens was suspended by the team for one week, after a heated exchange with Andy Reid. The Eagles mailed Owens a legal document, known as a Notice of Unsatisfactory Work Performance, at his Atlanta home on August 15 stipulating the behavior to which he is expected to adhere when he returned to the team, which he did, amid much fanfare, on August 17.

More 2005 controversy

During his weekly Philadelphia sports radio show on WIP (AM) prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys, Owens stated if he could return to the 2004 off-season he would not have signed with the Eagles. Owens' comments were made a mockery of throughout the city considering the fact that the only other team interested in signing him were the Baltimore Ravens, in which he declined to sign with in favor of the Eagles. After the Dallas game, in which the Eagles were badly beaten, Owens was seen by Philadelphia Daily News reporters wearing a Michael Irvin throwback football jersey on the way to the Eagles airplane flight. Considering the fact that the Cowboys are the most despised sports team in Philadelphia, fans viewed this as a slap in the face. According to sources and Andy Reid's post-game press conference, none of Owens' teammates or coaches challenged him. However, it is well known that Owens is good friends with Irvin.

On October 26, 2005, the Philadelphia Inquirer report that Terrell Owens put his 5 bedroom mansion in Moorestown, New Jersey up for sale. His publicist downplayed the sale saying Owens was "downsizing" and wanted to move closer to Lincoln Financial Field. Owens also made a comment on his radio show prior to the Denver game that he and Brian Westbrook aren't getting the ball enough (even though Owens is tied for the league lead in receptions).

On November 3, 2005, answering a hypothetical question during an interview by ESPN, Owens said that he thought the Eagles would be undefeated if Brett Favre was on the team instead of Donovan McNabb. In the interview he also criticized the Eagles organization for not publically acknowledging his 100th career touchdown catch, he also criticized the class and integrity of management while noting that his publicist had talked to the "head PR guy" prior to the milestone game and that they "used an excuse" that they did not recognize it was coming up, he stated that he believed it was a blatant lie, however later developments might suggest that Owens misunderstood management regarding the recognition of his milestone game. Later the Eagles stated through a seemingly-subdued Owens during an apology the following day that they do not recognize individual achievements.

Owens was suspended indefinitely on November 5, for conduct detrimental to the team. ESPN also revealed on November 6 that Owens had been involved in a physical fight with team official and former teammate Hugh Douglas earlier in the week.

Owens' antics and attitude have led one ESPN football analyst to label Owens as a "selfish jerk" on national television for the broadcast between the Eagles and Washington Redskins on November 6, 2005.

During his weekly news conference the following day Eagles head coach Andy Reid said that Owens has been suspended for four games—starting with the 17-10 loss to the Washington Redskins on November 6—for conduct detrimental to the team. The four games are the maximum amount of time that a player can be suspended for such conduct, according to NFL rules. After Owens serves his four games, he will be deactivated for the remainder of the season. A grievance by the NFLPA and Owens is pending.  Owens on Tuesday, November 08, 2005 Apologized for his actions.