Terrell Owens’ persona transcends his own reality.
That persona, his own personal creation from over 10 years of dominating football headlines, hasn’t reared its ugly head since he removed the big blue star from his helmet.
The locker room killer and the giant ego are just two of many perceptions of a man that has remained relatively silent over the last two years.
Now, it’s pretty easy to fall out of the spotlight while playing for the Buffalo Bills, but through five games in 2010, the Owens and Chad Ochocinco tandem in Cincinnati has yet to cause any disturbance.
In fact, Owens is playing better than he has since the 2007-2008 season, and is on track for the 10th 1,000-yard season of his career.
The 36-year-old wide receiver has transformed himself into nothing more than a very productive 36-year-old wide receiver.
Is it surprising? Yeah, extremely surprising, but give the man credit where credit is due.
Unfortunately, his past and, along with it, his persona, can’t be shaken.
Even a kind gesture can turn into a public dilemma.
Around noon on Sunday, an hour before the Bengals game against Tampa Bay, Owens posted on his Twitter account.
The problem; the NFL does not allow players to use social media to communicate with fans or comment on the game within 90 minutes before kickoff.
The confusing part is that the post was something nice.
It read, “A lucky fan wearing my jersey 2day will get a signed football by me & Ocho Cinco! My asst will pick U out!! Good luck!”
Clearly it was about the football game itself, right? Well, not exactly.
Whoever won the contest better lock that ball in a safe, because for Owens, it could be worth roughly $25,000 in fines.
It was simply a kind gesture from a man that many can’t stand and many wished would just go away. Unfortunately for them, he is back and again among the top five receivers in the NFL.
That doesn’t mean all of the hatred toward him is undeserved. The man has disrespected several franchises and, at times, been the target of blame for losses and locker room fallouts.
But we haven’t seen that Terrell Owens in over two years.
Maybe his mental age has caught up with him, allowing him to succeed again with a physical age that has never resembled his athletic ability.
Maybe he can finally see how quickly his window of opportunity in the NFL will close, leaving him without a title.
Or maybe he is just done trying to keep up with his persona.
To be truthful, I am rooting for the guy.
The veteran combination of him and Ochocinco pairs two talented jokesters on opposite ends of the field.
Both feed off each other, and both have benefited from sharing the gridiron.
Sure, Carson Palmer is increasingly looking like the guy that won’t ever recover from his knee surgery, but that hasn’t stopped them yet.
And of course the Bengals are currently 2-3, and the season could easily spiral out of control.
But I don’t see that happening.
I see Owens taking a screen pass and using his amazing after-the-catch ability to put up six points.
I see crossing post routes between No. 81 and No. 85, creating single coverage deep down field.
I see a man shedding the persona he appeared to desperately create over the first 13 years of his career and finally enjoying reality.
Reach the columnist at nathan.meacham@asu.edu
