writer makes some interesting points...some of which are valid altho imo in no way do does this let TO off the hook...even a little
With worship of T.O., ESPN creates a monster of mythic proportions
Rick Maese
In high school classes someday, the unit on Greek mythology will be replaced by one on NFL folklore.
The teacher will talk about Terrell Owens, a modern-day Narcissus in shoulder pads. The kids will hear about how Owens played football and amazed everyone. It truly was a thing of beauty.
But Owens knew how great he was, and he enjoyed the beauty more than others. In the end, Owens stared at his image on the television for too long. He got sucked in like some low-budget sci-fi movie, one of those that only airs in the middle of the night.
Today, everyone is looking for someone to blame. Owens' downfall was a tag-team effort. He played a key role, but we'll give an assist to ESPN. It made him, and it killed him.
ESPN's mission has warped over the past decade. It doesn't deliver just news, stats and scores. It interprets sports and passes them down in whatever packaging the network feels is the most gripping.
What that means is that ESPN has put itself in the business of creating characters, building our sports heroes into athletic demigods. Owens was no longer simply catching, spinning and running. Suddenly, he was scoring touchdowns, revolutionizing football, saving seals and ending poverty.
ESPN created a larger-than-life character and hit us over the head every night with Owens updates. As any good soap-opera writer will tell you, even the most intriguing character is infinitely more compelling in death.
If you went camping this weekend or something, here's the chronology as I remember it: Last week, Owens talked with an ESPN.com reporter, sharing inflammatory remarks about his team and teammates. Owens was suspended indefinitely, and, on Sunday's pre-game show, ESPN aired what seemed like a miniseries on Owens-related drama.
Later in the day, an ESPN reporter confirmed that Owens was involved in a brawl a few days before. The drama was intense, the plot thicker than drying cement. It all led up to Sunday night's big Eagles-taterskins game, naturally televised on ESPN.
Owens is perfect made-for-TV programming. Yesterday's announcement that he has been suspended for the rest of the season provided endless fodder for the talking heads who fill the docket at ESPN and all of its sister, brother and second-cousin stations.
In Bristol, Conn., yesterday was a stop-the-presses kind of day. With everyone pulling a muscle to contribute his two cents, you expected the Connecticut governor to declare a statewide hairspray shortage and emergency masseuse troops to be brought in to rub aching jaws.
Yesterday afternoon, one of the ESPN smiling anchors interviewed former Eagles receiver Freddie Mitchell, who accused the network of over-hyping Owens' comments, cutting and splicing them so only the most sensational mattered.
"It's sad how the media makes him a bad person and he really isn't," Mitchell said.
There's something about Owens. Whether you want to believe he's good or bad, you're at least paying attention. There's a reason ESPN -- and every other media outlet, for that matter -- spends so much time discussing Owens.
The ousted wide receiver has some special quality that grabs our eyes and doesn't let go. He's like that high school crush who just consumed your thoughts.
Owens is one of the most polarizing personalities in sports, prompting reaction from even the most casual fans. He's the most selfish personality in sports, a corner of society that has no shortage of dominant egos.
Reporters have used that against him, baiting him with questions that even Owens knows he should resist. It has made his self-destruction captivating, albeit senseless.
And while we love him because he might say something ridiculously headline-worthy at any moment, intelligent fans loathe the guy because he's not nearly as important as reporters, editors and television producers have led you to believe.
He's a football player -- probably the best wide receiver in the game. His relevance should never have transcended his position and his team and his community. The past 1 1/2 years, though, Owens wakes up on a certain side of the bed and we're supposed to worry about how it'll affect the Eagles' playoff hopes, the chance of a late-afternoon shower in Philadelphia and the chunkiness of Mrs. McNabb's soup.
I liked Owens in San Francisco. He was funny and worth five seconds of footage on a Sunday night. Five seconds was enough. The on-field highlights were all anyone ever wanted.
When he moved east, though, media latched on.
Owens has always thought he was the most important person in the room. That didn't mean much until ESPN started buying into the idea.
It's too bad. His accomplishments have been stained and his legacy will be covered by a dark cloud. At the least, it'll make for a riveting piece on ESPN Classic in a few years.
TO is sick, he needs counseling and probably medication. He is not without blame in this, but the events from this year stem from:
1) Rosenthief whispering in his ear, telling him that he got a bad deal
2) ESPN for giving him a forum to shoot his mouth off
1 & 2 were doing their jobs, TO was an ass for not realizing that they did not have his best interests in mind.
It all started with Donovan's press conference during last year's playoffs when he publicly said that the team could win the Super Bowl without Owens. We all know that it would have been ridiculous for Donovan to admit otherwise publicly, but Terrell doesn't have the common sense chip for that. Since then, he has been at odds with McNabb, and that was the beginning of the end. Everything else played off that.
QuoteThe ousted wide receiver has some special quality that grabs our eyes and doesn't let go. He's like that high school crush who just consumed your thoughts.
Did TO_is_god write that?
ESPN is to blame for making crap TV with Ex Fred and horseface. ESPN is not to blame for Owens being an idiot. We already broke down the real transcript. He said stupid shtein again, he was told many times not too. Thats the end of it. If TO cant resist doing interviews and making stupid comments it's his own fault.
While I find the media's obsession with him ridiculous, there is no way you can blame them for any of this. He's an idiot and that's his own fault.
He's way too predictible and manipulable. All ESPN did was take advantage of it for their own gain. TO was all to happy to be used because he needs to be the center of attention. This is the price.
(http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2002-10/61371/TOloot.jpg)
I actually thought because TO and Irvin are friends, that he had prior knowledge of the Favre question, and it was like a set up that Irvin and TO were orchestrating.
Whatever, TO is a tool. The eagles are better in the long run without him.
It may be due to the early onset of Alzheimers. There is evidence that it is heriditary. He does, afterall have a grandmother with the mental faculties of a sweet potato.
i dont think irvin gives two shteins about owens and i believe their friendship to be way overblown...irvin is using TO to further his career...and espn is using irvin to further themselves...when TO gives his first interview irvin is going to be there to get it...just as hes gotten exclusive phone conversations and interviews with him thus far...and thats why they are 'friends'...but they arent friends just as mcnabb and TO werent friends last year
LOL wow and I just thought it was because he was a terrorist taking the city hostage... But Sweet potatoe intelligence is much more reasonable.
Jerkzilla Lives, F-U T.O.
:poison Now Lets see him cross the middle against us next year!! :poison
he's having a press conference from his Moorestown home at 3pm...
Quote from: OsamaOwens on November 08, 2005, 12:01:10 PM
LOL wow and I just thought it was because he was a terrorist taking the city hostage... But Sweet potatoe intelligence is much more reasonable.
Jerkzilla Lives, F-U T.O.
Now Lets see him cross the middle against us next year!!
Squeeze me? Baking powder?
(http://www.clearysworld.com/images/misc/TO.jpg)
Good farging Lord, this is the problem with him knowing he has nothing to lose. That should have some good soundbytes in it.
I would be stunned to find out that T.O. had any friends whatsoever.
Consideringing he has the mental capacity of an eight year-old, I doubt many, if any, adults would tolerate his nonsense.
Seriously, he's seems more like Michael Jackson in that respect than an actual functioning adult.
Quote from: MadMarchHare on November 08, 2005, 12:04:57 PM
Good farging Lord, this is the problem with him knowing he has nothing to lose. That should have some good soundbytes in it.
Nothing to lose? He's going to lose pretty much all the money he would have made this year (4 gm suspension, signing bonus take back). This plays right into the Birds hands - I bet Banner is giggling with joy over this. Nails in the coffin baby, nails in the coffin.
Nothing to lose? He's going to lose pretty much all the money he would have made this year
i expect the grievance to be somewhat successful...probably be reduced to a two game suspension...and no way the eagles touch any of his sb
Quote from: ice grillin you on November 08, 2005, 12:16:54 PM
Nothing to lose? He's going to lose pretty much all the money he would have made this year
i expect the grievance to be somewhat successful...probably be reduced to a two game suspension...and no way the eagles touch any of his sb
I think you are wrong there, as I've said in a couple of places. TO signed a contract that allowed specifically for this situation, and Joe & Andy have been doing this by the letter so they could establish a precedent aginst the trend of free agency by bitching...
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on November 07, 2005, 07:43:22 PM
(edited)
Mort says they are also going after his SIGNING BONUS too. :-D
From PFT.com:
Quote"T." COULD "O." BONUS MONEY
In addition to the $7.5 million in option and roster bonus money that the Eagles won't pay to T.O. in March 2006, we've determined based on the text of his contract that the team also may be able to pursue more than $1.7 million in bonus money paid to him when he signed his contract on March 16, 2004.
Per the contract, the original $2.3 million signing bonus expressly requires repayment of $1.725 million for a "default" occurring between January 31, 2005 and January 31, 2006. A "default" occurs if, among other things, Owens is suspended for more than one game for conduct detrimental to the team.
I agree they set it up well, but it remains to be seen whether it will stand up to scrutiny. I hope like hell it does, it'll keep situations like Welbourn, TO and <dreadlocked GB CB whose name I can't remember> from forcing their way out of town on the home teams dime.
Quote from: ice grillin you on November 08, 2005, 12:16:54 PM
Nothing to lose? He's going to lose pretty much all the money he would have made this year
i expect the grievance to be somewhat successful...probably be reduced to a two game suspension...and no way the eagles touch any of his sb
Haha. Are you really underestimating Joe Banner? Why do you think T.O. REALLY wanted to re-do his deal?
Plus, there are apparently a large handful of incidents that the public hasn't yet heard about which the Eagles also documented. It's definitely going to be an uphill climb for any sort of appeal from T.O.
Quote from: MadMarchHare on November 08, 2005, 12:29:31 PM
I agree they set it up well, but it remains to be seen whether it will stand up to scrutiny. I hope like hell it does, it'll keep situations like Welbourn, TO and <dreadlocked GB CB whose name I can't remember> from forcing their way out of town on the home teams dime.
Well, the press reported that the Birds management spent a lot of time talking to the NFL management council about this on Friday. I'm thinking the owners are gearing up for a war on this issue to stem the tide of disgruntled players moving around at will.
It's reported the Birds can go after (and are) $1.5 mill of his signing bonus.
I say more power to the FO. That's going to Pi$$ him off like nobody has ever seen... Hit him in the wallet. :deion
He'll be crying on ESPN 5x's a week.
>:D
TO TO TO TOoooo
You Suuuuck You Suuuuck