interesting TO take...is espn really to blame??

[ice grillin you]

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.

[Cerevant]

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.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

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.

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.

Did TO_is_god write that?

[MURP]

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.

[rjs246]

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.

[Zanshin]

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.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

[qwert246]

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.

[stillupfront]

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.

[ice grillin you]

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

[PublicEnemy_81]

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!!

[SunMo]

he's having a press conference from his Moorestown home at 3pm...

[rjs246]

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?

[SunMo]

[MadMarchHare]

Good farging Lord, this is the problem with him knowing he has nothing to lose.  That should have some good soundbytes in it.