Eagles Fans May Be Happy For The Fall Of T.O.

Remember when Terrell Owens arrived in Philly in 2004........... after 8 top flight seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, "T.O." arrived with the Eagles having caught 370 passes over the previous 4 seasons, along with 51 touchdowns and numerous Pro Bowl selections.  The 2 years around our area saw the best and the worst in a talented but seemingly disturbed talent who burned his bridges leaving here for the Dallas Cowboys.  Today, attempting to recover from a severe injury suffered about a year ago, Owens may have hit rock bottom.

The day that will live in the history of a fledgling football league is January 18th, 2012 - Terrell Owens makes his return to competitive football in the Dallas area.  Let me  emphasize that it's the Dallas area - about 30 miles outside of the city.  Collin County is considered part of the north Dallas suburbs -about 1 million Texans live here with plenty of shopping malls, the home of the NCAA Subdivision National Championship game (in Frisco), where the Dallas Stars train in the NHL off-season, and now where T.O. will be hanging out as a member of the Allen Wranglers.

Who are the Allen Wranglers?  The team is a part of the Indoor Football League - a league entering its 5th season and not even considered the elite league when it comes to indoor football.  You may have heard of the Philadelphia Soul - the team owned in part by Jon Bon Jovi.  Well the Soul are a part of the Arena Football League - the 25 yr. old establishment that has produced former Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner (St. Louis Rams) and the NFL's most accurate kicker in history in Mike Vanderjagt (just to name a few).  The Arena League games can be seen on the NFL Network - The Indoor Football League has no major contract with any network.

Has Owens suddenly hit rock bottom?  Considering the drama that has surrounded T.O. it is hard to say.  A 6-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, Owens is destined to some day make the Hall Of Fame for a career that has seen him be one of only 6 players in NFL history to have caught over 1,000 passes (1078 over 15 seasons), over 150 touchdowns (153), and is only one of 3 players to have over 15,000 receiving yards (15,934).  His dominance is not in question, but his personality and attitude is.

There is no doubt that T.O. has some of the more colorful moments in NFL history on the field: from his touchdown celebrations that have ranged from dancing with cheerleaders, spiking the bowl on the midfield star when he was not a Cowboy, pulling out a Sharpie from his sock to sign a football he caught, doing push ups in the end zone, and Eagles fans remember his Bird Dance.

Owens tried to have fun on the field, but it did not always rub his teammates the right way.  Many in our area remember his problems with former Eagles starting quarterback Donovan McNabb, and some may remember when he spit on another player's face.

Off field, the T.O. drama have included holdouts over money, a drug overdose and apparent suicide attempt, his foray into reality TV with The T.O. Show which has averaged about 1.5 million viewers on VH1, and the question if Terrell Owens is seriuos about football or being famous?

You would think someone with Owens' resume should have gotten a call from an NFL team to play this past year, but he was recovering from a torn ACL injury that had him supposedly ready to play.  Owens attempted to do a training session to prove he was ready but not one NFL team bothered to attend.  The T.O. antics may have hurt him severely - stories leaking about being a prima donna during the 2009 taping of The Superstars for ABC have also contributed to his problems.

So where is Terrell Owens?  Does he just want to be famous?  Is he serious about trying football again?  Can he change his ways enough to prove to the NFL that he's healthy and worthy enough of another shot?  Is money an underlying factor?

Well there has been a question of Owens having been delinquent on child support for one of his kids, raising the question if T.O. is broke.  This is a man who was pulling down a 7 Million Dollar a season paycheck at one stretch, and now he might pull down about $50,000 - still not a bad paycheck but a significant fall from grace.

Now is Owens playing in the Indoor Football League going to prove that he seriously wants one more chance to put a final chapter on a great NFL career, or is this just something for him to have for another season of The T.O. Show?  Owens may not like this question, but based on his past actions this is a legit question.

From playing against the Green Bay Packers or the Chicago Bears in front of 80,000 to playing the Green Bay Blizzard or the Chicago Slaughter in front of 8,000 - this is where Terrell Owens is now.  He may help this league get some exposure, he should be a dominant player, and I'm sure he would be quite a personality.  The next step on this circus show could be ............. Canada?  Paging the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL!