Terrell Owens was despised by almost every fan of every team on which he did not play and by many on the teams on which he did. He was seen as selfish, self-centered, a Prima Donna. In San Francisco and Dallas, he was ultimately perceived as a team cancer. In Buffalo and Cincinnati, he was mostly a non-factor.
But Owens was bright. He was innovative. He was a showman. From dancing on the midfield star in Texas Stadium to hauling out a Sharpie and signing a football after scoring a touchdown, Owens incensed the opposition and entertained the masses.
Owens possesses an infectious smile and a quick wit. He is also a special, Hall of Fame–caliber talent. He has all the traits that could have made him beloved by all.
All but one.
Owens never bought into the notion that there is no “I” in team. He always figured the best thing for whatever team he was on was for him to be the focus of the offense and the center of attention.
On the sidelines during one Dallas Cowboys game, Owens was captured screaming, “I love me some me!”
And he did love him some him, but apparently few others do these days.
Susanna Kim opens her recent article on the receiver for ABC News,
'Terrell Owens, the former NFL star receiver who has signed to play for and co-own an indoor football team, is friendless and nearly broke, he told GQ magazine. “I’m in hell,” Owens, 38, said he tells people who ask about his well-being.'
Hardly the picture of a man reaping the rewards of an NFL career that garnered him a reported 80 million dollars in earnings.
Hardly the expected testimony of the man who once said, “Getcha popcorn ready, because it’s gonna be a show.”
Kim concludes her article, “I don’t have no friends,” [Owens] told GQ. ”I don’t want no friends. That’s how I feel.”
The sadness of this man is palpable. What a tragedy!
Did you ever hear the term “Good-Time Charlie?”
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a “good-time Charlie” as a happy-go-lucky convivial man given to fun making, hilarity, and the general pursuit of amusement.
Terrell Owens was the NFL’s most colorful Good-Time Charlie. And what is wrong with that, really? There is nothing wrong with enjoying the ride.
Get ready. Here comes my analysis.
Someone has to be the life of the party and if you are that person to whom others naturally gravitate, more power to you. You make them laugh. You make them cry. You leave them wanting more. They all want to be you.
Cool.
But be careful, shining star, of listening too closely to the accolades. Be careful of making yourself the focal point of your own attentions. The crowd is fickle and glory fleeting. When the lights go out and the party ends, it will be those people you loved, those people in whom you invested, those people you made feel important that remain.
Be careful how you party, party hound.
Or, you may end up a party of one in a forsaken dive Owens called “Hell.”
Also from Silver and Blue Blood
Original Story:
