Terrell Owens' story is all too well known. The poster boy for the diva wide receiver became a star that no team wanted. But at 38, Owens knows he can still play. After a long, highly publicized and highly criticized NFL career, Terrell Owens returned to football Saturday night. In his debut for the Indoor Football League's Allen Wranglers, T.O. caught three passes--all for touchdowns--for 53 yards in a 50-30 win over the Wichita Wild.
Before Saturday, Owens had not played since his stint with the 4-12 Bengals in 2010. The likely first-ballot hall of famer did not return to Cincinnati the following season and since the Bengals did not re-sign him, Owens remained without a team for the entire 2011 season. In January, GQ magazine wrote a feature on Owens focusing on his lack of money, lack of friends, and again, lack of team. In the article, an anonymous NFL team executive sums up what Terrell Owens has become to anyone associated with the NFL--a cancer.
"It's not his knee that's the problem; it's his attitude," says an executive at one of the better teams, who didn't want to be named..."He may have been less openly divisive with the Bengals," the exec continues, "but you can't live down the destruction of all those years. With T.O., no matter how brilliant he can be on the field, the dark side is always lurking.
Possibly motivated by money, or perhaps just the desire to play football again, Owens signed with the Allen Wranglers in January 2012. The NFL may not be interested in Owens, but the name "T.O." still carries weight. Saturday's crowd of 5,711 was more fans than the Allen Wranglers had in 2011 combined.