/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60006377/usa_today_9646357.0.jpg)
For a very long time, Anthony Munoz was the only Bengal to represent the Bengals in the Hall of Fame. He spent 13 seasons in Cincinnati as one of the best left tackles of his generation.
Now, the Bengals have a new representative in Terrell Owens. Some may argue that he is more of a 49er, Cowboy or even an Eagle, and they are probably right. However, he played his last season with the Bengals, so I’ll take it.
Owens has been known for controversy for almost as long as he has been in the league. There was the time he celebrated on the star in the Cowboy’s stadium, twice. He also pretty much drove himself out of Philadelphia by calling out Donovan McNabb after their Super Bowl loss. He was also probably the worst thing for Chad Johnson in Cincinnati as that was the season that ended up causing the reboot for the Bengals with A.J. Green and Andy Dalton.
Owens hasn’t slowed down since retiring. He was very upset that he wasn’t a first ballot Hall-of-Famer. He was a finalist the past three years, but it still seemed like it was unfair Owens had to wait so long after clearly being one of the best receivers in the league for a long period of time. Munoz still thinks Owens is making a mistake.
“He’s missing a lot,” Munoz told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “To be able to be around these great men and be able to see the shoulders that we stood on and made the game what it is today is one of life’s greatest experiences.”
Owens said in a public statement that he will celebrate his enshrinemnt somewhere other than Canton. If anything, we should expect some over the top celebration from Owens, which could be better than anything we could have seen in Canton. Munoz still thinks Owens is missing the point.
“But it’s just not the speeches and the ceremony,” Munoz said. “The three or four days before that are great. It gives you an opportunity to meet and have a relationship with some really great guys. It really is a fraternity. A guy like Jerry Rice is part of it. One of the greatest and a guy who is always there.”
That’s cool, but Owens played with Rice for five seasons in San Francisco. Owens may miss out on seeing guys this year, but it feels like he is just making a point to to give a nice “screw you” to the voters by not participating this year. He will obviously have the option of coming other years.
Owens may be making a huge mistake. He could miss out on one of the most special moments of his life. However, what does Owens love as much as he loves football?
Being the center of attention and entertaining people. He has successfully conquered being the center of attention, so he may have something up his sleeves to give us all something more memorable than a speech.