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Owens the master of fine whine
By PHIL SHERIDAN
Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA - And here we thought Terrell Owens' role model was Jerry Rice.
Oops.
Owens - or should we call him Terrell H. Owens now? - has set his sights even higher than the greatest wide receiver of all time. That "J" on Owens' "WWJD" bracelet is not for Jerry. It's for Jesus.
That's not a major surprise. The fact that T.O. sees himself and J.C. as peers? That was a major surprise.
But that's the message in Owens' comments in The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday. Asked about his contract problem with the Eagles, Owens didn't invoke the name of Curt Flood or even NFL free-agency pioneer Reggie White.
He went right over their heads. Waaaay over.
"At the end of the day," Owens told the Miami Herald's Jason Cole, "I don't have to worry about what people think of me, whether they hate me or not. People hated on Jesus. They threw stones at him and tried to kill him, so how can I complain or worry about what people think?"
While there is no mention in the King James version of the Bible of people who "hated on Jesus," you get the point. There's a direct correlation between the man the New Testament says died for the sins of all mankind and T.O., who wants a new contract from the Eagles.
At first it seems absurd. But mull it over for a little while, reflect on the story of Jesus a bit, and there is more common ground than you think.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Owens' Eagles career began at training camp in Bethlehem, Pa.
Jesus fed the multitudes with loaves and fishes. Owens wants more bread and thinks there was something fishy about his original deal.
Jesus walked on water. Owens reminds people of Ricky Watters.
Jesus rose from the dead after just three days. Owens came back from a broken ankle in just five weeks to play in the Super Bowl.
Jesus made wine from water. Owens made whine from a $49 million contract.
So you see, they are more alike than it first appears. And it makes perfect sense for Owens to compare reaction to his holdout to the persecution of Jesus.
Well, in T.O.'s mind, at least.
(Can we rewind back to this "hated on" thing? This is a really common, really despicable conceit, that you either adore and worship everything an athlete does or you're somehow "a hater." Criticizing Owens' course of action over the last few months is reasonable and fair and has nothing to do with hatred, OK? This self-serving use of the word by athletes is an insult to everyone who has been the victim of actual hatred. End of sermon.)
Look, the only real issues are whether Owens will wind up playing football for the Eagles this fall and whether any of his ill-advised remarks will create lasting problems for him, his teammates and the fans. That's it. Nobody really cares what Owens gets paid. If they did, they would be much more concerned with what Brian Westbrook's new $1.43 million contract looks like.
So we analyze these little T.O. appearances for clues to what will happen next.
That's why the Web and radio waves crackled over the last few days with speculation about Owens' reportedly chilly encounter with Donovan McNabb at ESPN's ESPY Awards last week. The two apparently didn't speak, even though they were in the same room for a long time.
That's why, when Owens starts comparing his plight to that of Jesus, we break out the old Concordance and try to puzzle out what his words reveal about his state of mind.
This one could go either way.
If Owens sees himself as a martyr, there's no telling how long he might be willing to hold out to make his point. If he feels his suffering is somehow truly noble, he could sit out the whole season.
If, on the other hand, Owens really thinks of Jesus as his role model, then he could well rise above these material concerns, stop coveting his neighbor's contract and put an end to this whole debacle.
Somehow, that doesn't seem very likely. Not when Owens went on to say, "Really, you've got to look at who the villain really is in this thing."
Presumably, he wasn't referring to Pontius Pilate, or to agent Drew Rosenhaus. If Owens thinks the Eagles are somehow villains, he really does have a persecution complex. That means it might take a miracle to get Owens to camp.
Fortunately, he's just the right guy to perform one.
By PHIL SHERIDAN
Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA - And here we thought Terrell Owens' role model was Jerry Rice.
Oops.
Owens - or should we call him Terrell H. Owens now? - has set his sights even higher than the greatest wide receiver of all time. That "J" on Owens' "WWJD" bracelet is not for Jerry. It's for Jesus.
That's not a major surprise. The fact that T.O. sees himself and J.C. as peers? That was a major surprise.
But that's the message in Owens' comments in The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday. Asked about his contract problem with the Eagles, Owens didn't invoke the name of Curt Flood or even NFL free-agency pioneer Reggie White.
He went right over their heads. Waaaay over.
"At the end of the day," Owens told the Miami Herald's Jason Cole, "I don't have to worry about what people think of me, whether they hate me or not. People hated on Jesus. They threw stones at him and tried to kill him, so how can I complain or worry about what people think?"
While there is no mention in the King James version of the Bible of people who "hated on Jesus," you get the point. There's a direct correlation between the man the New Testament says died for the sins of all mankind and T.O., who wants a new contract from the Eagles.
At first it seems absurd. But mull it over for a little while, reflect on the story of Jesus a bit, and there is more common ground than you think.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Owens' Eagles career began at training camp in Bethlehem, Pa.
Jesus fed the multitudes with loaves and fishes. Owens wants more bread and thinks there was something fishy about his original deal.
Jesus walked on water. Owens reminds people of Ricky Watters.
Jesus rose from the dead after just three days. Owens came back from a broken ankle in just five weeks to play in the Super Bowl.
Jesus made wine from water. Owens made whine from a $49 million contract.
So you see, they are more alike than it first appears. And it makes perfect sense for Owens to compare reaction to his holdout to the persecution of Jesus.
Well, in T.O.'s mind, at least.
(Can we rewind back to this "hated on" thing? This is a really common, really despicable conceit, that you either adore and worship everything an athlete does or you're somehow "a hater." Criticizing Owens' course of action over the last few months is reasonable and fair and has nothing to do with hatred, OK? This self-serving use of the word by athletes is an insult to everyone who has been the victim of actual hatred. End of sermon.)
Look, the only real issues are whether Owens will wind up playing football for the Eagles this fall and whether any of his ill-advised remarks will create lasting problems for him, his teammates and the fans. That's it. Nobody really cares what Owens gets paid. If they did, they would be much more concerned with what Brian Westbrook's new $1.43 million contract looks like.
So we analyze these little T.O. appearances for clues to what will happen next.
That's why the Web and radio waves crackled over the last few days with speculation about Owens' reportedly chilly encounter with Donovan McNabb at ESPN's ESPY Awards last week. The two apparently didn't speak, even though they were in the same room for a long time.
That's why, when Owens starts comparing his plight to that of Jesus, we break out the old Concordance and try to puzzle out what his words reveal about his state of mind.
This one could go either way.
If Owens sees himself as a martyr, there's no telling how long he might be willing to hold out to make his point. If he feels his suffering is somehow truly noble, he could sit out the whole season.
If, on the other hand, Owens really thinks of Jesus as his role model, then he could well rise above these material concerns, stop coveting his neighbor's contract and put an end to this whole debacle.
Somehow, that doesn't seem very likely. Not when Owens went on to say, "Really, you've got to look at who the villain really is in this thing."
Presumably, he wasn't referring to Pontius Pilate, or to agent Drew Rosenhaus. If Owens thinks the Eagles are somehow villains, he really does have a persecution complex. That means it might take a miracle to get Owens to camp.
Fortunately, he's just the right guy to perform one.
