Dallas finally swallowed their pride and did the right thing by dumping T.O.

SCOTT JACOBS

They say in sports that if your talent is as big as your ego most teams will let it slide.  But when your ego becomes bigger than your talent, most teams will steer clear of you like the plague.  Terrell Owens learned that lesson the hard way after the Cowboys cut him yesterday, ending a tumultuous three year relationship that was rockier than Shaq’s recent ‘hate tour.’

The mantra goes like this: the guy is very talented, but now 35 years old and on the downside of what has been a “Real World-esque” career (drama anyone).  He drops a lot of passes, says some really stupid things, and seems to have a will to cause problems even when things are going well. As soon as things fall apart he is the first to implode.

Some people are shocked by this, others caught off guard.  I’m happy about it.  Goodbye T.O., don’t let the door hit you on the way out.  Guys like T.O. shouldn’t be relevent.  He’s a jerk, incredibly egotistical, and he comes first before his team.  T.O. is the anti-role model.  He calls team-mates gay, calls out his quarterback for wimping out on him, and he always has that inconvienently timed sideline blowup. Everywhere he goes they hate him at the end.  And the feelings seem to be mutual the other way around.

No one denies T.O.’s talents, but its about time the Cowboys finally came to their senses.  After all that controversy what did T.O. really accomplish in Dallas?  He didn’t help them win a playoff game, and the duo of him and Roy Williams, well let’s just say it didn’t work out.  And he called out Jason Witten.  Great team-mate, sure hands, T.O. is neither of those things.

I’d like to see him remain on the open market so he has a chance to think over how royally he’s screwed up what should have been a surefire Hall of Fame career.

Now some of the things he did were funny. Taking out a sharpie and autographing a football after scoring a touchdown: that was funny.  I remember hearing about that, and cracking up (of course the No Fun League didn’t agree).  Other things he did though were downright stupid: like when he stomped on the star as a 49er against the Cowboys.

I remember the first time he truly exploded onto the scene:  it was in that spectacular 1998 Wild Card game against the Packers, with San Fran trailing 27-23 and 25 yards separating the 49ers from a win or a loss.  Well, T.O. got in between coverage, Steve Young threw a perfect pass, and Owens caught it for a stunning touchdown with just three seconds left to put the 49ers up for good.  That was T.O.’s coming out party.

”I have never made a bigger catch in my life, never played in a bigger game and never been more thankful to the Lord that I got a chance to redeem myself to my teammates,” said Owens that day, referring to the four dropped passes and one fumble he had earlier in the game.

That was good Owens, likeable Owens.  He was in just his third season then and the football field looked like his oyster.

But then in his eigth season Owens asked to be dealt from the 49ers, and got his wish when the Ravens agreed to send their 51st pick  for the disgruntled, all world talent.  But confusion ensued, Owens refused to take a physical with Baltimore, and an arbitrator ruled T.O. could become a free agent.  The Ravens got their second round pick back, and a three team trade involving the 49ers, Eagles, and Ravens was worked out to send Owens to the Eagles.

Owens and Donovan McNabb were supposed to be the perfect match, but it never quite worked out that way.  The Eagles made Super Bowl XXXIX despite the fact that Owens was hurt, and T.O. “bravely” came back to play in the Big Game, even though the Eagles lost to New England 24-21.  Owens played well, catching nine balls for 122 yards, but he ruined his good name once again by taking shots at McNabb after the game, when he said that McNabb didn’t have anything left in the tank in the waning moments of the fourth quarter.

On March 14, 2006 after a reality TV like two seasons with Philadelphia, Owens was released.  The move was inevitable after the Eagles kicked him off their team back in November following a plethora of incidents and infractions.

NFC East rival Dallas signed him to a deal that offseason, with the thinking that Bill Parcells could discipline T.O. But that didn’t come to fruition.  After Parcells retired Wade Phillips had the fun task of keeping T.O. happy.  That didn’t work either.  Spats between team-mates, complaints about not getting the ball enough, and Ed Werder around Cowboys camp so much one offseason that SportsCenter became OwensCenter, were just a few of the lowlights during a bizzare three year stint with Dallas.

Well, that’s done with now.

So, Owens is now looking for team number four, and the only team believed to be interested is the only team that is seeminly never scared off by anyone: the Oakland Raiders.

Well, have fun in the Black Hole T.O.  They’re the only ones that want you, and it’s not like winning is that important to you anyways right? (You’ve already screwed up with three winning teams!)  Besides, just think of all the passes JaMarcus Russell will throw your way!

Photo: Getty Images

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