Wednesday, September 27, 2006
What a circus in Dallas today after the controversial football player, Terrell Owens (popularly known as "T.O."), reportedly attempted to take his own life. Owens denied the report this afternoon.
T.O. rose to football stardom as a San Francisco 49er, but his controversial time as a Philadelphia Eagle elevated his career (and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus's career) to rock-star status. His little pre-Monday Night Football towel-dropping commercial with Desperate Houseflies star, Nicollette Sheridan, just made him more popular - and controversial - than ever.
When he signed with his former nemesis, the Dallas Cowboys, it was understood that there would be a lot of T.O. to be seen this year. Owens had a decent game at Jacksonville in Week 1, and then was greeted with great enthusiasm in his home opener against Washington in Week 2. He broke his finger in the first quarter (which explained his less-than-stellar game), but he didn't tell anyone until the 4th quarter. Afterwards, he underwent surgery to repair the fracture.
On my way to work this morning, I listened to ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike relay reports out of Dallas that T.O. had a bad reaction to pain medication and had to be rushed to the hospital last night. Greenie theorized that he would recover quickly, possibly even playing this weekend, while Golic wondered if the reaction might deplete his energy enough to make playing a football game on Sunday difficult. But after the police report hit the media, there were suddenly a whole new set of questions.
The report claimed that when emergency personnel reached Owens, the bottle that held his pain medication was empty, and he reportedly tried to take two more pills after they arrived. When asked if he had tried to hurt himself, the normally loquacious Owens replied with one word: "Yes."
At his press conference this afternoon, T.O. explained that his publicist panicked when she saw his empty medication bottle and found him to be unresponsive, but the truth of the matter was that he had (a) separated some pills (leaving a bottle empty), (b) been groggy from taking the pain medication, and (c) no recollection of saying the things police reported he had said.
Owens said he plans to play football this Sunday.
The initial reports got me to thinking: I, for one, have to remind myself from time to time that the larger-than-life entertainers in our world are not, in fact, larger than life. In my moments of clarity, I feel sorry for the controversial figures that don our tabloids. Their lives must often be hell, in spite of the beauty in which we try to paint their pictures.
Owens denies that, of course. He says he's happy. I'm not saying he isn't, but reports like today's remind me that what we see isn't always real. Or often even close.
In addition to all his other cover images, Terrell Owens may very well become the poster child for this dark truth as well.
T.O. rose to football stardom as a San Francisco 49er, but his controversial time as a Philadelphia Eagle elevated his career (and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus's career) to rock-star status. His little pre-Monday Night Football towel-dropping commercial with Desperate Houseflies star, Nicollette Sheridan, just made him more popular - and controversial - than ever.
When he signed with his former nemesis, the Dallas Cowboys, it was understood that there would be a lot of T.O. to be seen this year. Owens had a decent game at Jacksonville in Week 1, and then was greeted with great enthusiasm in his home opener against Washington in Week 2. He broke his finger in the first quarter (which explained his less-than-stellar game), but he didn't tell anyone until the 4th quarter. Afterwards, he underwent surgery to repair the fracture.
On my way to work this morning, I listened to ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike relay reports out of Dallas that T.O. had a bad reaction to pain medication and had to be rushed to the hospital last night. Greenie theorized that he would recover quickly, possibly even playing this weekend, while Golic wondered if the reaction might deplete his energy enough to make playing a football game on Sunday difficult. But after the police report hit the media, there were suddenly a whole new set of questions.
The report claimed that when emergency personnel reached Owens, the bottle that held his pain medication was empty, and he reportedly tried to take two more pills after they arrived. When asked if he had tried to hurt himself, the normally loquacious Owens replied with one word: "Yes."
At his press conference this afternoon, T.O. explained that his publicist panicked when she saw his empty medication bottle and found him to be unresponsive, but the truth of the matter was that he had (a) separated some pills (leaving a bottle empty), (b) been groggy from taking the pain medication, and (c) no recollection of saying the things police reported he had said.
Owens said he plans to play football this Sunday.
The initial reports got me to thinking: I, for one, have to remind myself from time to time that the larger-than-life entertainers in our world are not, in fact, larger than life. In my moments of clarity, I feel sorry for the controversial figures that don our tabloids. Their lives must often be hell, in spite of the beauty in which we try to paint their pictures.
Owens denies that, of course. He says he's happy. I'm not saying he isn't, but reports like today's remind me that what we see isn't always real. Or often even close.
In addition to all his other cover images, Terrell Owens may very well become the poster child for this dark truth as well.
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Yah, it was all a big misunderstanding, don't ya know? Besides, he needs to do great since he is on my Fantasy Football League on Yahoo!
Seriously, though, the pain behind the facade is the story we never know.
Seriously, though, the pain behind the facade is the story we never know.
You know, the more I hear the more "I" think something more was up. Firsthand reports of his pastor having been over before, reports of his being forced to miss his son's birthday and other stuff like that... I'm sure we're not getting the whole story...
Plus, my friend Whitney said he's a Cardinals fan - which points toward suicide...
:-)
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Plus, my friend Whitney said he's a Cardinals fan - which points toward suicide...
:-)
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