Everybody but T.O.: Get your popcorn ready!

Posted by Holly Phelps on July 15, 2010   Jump To Comments

Is this the face of a man who deserves to suffer?

Be quiet for a second.

Do you hear that?

It’s the world’s smallest violin, playing a song just for Terrell Owens.

Like many of the millions of Americans who are unemployed due to recession or outsourcing, the man in our story today can’t understand why this is happening to him.  He’s been working at the same job since 1996 (he trained his whole life for it, in fact).  What’s more, he’s been pretty good at it, earning recognition as the best in his field five times, including three years in a row 2000-2002.  Sure, he might have had disagreements with bosses in the past (I mean, what superstar employee wouldn’t?), he might have had to change companies a couple of times (onward and upward, right?)…but he’s still got it!  I mean, look what he did for his last company!  Would you have been able to put together a better group project if there really wasn’t anybody leading the team?  There’s only so much one man can do, right?  And he did everything he was asked!  Without complaint (but, naturally, with understated grace)!  How about a little recognition?

But no, it seems that there are forces at work hell-bent on keeping our protagonist down.  Apparently, all of his ex-companies are a lot of chatterboxes, telling lies about his work ethic to potential employers.  According to our man, the rumors about him have put him on a kind of hiring black list:

It’s because people feel I’ve disrupted some teams, I’m a cancer — I’ve heard all those things. They’ve said that for the last five, six years. The teams I’ve been on, if you ask in that locker room how I’ve been as a teammate and as a person, it’s contradictory to what’s been displayed out there.

Mike Freeman of CBS Sports has gone further, sending into the interwebs a hint of an allegation that it’s not just our hero’s ex-bosses, but the entire industry, which has risen up in opposition to this man getting a job and being able to feed his family:

I really am starting to believe there is collusion between teams with Terrell Owens. It’s payback for him acting like a turd.

Freeman seems to insinuate that our main character has been less than saintly, and has even gone so far as to warrant his being fired from not one, not two, but three different companies.  What slander!! What chicanery!!  What an outrage!!

Right?

I mean, let’s be honest. T.O.’s inability to find a team is hardly surprising, given his penchant for drama and theatrics.  His teary “that’s my quarterback” defense of Tony Romo went viral and became instantly memorable.

Help yourself. I brought enough for everyone.

But it’s been interesting, watching a man with his body of work (1,006 receptions, 14,951 yards, 144 touchdowns) find himself out of options.  Another veteran receiver, Joey Galloway, had over 10,000 yards receiving when he was released by his team of five years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  He later signed with the New England Patriots, but his inability to produce led the team to release him before Week 7.  It has to be hard to be suddenly un-feted, but that’s life in the NFL.  What’s more, Galloway doesn’t have the cancerous reputation that T.O. does.  (Galloway’s now the latest to join that 2005 All-Star team…also known as the 2010 Redskins.)

So, what do we do about T.O.?  Do we sit back and laugh at how his bad attitude has caught up to him?  Do we tsk-tsk the teams for giving up on a player with plenty left in the tank?  As far as I’m concerned…I’m going to do what T.O. taught me to do.

I’m going to get my popcorn ready.

Send me an email at holly@brentfavre.com.  You can also find me on Twitter at @htphelps and at CheeseheadTV’s The Other 31.

If BrentFavre.com isn’t enough Packers for you today, check out CheeseheadTV’s latest creation, CheeseheadRadio!  Every Thursday at 8pm Lambeau time, you’re invited to pull up a chair at the bar, where C.D. Angeli (TundraVision), Alex Tallitsch (Packers Lounge), and Jersey Al (JerseyAl.com), and I will be chatting about our favorite team.  There will be news, contentious debates, and general merriment.  This week, we’ll be joined by blogger Chris Lempesis of Ol’ Bag of Donuts, before opening it up to calls from Packer fans across the globe.  Hope to see you there! (If you can’t make it live, leave us a message at 316-CH-RADIO, and we’ll play it on-air.)