Football fans may or may not like it, but Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens is going to be the star of his own reality show. The reason I say fans may or may not like it is because many fans don’t like Owen due to his outspokenness and huge ego.
It’s not that Owens cannot deliver on the field – he can. Drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1996 NFL draft, he helped the team win 13 games that year. In 2000, he made 20 catches for 283 yards, breaking a 50 year old NFL record. However, Owens couldn’t get along with quarterback Jeff Garcia or coach Steve Mariucci. He decided to leave the 49ers, but that wasn’t easy as his agent and the team fought over his contract. After finally leaving, he insinuated in an interview that Garcia was gay.
Owens went to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004. He averaged a touchdown per game until he injured his leg when hit by a horse-collar tackle, which would later be named illegal in the game. Owens promised he would come back and he did – in Super Bowl XXXIX. However, he criticized the media for not praising him more for his miraculous return.
In early 2005, he made a snide remark that seemed to be directed to teammate Donovan McNabb (about getting tired during the Super Bowl). Owens also decided to renegotiate his multi-million dollar contract with the Eagles, not exactly endearing him to the owner or club president. Owens played in the 2005 season, but continued to voice his displeasure about the management and McNabb. He was suspended for four games without pay then deactivated for the rest of the season. He was released at the end of the season and picked up by the Dallas Cowboys for the 2006 season.
In his second game as a Cowboy, Owens damaged a finger bone and had to have surgery. He promised fans he would return, but overdosed on his medication. He did return after a bye week. That season, Owens led the league in regular season touchdown receptions with 13. In the 2007 season, he became the first NFL player ever to have at least one touchdown catch and six receptions in seven straight games. Owens found himself surrounded by controversy again when he said quarterback Tony Romo was preoccupied with girlfriend Jessica Simpson at the games and wasn’t playing up to par. He later wrote that off as a joke.
Seemingly happy with the Cowboys (although there have been rumors of issues with teammate Jason Witten and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett), Owens signed a four year contract in 2008.
Now VH1 has decided that Owens’ would make a good subject for a reality show. The show will debut in July 2009 and will feature his best friends and publicists, Monique Jackson and Kita Williams.