Truth & Rumors > NFL

T.O.: From villain to team leader

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Terrell Owens' promises of being a better person and better teammate fell on deaf ears when he came to the Dallas Cowboys in 2006. The perception of him supposedly tearing the Philadelphia Eagles' locker room apart was too strong, too recent. And it came on the heels of his act as a supposed locker-room cancer with the San Francisco 49ers. It certainly didn't help matters that Owens received a less than hearty welcome from then-coach Bill Parcells. "The player" was simply a distraction, from his Lance Armstrong act on the stationary bike in training camp the last time the Cowboys were in Oxnard to his accidental overdose during the season. But time has shown that Owens might not be a bad guy after all. Perhaps it was the tears he shed for quarterback Tony Romo after the Cowboys' playoff loss to the New York Giants last season. Though it has since become a punch line, the sincerity was obvious. Or maybe he earned some points when he came to the aid of ESPN television reporter Sam Alipour after Alipour was involved in a traffic accident following the ESPYs in July. But he is no longer the villain around here. He's a team leader, a hard worker and a symbol of hope that the franchise can finally return to Super Bowl glory.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Terrell Owens, Tony Romo, AP Terrell Owens, Tony Romo, AP
August 3, 2008  09:29 AM ET

Maybe he has finally found some place he likes to be, team mates he wants to play with, and a city he likes to be in..

August 3, 2008  09:32 AM ET

TO hasn't changed just my opinion of him has. I used to think he was a selfish prick, but since that story about him helping that one random dude out and missing the award show, he's not a bad guy. That still doesn't change the fact that he's rash and lets his emotions get the best of him too often.

August 3, 2008  09:42 AM ET

PALEEZE! A "supposed" cancer in SF, "supposedly" tore the locker room apart in Philly? There's nothing supposed about it. They are facts. Now, if he is changing, good for him, but he'll need to do a lot more and no longer be a horse's a** to change the minds of a lot of people.

August 3, 2008  09:47 AM ET

To all those haters who said that T.O. would tear apart the Cowboys locker room and to those who vowed that they would stop being Cowboys fans... You are forgiven!!!! Welcome back to America's Team

August 3, 2008  09:54 AM ET

yeah yeah.. just wait until rosenhaus flips the TO switch again. its always a matter of time until rosenhaus clients throw public temper tantrums. and this client has been inactive far too long..

August 3, 2008  10:08 AM ET

Welcome back to America's Team

wb31 | 08/03/08, 09:47 AM

Quite possibly the most annoying and inaccurate nickname in the history of sports.

August 3, 2008  10:35 AM ET

but it is true....

August 3, 2008  10:41 AM ET

he already got a new contract pw ...
he's only a cancer to the haters and the media, but having said that ... I never wanted him in Dallas ... it's the whole star thing ... sorry

August 3, 2008  10:43 AM ET

"Quite possibly the most annoying and inaccurate nickname in the history of sports."

I can see how fans of other teams would find it annoying, but it's far from inaccurate. The nickname was bestowed by NFL films after their crews realized that no matter what city the Cowboys played in the stands were littered with their fans, fans would should up at the airport to greet the team plane, at the team hotel, and surround the team buses. It was a phenomenon that continues to this day. With their enormous popularity in Mexico and Europe, you may soon hear the moniker "the Worlds team". Hate them all you like, but to deny their mass appeal is just ignorant.

August 3, 2008  10:48 AM ET

i like the sound of that...." The Worlds TEAM!"

August 3, 2008  10:52 AM ET

"Welcome back to America's Team

Quite possibly the most annoying and inaccurate nickname in the history of sports."

I just think back to the 90s when they got the rename to "South America's Team" in some circles. But being a Bungals fan, I've seen far worse nicknames in the NFL..

August 3, 2008  10:54 AM ET

Crying does that

August 3, 2008  11:14 AM ET

That's what's up, my boy T.O. is getting everything lined up so there will be no excuses when it comes time for his bust to be enshrined in Canton, if he can get that ring this year he most definitely will be first ballot!

August 3, 2008  11:23 AM ET

It's not like Dallas corners the market on teams whose fans travel well nor are they the only team with fam clubs around the world. Yes they have mass appeal with THEIR fans, but there are a lot of fans of other teams who can't stand them. Anybody dee the Super Bowl in Detroit? Pittsburgh west at that one.

August 3, 2008  11:28 AM ET

"T.O. is getting everything lined up so there will be no excuses when it comes time for his bust to be enshrined in Canton,"

hmm. it could happen. so which team he does he enter the HOF with (if it happens) ?

August 3, 2008  11:39 AM ET

Like I said he's not a bad person but I'm not sure if I want him getting a ring. An I sure as hell don't want the cowboys getting another ring they got enuf of those dam things!

August 3, 2008  12:01 PM ET

if he makes it to the hof he probably goes as a cowboy because its the olny team he liked

August 3, 2008  12:09 PM ET

You are a prime example of why the boys have that undeserved moniker. Fair wheather fan or badwagon jumper (whatever you would prefer to call.) Too many weasels with no loyalty seem to accept the boys. I guess it's fitting

How can you possibly be a Fan of the boys, soxs ad Celtics

August 3, 2008  12:09 PM ET

Goldang, but this is all so heart-warming. Somebody ought to make a movie out of it.

 
August 3, 2008  12:10 PM ET

IF he goes to the HOF, he better kneel down on that star in mid-field and give it a big big kiss!! I'm still mad about that "little" episode.

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