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Owens
wins over hearts despite defeat in Super
Bowl XXXIX
Jesse
Munoz
Congratulations go out to Terrell Owens.
No, he didn't get to hoist the Lombardi
Trophy up in the air, and no, he won't be
sizing up his ring finger for that one piece
of jewelry he doesn't yet own and everybody
in his line of work plays for.
But
even so, the man has accomplished the impossible.
By coming back from a sprained ankle and
broken fibula he suffered on Dec. 19, which
sidelined him for the remaining few weeks
of the regular season and playoffs and required
major surgery to repair, he did what no
one thought possible.
He
suited up, he ran out of the tunnel with
his teammates and he made an impact in the
biggest game of his career, catching nine
passes for 122 yards. And although he and
the Eagles came up three points short of
their ultimate goal, in the back of his
mind Owens is saying, "I told you so."
Owens
did just what he promised he would do all
week long by playing. In doing so, he made
an entire throng of people who doubted him
eat their words and look like fools.
The
hundreds of sportswriters that make up the
media circus leading up to Super Bowl didn't
believe he could do it. That was made clear
by the countless articles criticizing Owens'
selfishness for rushing himself back onto
the field, and being a distraction to his
teammates. They said it was typical behavior
for the showboating and Sharpie-writing
end zone choreographer.
The
fans of Philadelphia hoped he could do it,
knowing they would need every weapon they
could muster to beat the New England Patriots.
But even their doubts were put on center
stage when they rallied around the overly
hyped and unproven Freddie Mitchell as the
savior to their receiving corp.
The
doctor who performed the surgery on Owens
would not clear him to play, citing that
normal recovery time for such an injury
was 10 to 12 weeks, not the six and a half
weeks Owens had deemed was enough to fully
rehab.
The
only person besides Owens who publicly said
the star receiver would be in action was
the Eagles' team doctor. And it is not as
if his integrity could be questioned, especially
knowing that team doctors always look to
do what is best for the players, unlike
the owners who sign paychecks.
What
all these people seemingly didn't realize
was that despite his showboat reputation
and tendency toward controversy, Owens was
not trying to rush back onto the field for
personal glory or to prove the masses wrong.
He was pushing his body to its physical
limits and risking a career-ending injury
for his teammates.
These
men go to war with each other every week,
and in doing so they become a family.
So
even with all his flash, all his controversy,
all the end zone dances, all the NFL fines,
all the sideline outbursts and all the confrontations,
Owens was the ultimate teammate on Sunday.
I
don't know what kind of treatment Owens
underwent before the game, but I'd be willing
to bet it involved lots of tape and a few
different needles.
In
a situation where one bad pivot or one vicious
hit could have cut years off his career
and taken millions out of his wallet, Owens
never relented from the notion he would
be on the field as a member the Philadelphia
Eagles. He wanted, or better yet needed
to be out there with his teammates, on the
day when they needed him most. And while
the city of Philadelphia's
Super
Bowl dreams have been left unfulfilled yet
again, Owens' heroic performance last Sunday
will forever hold a place in both NFL and
Eagles' lore, a spot in his teammates' heart
and a chapter in the book of the ultimate
teammate.
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