When Will Terrell Owens Get It?

ARDMORE, OK-It is not often that the paths of talent and opportunity cross. When I was in high school, I had some pretty good basketball skills being 6'1" but because there were a lot of fellas who were my height and played as good as or better than myself, I didn't have the opportunity to play the sport that I really would have loved to letter in during high school. Instead, I settled on lettering as a diver on the swim team.

Every year thousands of young men across the country participant in practice after practice, doing drill after tiring drill with the goal of being that one player who will be granted access into the upper echelon of athletic performance: the NBA, MLB or NFL. With the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) heating up along with the Heisman Trophy still to be awarded, there are many college football players working hard to get his ticket stamped for the next level.

To be a professional athlete in any of the major sports in the United States is a privilege granted by a society that allows a marketplace that places such a high value on sports. Certainly the case could be made that there are many other overlooked professions that need the kind of attention and salary paid to our athletes: teachers, counselors, day care workers, firemen, police officers, clergy, customer service representatives, secretaries. The list could go on ad infinitum.

It was announced yesterday by Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid that Terrell Owens would be suspended from the Philadelphia Eagles for actions which were detrimental to the team. Terrell expressed in an interview that he felt the team did not do enough to honor him for his 100th TD reception on October 23 and that the team would be better with Brett Favre (of the Green Bay Packers) as their quarterback than Donovan McNabb. To be fair, Terrell Owens does have skills that, when used, have benefited the team. But his constant mouthing off has done more to disrupt what should be an elite team in his profession. The Eagles record rests at 4 wins and 4 loses. Hardly a stellar performance.

Terrell Owens will not catch another football in the NFL this season. I hope that in a more quiet and reflective moment that Terrell would consider the blessings he's been allowed to enjoy during his tenure in the NFL: (1) the opportunity to showcase his talents for a living; (2) the opportunity to make a lot of money for himself and his family; and (3) the opportunity to play in a Super Bowl when many talented players (e.g., Barry Sanders, Earl Campbell, etc) never had that chance.

Some one close to Terrell should tap him on the shoulder and let him know that he is fortunate that talent and opportunity are paths that have been running together for him for well over 10 seasons in the NFL. This latest episode of criticism against the Eagles organization and Donovan McNabb may have caused him to reach a fork in that path that could have him on the outside looking in on a sport that has been very good to him.