Obsessed Much?

In the comments to a recent post, Steve remarked that he doesn't get my "obsession" with Terrell Owens. Steve also said that he though T.O. was acting like Dennis Rodman on The Apprentice. My response became so long that it ended up being a post unto itself.

First of all, let me say that I hardly consider buying a player jersey (and on clearance at that) quite qualifies as an obsession. If that is so, then I am also obsessed with Jason Witten, Tony Romo, and Marion Barber, and I hope that I will soon be obsessed with DeMarcus Ware, Bradie James, and Terence Newman. If buying a jersey signals an obsession, then a lot of Cowboy fans are equally obesessed with Terrell Owens. I wanted one of his regular season jerseys, but those were all sold out. I feel lucky to have gotten the one I did, even though I don't really like the throwback style, because they sold out just a couple of days after I ordered mine. Maybe I should have gotten a Roy Williams jersey. They still had plenty of those left.*

Secondly, I have to admit, I haven't been watching The Apprentice, so I don't really know how Dennis Rodman is acting. I can say, though, that you may not know how he is really acting either. The MSM are masters of spin. They have become very adept at taking one word here, a phrase there, out of context, and splicing them together in such a way as to make you believe what they want you to believe. And in Terrell Owens' case, they wanted you to believe that he was a divisive cancer in the Cowboy locker room. And they spun their coverage to make it seem that he was just that way. Face it, Terrell Owens' media coverage was just about as fair and accurate as --well, as Sarah Palin's was. How many people out there still believe that her youngest child isn't really hers, or that she really said she could see Russia from her house? How many people still believe that T.O. was a cancer in the locker room or that he really did demand that Jerry Jones cut Tony Romo and draft Colt McCoy or that he got into a fist fight with Jason Witten?

You would think that if he was as bad as the media was making him out to be, now that he's gone, T.O.'s former Cowboy teammates would be coming out of the woodwork to condemn him. So where are they? I have yet to hear a single one of his team mates say, "Oh, I'm so glad he's gone!" Quite the opposite, in fact. Jason Witten said just a couple of days ago, "He is a great football player. He made me a better player just being out there." Roy Williams said in an interview last week, "Romo and T.O had some good chemistry together." DeMarcus Ware said in an interview at the Pro Bowl, "He is a playmaker. We need him." Even Marion Barber, upon hearing of T.O.'s release broke his customary silence to say what a great player Terrell is. All those locker room problems he was supposedly causing, until his former team mates, not the media, mind you, but his team mates begin coming forward and saying what a problem he was, I will stand by my earlier words--backed up by Bradie James-- it's all make believe.

So, am I obsessing over Terrell Owens? Not so much. Am I upset that Jerry Jones cut the biggest threat the team had, and their strongest offensive weapon? Much. My 15 year old son, who isn't even a Cowboys fan, by the way, asked me, "How do the Cowboys think they can win without Terrell Owens.?" I didn't have an answer for him. How are they going to win?

With Roy Williams, who is allegedly slow in the foot, doesn't like to practice** and is supposedly a sloppy route runner***? The Roy Williams of the 19 catches for 198 yards and one lonely little touchdown last season. Does he scare defenses? We'll have to see, but he'll have to step up in a big way.

With Patrick Crayton, who is a solid, dependable slot receiver, but doesn't really strike fear into the hearts of defenses?

With Miles Austin, who shows promise, but can't seem to stay healthy long enough for anyone to view him as a real threat?

With Sam Hurd, another one who can't stay healthy? Or how about Isaiah Stanback, who has spent so much time on Injured Reserve that most people forget he's even on the team?

Warren Sapp***, that great defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that seven time pro bowler, that Super Bowl champion said "I would love to play this Cowboys offense now because there is nobody there that scares defenses. They have taken their monster out."

Can the Cowboys win without Terrell Owens? I don't know. Maybe. We'll have to see. I do know one thing, though.

I sure won't be buying a heck of a lot of popcorn this year.



*They have sold out since I ordered my jerseys.

**Jamie Dukes, NFL.com Is Romo Better Without T.O.?

***Warren Sapp, NFL.com State Of The Franchise