T.O.- Same As He Ever Was

That didn’t take long did it?  Wasn’t it about a year ago that fans all over the Delaware County were basically out of their minds ecstatic about the arrival of the savior in cleats, God’s gift to Eagles fans everywhere, aka Terrell Owens?  He was the answer to their prayers.  The man who was going to deliver them to the promised land; finally help them get over that seemingly mile high wall that was the NFC Championship game.  And, best of all, he actually wanted to be here.  He was all over the television, on any sports show he could find, trumpeting his case.  He argued passionately about his love for D5, and how he just knew he was the missing link.  He shot down any worry about whether he could co-exist with Andy Reid.  And for once, the reality matched the promise.  He flat out performed.  77 catches for 1200 yards and 14 td’s in only 14 games.  He was one score shy of forcing big red to done those tights.  Sure, he broke that leg, keeping him out of the playoffs, but he came back like the superhero all of Philly hoped he would be and shredded the Pats in J’ville, albeit in a loss. So after that amazing 1st act, you couldn’t blame Eagles fans everywhere for being amped up thinking about what he had in store for the encore.  Well, now we know.  T.O. is back to acting like T.O.After spending the last year, his first in Philly, acting like a veritable choir boy, T.O. has reverted to acting like the guy all those sportswriters thought they would be covering here in the COBL.  After burying us under a heaping mound of platitudes about how much he wanted to play in Philly and how it wasn’t about the money, T.O. has had a bit of a change of heart.  He’s gone and fired his agent (The man to whom he devoted chapters of his book defending and praising) and has signed with Miami-based uber-agent Drew Rosenhaus.  Yeah, we didn’t see this coming.

As soon as Marvin Harrison signed that fat deal with Indy, complete with guaranteed “signing” bonus, instead of the much more tenuous and non-guaranteed “roster” bonuses that padded T.O.’s deal a year ago, any mildly astute fan of the NFL knew that T.O. was going to take action.  And take action he did.  No sooner was it announced that Rosenhaus was repping T.O., we heard that Wonder Drew was scheduling a meeting with the Eagles’ head negotiator and resident salary cap genius, Joe Banner.  The talk shows were buzzing as soon as this story hit the wire.  All day long the topic was debated and argued.  Should the Eagles re-negotiate?  Is T.O. being selfish?  Didn’t he just sign his contract a year ago?  If the birds take a second look at T.O.’s deal, who else is going to come to the table, hat in hand?  

There was no need for the uproar, really.  We all knew how this was going to play out.

The Eagles simply do not re-negotiate contracts.  Under the Jeff Lurie/Joe Banner/Andy Reid regime, they have never re-negotiated a deal.  Never.  Yes, they have extended contracts for likes of McNabb, and Pinkston, and others.  But, those were not re-negotiations, they were contract extensions for players whose deals were going to expire in the next year or so.  T.O. is asking the team to redo a contract he signed only a year ago.  He’s one year into a 7 year deal, and he wants a “do-over”.  Not on this team.  Not in this city.  Not with this front office.  That foolishness might have worked out in the Bay Area with Terry Donahue and that crew, but its not going to fly here.  I knew this, the Eagles knew this, every person who pays attention to how the Eagles do business knew this.  And, my guess is T.O. knows this.

The issue here is not the contract.  When all is said and done, T.O. is going to be playing the 2005-2006 season under the same terms he played for in 2004.  There’s absolutely no doubt about that.  The real issue is the effect his money move will have on the psyche of the Philly fan.  As I said, this city fell head over heels for him last year.  He was the knight riding in on the white leer jet to save the day.  And, he didn’t disappoint.  When it was time to put up, he did.  The city was singing T.O….T.O. all season.  I was down in Jacksonville for the Bowl.  You couldn’t walk more than a block without hearing that familiar, if not aggravating, chant.  T.O. was as loved as any player who came to this city in the middle of his career since Moses Malone.  And, Moses only holds that exalted position because he brought a championship. (Incidentally, the last professional championship in this city).  T.O. was adored before his plane even touched down.

But, all that is about to change.  I can see it in the works already.  You can’t get away with this kind of thing in Philadelphia.  The fans never take the player’s side in these battles.  Never.  As far as the fans are concerned, you sign a contract, you honor that contract.  This is an old-school blue-collar, union city.  Athletes in general make the kind of money a fan can’t even begin to relate to.  And most of the time, that’s fine.  But, when players start acting like they are underpaid, fans won’t tolerate it.  And, in Philly, it’s a mortal sin.  The fans in this city can turn on a player as fast as you can say “T.O.”.  One minute you’re the king of the town, the next you’re Matt Geiger.

But, this really shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone.  This is the same guy who trashed everyone in San Fran.  This is same guy who ripped his offensive coordinator on the sidelines during a nationally televised game, knowing the cameras were going to be all over him.  This is the same guy, who even after escaping the hell that was playing with Jeff Garcia, felt the need to question his former QB’s sexuality in a men’s magazine, for no apparent reason.  This most recent saga should be a surprise to no one.  This is vintage T.O.  This is who he is.  The man is not happy unless the spotlight is on him.  It is all about T.O. for T.O.

Some people in this town may be disappointed by what’s going on.  That’s sad.  Not because of what T.O. is doing, but because people shouldn’t have expected anything less.  T.O. knew exactly what he was doing.  He knew he would have this city eating out of the palm of his hand.  He knew what the talent, or lack thereof, of the receiving corps was before he got here.  There was no chance he wasn’t going to put up numbers.  So, he played the situation for what it was.  A fan base starving for a championship, and the perception that the one thing missing was a game-changing receiver.  He was that guy, and he knew it.  And, he was right.  The problem is, everyone magically forgot all the terrible and disruptive things he did in Frisco.  T.O. didn’t transform into a different guy just because he donned the midnight green.  He’s the same guy he was out west.  T.O. is always going to be that guy.  He doesn’t care about what may or may not be good for the team, if he doesn’t think he’s getting what’s good for T.O.  Whenever the needs of the team and his needs clash, T.O. will always side with himself.  I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing either.  But, no one should be surprised.  I know I’m not.