The man they called T.O. was a big, strong, playmaker drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third-round of the 1996 draft out of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.
Owens went on to catch 1,078 passes for 15,934 yards and 153 touchdowns during his 16-year career. Those are hall of fame numbers that should one day land him in Canton.
However, Owens is more remembered for being a show-boating, attention getting, me-first player, than his ball-hawking, big play, pass catching abilities.
While there may be some truth to what the critics say, one thing they don’t say enough is that he was always fun, and at the very least, interesting to watch…whether he was crying after games, doing sit-ups in his drive way during media interviews, cussing out his coach during the game, or throwing a teammate under the bus.
Of all the antics during Owens’ career, what happened in Dallas at Texas Stadium in September of 2000 might be the wildest of all.
After scoring a touchdown against Dallas, Owens sprinted to the Cowboy ‘star’ (from the helmet emblem) at midfield to celebrate. Not to be outdone following a Cowboys’ touchdown, future Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, took off his helmet, and ran to the ‘star’. He defiantly slammed the ball down on the star, and stared down the 49ers’ sideline.
Owens would not be topped. After his next touchdown catch, he ran back to the ‘star’, only to be met by Dallas’ George Teague, who crashed into him. Owens and the 49ers got the last laugh, winning the game, 41-17.
Check out the video link to see everything play out. And, remember, as heated as things got that day, Owens actually came to play for Dallas 10 years later (2010-13).
Just watch the video linked to see what happened next: T.O and the ‘star’.
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