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By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
Terrell Owens is turning into the best receiver in the NFL, but apparently even that isn't enough.
Not content to merely catch passes, score touchdowns, help his San Francisco 49ers win games or make millions of bucks, Owens must have the whole spotlight — every incandescent bit of it — to boost what is showing signs of becoming an all-galactic ego.
It is why he has ranted at coach Steve Mariucci on the sidelines when he perceives that not enough passes have come his way. It is why he ran to the center of Texas Stadium two seasons ago and preened on the star logo.
And why, in the height of choreographed self-absorption, he pulled a pen from his sock and autographed the football in the end zone for a financial advisor after scoring the go-ahead touchdown against Seattle on Monday Night Football.
It was a scene so bizarre and so far beyond the bounds of sports etiquette that sportscaster Al Michaels, who gave us the memorable "Do you believe in miracles?" line for U.S. hockey's triumph in the 1980 Olympics, could only wonder incredulously: "Is that a pen?"
Yes, it was and with this self-aggrandizing step, Owens has authored a new level in showboating. The act will probably be immortalized on next season's round of video games, which is undoubtedly what Owens had in mind all along. Sadly, it will likely also be copied on some high school or college field soon.
Never mind that Owens didn't get to that end zone alone. It took 10 other players to help put him there, teammates who were denied a share of the spotlight by his grandstanding.
The days when players just high-fived or performed those chorus line routines seem like centuries ago. The Lambeau Leap has been rendered almost Victorian by comparison.
Emotion and expression are one thing. They give color to the NFL, which is, after all, in the sports and entertainment business. But the premeditated it-is-all-about-me stunts and pointed dissing of opponents are quite another.
When you get to the end zone, whatever happened to acting like you've been there before? If it was good enough for Gale Sayers, Barry Sanders and Jerry Rice, it shouldn't endanger Owens' limelight, either.
Owens has said he seeks to emulate Michael Jordan as a performer and entertainer. But he seems to have missed the point of his hero's greatness. Jordan didn't need histrionics to embellish his performances or be remembered. With Jordan, the excellence of his play said it all. He has let his deeds speak for themselves.
The NFL, like Mariucci and the 49ers, seem at a loss about what to do with Owens. Here's a suggestion: Let him sign all the balls he catches in the end zone. But make him also stand there and sign when he drops a ball, runs the wrong pattern or misses a block.
