T.O. Implied He Might Not Show Up For His 'Hall Of Fame' Induction If/When He Gets In

PFT- One thing has become clear in the 13 days since the Hall of Fame selection meeting: Even those who have opposed Terrell Owens’ enshrinement admit he’ll eventually get in. When he does, will he show up? Consider this exchange from T.O.’s interview with Mike Francesa of WFAN.

“God has something better in store, bigger and better than the Hall of Fame,” Owens said. “If I get in great, if I don’t, OK. The first two years, OK, cool, it would have been an honor. But after this year, when they keep moving the sticks in order for me not to get in, I’ve lost respect for the process.”

“Harry Carson got upset and got to a point where he said, ‘I don’t care,'” Francesa said. “‘If they vote me in now I’m not going.’ When he got in he went. You’ll do the same thing. When they vote you in, you’ll go because you’ll be happy that you got in, and you will get in.”

“I’m not Harry Carson,” Owens replied, “and I’m sure if you’ve done your research, everybody will tell you. And you just alluded to it earlier. I’m a different guy.”

​“Yeah, but you’ll go when you get in. You will. You’ll be happy.”

“I’m a different guy,” Owens said. “I’m a special guy.”

“So what are you saying now? You’re saying now you wouldn’t go if you get in now?”

“I’m a committed guy. When I put my mind to something, I succeed.”

“So what are you saying?”

​“I’m saying, if I get in, I get in. If I don’t, it’s not a big deal.”

“But if you get in, you’ll go right? You’ll still acknowledge it and accept it, right?”

“Don’t interpret anything. I’ve already given you my answer.”


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Let's start by stating the obvious. Terrell Owens will show up to his 'Hall Of Fame' induction when he is eventually voted in. That's not even up for debate. The fact that he was snubbed with the 2nd most receiving yards and 3rd most receiving touchdowns of all time is so preposterous that I wouldn't even have a problem with him boycotting the ceremony. However, if you think a person that enjoys the limelight as much as T.O. has it in him to decline an opportunity to stand on stage and talk about how great he is while a bunch of his accomplished peers are forced to watch and listen intently then you paid about as much attention during his playing days as the spiteful ass media did. If I learned anything from witnessing the entirety of his soap opera-esque career play out, it's that T.O. doesn't have to "respect the process" to celebrate T.O. He may not even know it yet, but he will be in Canton and he will be loving himself harder than any of Justin Bieber's exes ever could. 

That's not even the story here though. The story - to me anyway - is that Terrell Owens hasn't changed because he is still incapable of letting himself remain a sympathetic figure. Any and every football fan who is not a biased asshole, a vengeful reporter, or likely both is on his side, and what does he go and do? He provides everyone else an ever-so-slight rationalization for their dumbass decision. In fact, short of doing shirtless pushups and signing footballs outside of the 'Hall Of Fame' doors, implying that the 'Hall Of Fame' is no longer important enough for him to show up was the worst thing he could have done for his 'Hall Of Fame' candidacy. Their vote for who gets immortalized in a museum is basically the most prized possession of self important writers that can't separate the questionable content of a man's character from his superhuman successes on a football field, and T.O. essentially just called it a useless piece of shit. The overbearing idiots whose self worth is defined by nothing more than the ability to check some names on a ballet every year just had their authority questioned by the guy that was denied his rightful spot in history by their abuse of it, so at least next year we'll know why if Terrell Owens is left on the outside looking in.