Terrell Owens: Is 'Is He a Hall of Famer' Really a Question?

By now you all have heard the news. Terrell Owens tore his ACL and has had surgery to repair it. Naturally, with him being 38 years old, we are all asking if this is how his career will end. With the media, that's not the only question being asked.

Lately, the question of the day is, does Owens deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame?

Now if you're like me, you are wondering if you heard the question right. Is Owens a Hall of Famer? Is that really a question?

When most people think of Owens, the first thought that comes to their mind is his antics. Posing on the Dallas Cowboys logo in the middle of the field. The Sharpie incident. Borrowing pom-poms from the cheerleaders or stuffing his face with popcorn after he scores a touchdown. The list goes on, and on.

In this media age, those type of things are magnified, especially when you're in the NFL, the same league that penalizes you for any type of celebration. Who would have thought a game that is very emotional doesn't allow you to show any emotion?

That's one of the excuses people bring up for keeping Owens out of the Hall of Fame. Football is entertainment, so let's punish a player for entertaining. Instead of appreciating him for doing his job, we call him a disgrace to the game.

The thing I think of when Owens' name is mentioned is what he did in his career. Not his antics, but what he did before he threw snow in the stands at the fans. What he did on the field with the football in his hands.

Owens is a six-time Pro Bowler and a five-time All-Pro selection.

Owens is ranked fifth all time in receptions. The four wide receivers ahead of him are Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Cris Carter and Tim Brown. All of those receivers are players you could make a Hall of Fame case for. He is only 16 receptions behind Brown, who he should eclipse if he decides to play just a few more games.

He is second all-time in receiving yards, and the only person ahead of him is Rice. Owens may never catch Rice, but out of 21 Hall of Fame wide receivers he is ahead of 20 of them.

Still need more convincing?

He is tied for second all-time in receiving touchdowns with Randy Moss. The only person ahead of them is, well, you guessed it, Rice.

I haven't run into one person yet that says Moss isn't a Hall of Famer. Owens has better numbers, and yet there are questions?

Off-the-field troubles? Moss has been arrested numerous times, including for possession of marijuana and failure to obey an officer. Owens has no arrest record. Moss has also been accused of taking plays off his entire career. With Owens, it may be the exact opposite. He wants to win, too badly and tries too hard.

Another reason Owens deserves to make the Hall of Fame is a reason many fans forget. Many fans forget because it was in a losing effort.

The year was 2005 and it was Super Bowl XXXIX, Eagles vs. Patriots.

Seven weeks prior, Owens broke his leg and tore a critical ligament in his right ankle. It required surgery and doctors would not clear him to play in the biggest game of his life.

With two screws and a metal plate in his ankle, Owens disobeyed doctors orders and played in the game anyway. Despite risking further damage to his ankle.

Owens didn't just play 62 of the Eagles' 72 offensive snaps. He was the Eagles' leading receiver with nine receptions for 122 yards. Second-best receiving performance in the game.

He did what was considered impossible in pulling off the most courageous performance in Super Bowl history. No, that was one of the most courageous moments in sports history.

That's not a selfish player that I've heard the media describe time and time again. That's a guy risking everything for himself and his teammates. Doing anything and everything just for his team to win.

Playing in the most important game of the year, at the highest level, on one leg. You can call Owens what you want, one thing I'll call him is 'unbelievable'.

Incredible.

Marvelous.

Sure he ran himself out of town on three different teams and built a reputation of being a locker room cancer. Is that enough to keep him out of the Hall of Fame? If anything, it helped his football resume. He was able to prove he could go to three different teams, play for different quarterbacks, in different systems, and still put up the same numbers.

Name one player in the history of the game that was able to be that productive on three different teams. I'll wait.

"Is Terrell Owens a Hall of Famer?" is the wrong question everybody is asking. The real question is, which team will he choose when he is enshrined? San Fransisco, Philadelphia or Dallas?