T. O. is showing his softer ‘Terrell’ side
Buffalo Bills receiver Terrell Owens had his popcorn ready during an interview about his hopes for “The T. O. Show” when the VH1 reality series was being filmed in Buffalo.
“It’s really going to show a lot of people — who have this perception of me [from the media] that is more negative than anything — the Terrell side of it as opposed to always T. O., T. O. T. O.,” said Owens as he munched on popcorn at a local radio station.
“It is a way to show people that I am human outside of football. I am more than what they say or what they hear about that. . . It is behind-the-scenes in my personal life. . . I’m 35, I’m single, I’m looking for someone. . . You want a support system outside of your friends and family. . . I’m human. You want to share that love with someone.”
He already has felt the love of Buffalo. He understood the area would be different from his previous stops in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas.
“Obviously I’m in a smaller market than I’m used to,” said Owens. “But I don’t have any qualms about it. I’m from a small town [Alexander City, Ala.].”
And despite telling his publicists in Monday’s premiere to get their “fur underwear” out in preparation for a Buffalo winter, Owens isn’t concerned about playing in the cold.
“That doesn’t even affect me one bit,” said Owens. “I’m embracing my time that I’m going to be here. If it is beyond that, it will be a bonus. . . I played in the cold in Philadelphia so that hasn’t bothered me. . . Last year we played Pittsburgh. It was 17 degrees.”
However, he believes the Buffalo weather will be a “test to see who my friends are.”
“Buffalo is not the No. 1 place for anyone to visit, or more or less for me to play,” conceded Owens. “Everybody was kind of questioning, ‘Why would he chose Buffalo?’ ”
His two publicists, good friends and co-stars Monique Jackson and Kita Williams, feel they have had much harder tests.
“They’ve taken a passion to sometimes the unfairness that I’ve gotten throughout my career,” said Owens. “They’ve seen the person I am away from football.”
He conceded that Mo and Kita can be more direct to him than a coach can because they’ve “developed a chemistry and trust and bond. If you think about it, they’ve been around me longer. . . I’m sure a coach would be more on eggshells than Mo and Kita.”
And they’ll be around in Buffalo, with Owens looking for them when he comes out of the tunnel before games, as he has in the past. “People call us ‘Three’s Company’ a lot,” explained Mo.
Of course, there is the sense that while small-town Terrell will be OK with Buffalo, there might not be enough excitement here for the outgoing T. O. side of him.
“It is fine,” said Owens. “I don’t have a problem with that. . . They base it on what they’ve heard about me. That’s part of why we’re doing this show. They wouldn’t make those assumptions if they [knew] who I was. . . . I know what my roots are.”
The oldest of four siblings, Owens said his sisters and mother live in Alabama and his brother lives in Atlanta in Owens’ house. He doesn’t expect his children (Kita would only say “he has more than one, less than five”) to appear unless the show gets a second season.
“A lot of it is just protecting them,” said Kita. “His kids are young. He does not want to put his kids out right now. . . Their anonymity is important.”
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