What do a sharpie marker and a football have in common? Until the 2002-2003 NFL season, nothing. That all changed when Terrell Owens scored a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks, pulled a sharpie out of his sock, signed the ball he had just caught, and proceeded to give it to a friend in the stands. Hello, my name is Joseph Lombardi and today I will talk to you about Terrell Owens. Terrell is an NFL player who came from a sheltered childhood, only to rise to stardom and become what many consider, one of the NFL's most notorious players. Today I will speak to you about Terrell Owens' childhood and his rise to the NFL, his attitude towards football, and the celebratory stunts that have made him famous.
Born Terrell Eldorado Owens on December 7th, 1973, Owens spent most of his childhood living with his grandmother in Alexander City, Alabama. His grandmother never allowed him to leave the front yard, play football or even ride a bicycle. He is not, however, upset that his grandmother enacted these rules on him. To him, it was his grandmother's way of keeping him out of trouble. Terrell graduated from Benjamin Russell High School, after lettering twelve times in four sports, including four in each of Football and Track and Field. Without the influence of one of his football prep coaches, Terrell would have quit football in High School to concentrate more on basketball. After graduating, Terrell went to the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. While majoring in merchandising, Terrell played Football, Basketball and ran track. He received All-Southern Conference first-team honors for football and helped lead the basketball team in qualifying for the 1995 NCAA tournament. .
Now I will talk to you about Terrell's attitude concerning football, his ability, and himself. When Terrell was a rookie for the San Francisco 49ers in 1996, he kept to himself and was regarded as a loner.