Someone else out there has to be excited about this idea.
Now, I'm not saying it's a good or smart idea by any stretch. But one way or another, Terrell Owens joining Chad Ochocinco with the Cincinnati Bengals is going to be great.
There won't be any middle ground now that the two loudest, most brash and flamboyant receivers in the National Football League have joined forces, either. An extremely risky decision - like the defending AFC North champion Bengals bothering to sign the talented but historically troublemaking T.O. in the first place - will always lead to extreme consequences. The Bengals will either crush opposing defenses with their devastating high-flying offense ... or be torn to pieces by the gargantuan egos that can't coexist in the same locker room. It's a 50-50 shot in the dark.
Either way, it will be entertaining for football fans to watch - though maybe not for Bengal fans (I should mention that I'm a New York Giants fan, but I do enjoy watching the Bengals and Cleveland Browns succeed).
Wide receivers are easily the biggest personalities in the NFL, and by "personalities" I mean self-obsessed, arrogant showboating jerks. And while T.O. has led that charge for years now, Ochocinco has always seemed like the flip side of that same coin - name change aside, of course. While Owens' on-the-field antics are more self-involved, such as running out to the big star at the 50-yard line at the Dallas Cowboys' old stadium or pulling out a Sharpie to autograph a touchdown ball, Ochocinco has always seemed more like a clown. Instead of showing anyone up or promoting himself, Ocho's touchdown celebrations have been spoofs and parodies, like playing golf with a pylon or doing the Riverdance or even proposing to a cheerleader.
There is every possibility that Ochocinco's tongue-in-cheek attitude could rub off on the ultimate "Me, me, ME!" guy.
And even though both receivers are probably nearing the winter of their careers, they've still got plenty of talent left to be amazing for one season. If all of that falls in line, if the duo can put aside their own egos for a season and play together as a team, the Bengals could repeat as division champs and then some.
If they can't, though, the Bengals will be train-wreck TV the likes of which the world has never seen before. And that's also something both T.O. and Ocho know something about.
The wideouts have already been playing together on Sundays for the past few weeks with back-to-back Vh1 reality shows. Owens' show - creatively titled "The T.O. Show" - is in its second season on the air, while Ochocinco's dating show "The Ultimate Catch" just recently began its first.
Both are incredibly painful to watch, especially "The T.O. Show." Honestly, I find it harder to believe that the show was picked up for another season than Owens getting picked up by an NFL team again. And while Ochocinco's show is mildly amusing because of the trashy women, it's just not as good as it would be if it was centered around an aging musician from the 1980s (get back on TV, Flavor Flav and Bret Michaels! I know you both still need to find love!).
Throw in the fact that the Bengals have developed a reputation in the past few years for stocking their roster with actual criminals and you have the perfect recipe for disaster. And while all the Bengals' legal infractions have been minor compared to the rest of the division - like Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger's rape allegations or Baltimore's Ray Lewis channeling O.J. Simpson and beating a double-murder charge - they have been numerous.
Evidently Bengal quarterback Carson Palmer was instrumental in bringing T.O. to the team. Being the player on the team with the most talent and the most quality seasons left in the tank, he has every right to start setting ground rules.
Really, he only needs to tell his receivers one thing.
"The first time I hear the words 'I want the ball more' out of either of your mouths, I'm hanging up a lazy pass over the middle and letting Ray Lewis double murder you."
No matter which way things work out, the Bengals just became the most interesting team to watch in the NFL.
