The Philadelphia Eagles have had a pretty solid week as a franchise.
They won Super Bowl LII and saw two former Eagles in Brian Dawkins and Terrell Owens be selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018.
T.O. also wore the silver and blue during his Hall of Fame career. The 2006 through 2008 seasons were made all the more theatrical thanks to Owens on the sideline.
Whether you love him or hate him, T.O. is a big part of a lot of Cowboys fans memories. He also served as the first big-play guy for quarterback Tony Romo when he first ascended to the team’s top signal-caller role.
When Owens is officially enshrined in Canton later in August he’ll likely recount his greatest memories himself during his induction speech, but we don’t have to wait here at BTB. What were your favorite memories of #81? Allow me to suggest a few.
T.O. stands on the star... the right way
In the spirit of optimism, we’re not going to mention the first few times T.O. stood on the Cowboys world-recognized logo.
What we’re talking about is in Owens’ first season with Dallas in a game against the Houston Texans at Texas Stadium. Dallas, at the time, had never defeated the Texans and were hosting them for the first time.
Tony Romo got in the game late and threw it to Owens for a score, marking the first one between the two. T.O. ran to one of the stars on a Cowboys helmet in the endzone and struck a pose, the one you see in the image topping this post.
The first usage of the Salvation Army kettle after a touchdown
Ezekiel Elliott made fans well-aware of the Salvation Army kettle during a touchdown celebration in 2016, but a decade earlier T.O. did the same thing.
On Thanksgiving Day against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, back when the Cowboys wore their proper throwbacks, Owens dropped the ball in the kettle in perfect celebratory fashion.
Whoever created this gif is the real MVP, though.
Terrell Owens hauls in not one, not two, not three, but four touchdowns
November 18th, 2007 was a good day for the Dallas Cowboys.
Any time the Washington Redskins come to town generally promises to be an interesting affair, but this time had a cherry on top.
In the middle of a record-setting offensive season, on their way to a franchise-tying record 13 wins, Tony Romo connected with Owens for four touchdowns in a single game. It was glorious.
True fans will also remember that later that night T.O.’s now HOF classmate Randy Moss also scored four touchdowns when the New England Patriots played the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football.
Terrell Owens finally uses popcorn as a prop
One week after Thanksgiving Day in 2007, seven days to be precise, the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Green Bay Packers in a clash of the NFC’s top two teams.
This game is looked back as the night Aaron Rodgers got his first serious action for the Packers, but it’s so much more than that. It’s the night T.O. finally got to use popcorn as a prop!
When he first signed with the Cowboys, Owens told fans to “get their popcorn ready.” He finally made good on his promise. This is honestly one of the best celebrations in NFL History. The way the popcorn completely fills his face is gold.
Owens fights his way back from a high ankle sprain
Much is always made, rightfully so, about how T.O. battled his way back from a broken leg (ironically suffered against the Cowboys) to play in Super Bowl XXXIX for the Eagles.
Whatever T.O. is/was in your opinion, he was undoubtedly a physical specimen and a receiver with an incredibly high tolerance for pain. He played through it all, and he did so for the Cowboys.
During the penultimate game of the regular season in 2007, Owens suffered a high ankle sprain on the road against the Carolina Panthers. He would end up fighting his way back from it in order to be able to play in the divisional round against the New York Giants (sigh).
Despite playing with a high ankle sprain Owens still caught four passes for 49 yards and a score against the G-Men. He was never someone who allowed injuries to get him down.