T.O.: Buffalo's Hero?

New city. New team. Same person.

Terrell Owens made his arrival in Buffalo Sunday night and, once again, he is the center of attention. After signing just a one-year, $6.5 million deal, Owens has quickly achieved the status of “The Man” in Buffalo.

His new life in Buffalo began when he walked out of his airplane terminal to find crowds of excited fans yelling and screaming about his arrival. So there he was, Terrell Owens, signing autographs and chatting with his new fans having only spent 10 minutes in the city.

When I heard this I started thinking: Do they know this is the same Terrell Owens who has torn NFL teams apart and sold out basically every quarterback who ever threw him a football? Have they not seen this movie before?

I thought this scene at the airport alone was enough. But no, it doesn’t stop there.

Monday morning, Owens’s day started out with him participating in the Bills’ first voluntary Organized Team Activity (OTA). There was an abundant amount of media there with cameras and notepads. More than 80 Bills players participated, but nearly all of the cameras were pointed toward one man: Owens. The practice went as usual: some stretching, drills, and scrimmage. T.O. gave the people of Buffalo something to feast their eyes on when he caught a 40-yard Touchdown pass from quarterback Trent Edwards.

From the Bills practice facility he made his way to downtown Buffalo where he received the Key to the City. The Key to the City? He just got there! Really Buffalo, are you that desperate for a hero? Anyway, a ceremony was held and Owens was presented with The Key in front of a flock of Bills faithful. T.O. capped off the ceremony with a little acceptance speech.

To finish off his first full day in Buffalo, Terrell Owens went over to the local WKBW news studio to do some news anchoring. That’s right; T.O. was on the evening news reading from the teleprompter as if it were his day job. Of course, his short newscaster career featured a story on none other than himself. Then, as if the days’ events were not ego-building enough for Owens, the news crew presented him with a big bowl of popcorn to chow down on as they signed off the air.

So that is how the newest Buffalo Bill spent his first day on the town. Thousands of screaming fans, a spot on the local news, and the Key to the City. Not bad for a first impression.

Owens never seems to have a problem with the whole first impression thing. But I can’t wait to see what T.O.’s lasting impression is when his term in Buffalo is all over.