OXNARD, Calif. — An hour north of Hollywood, Terrell Owens did his best Saturday to force a dramatic debut to his first training camp with the Dallas Cowboys.
He started out by being fashionably late, making sure he was the last one out of the locker room. Once he finally headed out to the practice field, his face carried an all-business look better suited for a playoff game.
Two hours later, with a mundane session coming to a close, Owens gave the fans what they came to see. Using his size and speed, he ran past cornerback Aaron Glenn, snatched a long pass and raced into the end zone, throwing the ball down in celebration.
A chant of "T.O." started immediately and grew louder at the urging of another newcomer, kicker Mike Vanderjagt. Then Owens made his way back to midfield waving his arms to keep the cheer going.
If there was still any doubt whether Cowboys fans would embrace Owens, it ended right there. As long as he catches passes and scores touchdowns, they'll love him as much as anyone who has ever worn a star on his helmet — regardless of what he once did to the star logo on their home field.
"They're excited for me to be here and I'm equally excited for me to be here," Owens said. "I got it every day in Philadelphia, fans chanting my name each and every day, so I expect that."
Problem is, many people are expecting a lot of other things happened in Philadelphia, such as the confrontations with teammates and coaches that led to an ugly departure. Bracing for them might be a better way of describing it.
But Owens, his new teammates and coach Bill Parcells all insist he comes to Dallas with a clean slate. Sure, they know the baggage he carries — "You'd have to be living in a closet to not know some of the things," Parcells said — but they're vowing to judge him only on what they see.
And so far, they like what they've seen.
"He's so physical, so fast," raved quarterback Drew Bledsoe, whose relationship with Owens will be scrutinized as much as Owens-Parcells. "The thing that's probably most impressive is what he does after he catches the ball. He turns up the field like he's trying to score every time he touches it. That's paid off huge for him. He's led the league in yardage after catch, and hopefully that will be the case this year."