Terrell Owens kicks off his Hall of Fame weekend
Terrell Owens was a busy man Friday. But not nearly as busy as he will be today.
The former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wide receiver has been in the city since Thursday night, preparing for his personalized Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony at McKenzie Arena at 3:17 this afternoon.
There will be no live showing of the event, but multiple media outlets, including ESPN, NFL Network and Yahoo! Sports, will be in attendance.
Owens — the first inductee to skip the traditional ceremony in Canton, Ohio — was up early Friday speaking with UTC student-athletes, before heading to Dick’s Sporting Goods to do a shopping spree with kids.
Later in the day, he was promoting a limited-edition black shirt with his major professional accomplishments — 1,078 catches, 15,934 yards, 153 receiving touchdowns — on the front and “Owens 81” on the back. The wording was in gold.
Shirts in red, green and blue — for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, the three teams where he spent most of his career — were put on sale Wednesday, with the proceeds going to support the fight agains amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), which recently took the life of former 49ers receiver Dwight Clark.
Clark was the vice president of football operations when the 49ers picked Owens in the third round of the 1996 NFL draft.
Owens made headlines when he revealed his decision to skip the Hall of Fame ceremony this evening in Canton. Upon the announcement, a number of people reached out to Owens, imploring him to have his ceremony at his alma mater. How much effect that had is unknown, but his decision to hold a free event at McKenzie — he initially wanted it at Chamberlain Field, where he played home games during his college career — could draw thousands.
University officials said they “have no clue” what to expect in terms of attendance.
Doors open at 1.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@ timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.