Give Terrell Owens his due. He answered his critics and let his performance on the field do the talking.

Owens, who hadn't played a game since injuring his ankle on December 19th, was not cleared to play in the Super Bowl by the doctor who performed the operation on his ankle. Just 6 1/2 weeks had passed since the surgery and the doctor said T.O. needed 8-10 weeks to rest and recover. But Owens wasn't going to miss the first and perhaps only chance he had in his career of playing on football's grandest stage. If at all possible, he told reporters he would play in the Super Bowl.

Owens didn't just play; he excelled. He finished the game with nine receptions for 122 yards in the Eagles three point loss to the Patriots yesterday. Owens had catches of 30 and 36 yards in the game and seemed no worse for the injury and the long layoff.

'A lot of people in the world didn't believe I could play, but my faith alone - the power of prayer and the power of faith carried me all the way,' Owens said.

There may have been a tinge of racism in the press's response to Owens. Or perhaps they were just responding to his outspokenness and brashness rather than his blackness. Most reporters said that Owens was crazy to play in the Super Bowl against his doctor's wishes. He was selfish, they said, seeking all the glory for himself. Had a more quiet and less flashy athlete been in the same situation, perhaps the media would have described him as 'gutsy,' 'selfless' or 'courageous.'

Regardless, after the game, the media should give T.O. his 'props.' He played his heart out in a losing effort and took a risk to help his team. Win or lose, he won the respect of teammate and foe alike.

'For him to come back and play the way he played, I've got a lot of respect for him,' Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel said after the game.

Owens's quarterback Donovan McNabb added, 'It's remarkable how he was able to come back and played so well for us.'

Perhaps many people do not like Terrell Owens's style but nobody can deny his talent and after Super Bowl XXXIX, nobody should deny his heart.