Wilson Admits He Signed T.O. to Give Bills 'National Figure Publicity-Wise'

I don't have any empirical evidence, but anecdotally it seems that once you hit, say, 70 years old, telling the truth becomes almost instinctual. That sounds like a virtue -- and it usually is -- but it also means that much of what is filtered in our younger years isn't in old age. And, for the most part, I think that makes for a better world.

Take Bills owner Ralph Wilson, for example. He's 90, recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and frank as hell about why he decided to go after Terrell Owens.

"I said, 'Sign him,' " Wilson told the Associated Press, recalling his conversation with Bills general manager Russ Brandon. "In Buffalo, we haven't had a national figure publicity-wise since (Jim) Kelly.... So I thought, 'If this guy's a bad guy, so what? If he's a bad guy we'll have to get rid of him. But if he's a good guy, hey, we're ahead of the game.' "

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If this had been anybody other owner, we would have been subjected to some form of, "T.O. is a great football player who has been misunderstood in this three previous NFL stops. We think he will be a great contributor to our franchise, we fully expect him to fit in and go about his business without upsetting our locker room. Most of what has been portrayed in the press was exaggerated."

Or some such silliness.

As for Wilson's contention, I think he's right. Not only does T.O. make the Bills relevant nationally again for the first time in 15 years, but if he works out, even better. (And history indicates that Owens will be great in Year 1, but after that, well, all bets are off.) In fact, so far, so good on that front.