Maybe it was his impeccable physical shape, perhaps it was his sheer dedication to recovering or, possibly it was, as Terrell Owens’ himself claims, a blessing from God. Whatever the reasoning, one thing is profoundly clear — Owens played in the Super Bowl just like he promised. And not just played … but played well.

Few thought Owens would be able to play in the Super Bowl this season. His doctor refused to clear him. Current Orlando Magic all-star forward Grant Hill, who spent three seasons recovering from a nagging similar injury and underwent the same surgery as Owens, claimed it wasn’t possible. Former Minnesota Vikings receiver Jake Reed, who had his career virtually ended by a similar injury, also believed a return was out of the question.

But it was possible … and Owens did it.

Terrell Owens possesses, unquestionably, one of the most volatile personalities in the league. He derives pleasure from controversy, whether the controversies are end zone dances, refusing trades or a slew of other antics in interviews. Despite this propensity for self-promotion, Owens is a fantastic player, plain and simple, and what he did by playing Sunday night is nothing short of miraculous.

The Eagles’ controversial receiver started the game for Philadelphia, catching his first pass on a crossing route on their first series of the game. Owens spent the remainder of the game in and out of the lineup as he frequently exited the field, visibly tired.

But the man had only two weeks of running prior to Sunday night’s game, prior to which his rehabilitation allowed for him to run only in a swimming pool, so being a little gassed was to be expected. While Owens was a victim of sub-par conditioning, he nevertheless had a dominant game, by any standards. For the game Owens caught nine passes for 122 yards to lead the Eagles receiving corps.

Despite his gutsy performance, there was an underlying sentiment surrounding Owens’s effort. Some pundits claimed Owens’s Super Bowl effort was an effort of self-promotion, and bluntly, selfish.

“Before we came down here, I knew I was going to play all along,” Owens said after the Super Bowl. “The media made it a situation to where they thought I was grandstanding. But like I told a lot of people. If [that was] Brett Favre, they would have called him a warrior. For me, they said I was selfish. If I’m selfish, I’m selfish because I want to help my team win.”

Owens nailed it. Unlikely returns and athletes playing hurt have long been associated with lore and legend, not grandstanding players.

Brett Favre has seen his popularity, and legend, grow throughout his amazing run of 207 consecutive starts, 226 if you include the playoffs. Favre has had several injuries throughout his streak, including a thumb injury that hindered him for part of this past season. Yet, as Owens said, Favre is dubbed a “warrior,” not a selfish player.

The legend of New York Knick Willis Reed was created after an inspirational performance in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals. Reed suffered a deep thigh injury in Game 5 of the series, an injury that threatened his chances to finish the series. The Knicks won Game 5, but were thrashed in Game 6 with Reed on the bench.

With the series tied up at 3-3, the Knicks took the court for Game 7, unsure whether or not Reed would play. But as the Knicks were warming up, Reed hobbled onto the court to an eruption of cheers. As the New York faithful screamed in jubilation, the injured Reed managed to beat Hall-of-Famer Wilt Chamberlin in the game’s opening tip before scoring the Knicks’ first four points.

Reed never scored another point, but as the story goes, he didn’t have to. His presence inspired his teammates, who eventually earned New York their first NBA championship in team history. Inspirational was the word to describe Reed, again not selfish.

Conversely we ostracize those players lacking the heart and character to play hurt. Prior to this season’s NFL playoffs there was uproar over comments made by New York Jets defensive end John Abraham. The Pro-Bowler commented that he wouldn’t play in the Jets playoff game for fear of further injuring himself. The comment was further fueled when Abraham added that he was up for a new contract after this season and didn’t want to hurt his market value. Selfish was the word used to describe Abraham’s actions.

Yet somehow Owens’s Super Bowl performance has been lumped together with Abraham’s comments as an act of a selfish player. Is it fair to group together Owens, who played hurt to help his team, with Abraham, a man who placed his upcoming contract above his team?

No it’s not.

Terrell Owens has been, and will always be, controversial. His persona creates a sense of self-vindication surrounding all of his feats. His end zone dances, interview comments and other antics are all acts of a man searching for continued time in the limelight.

That being said, his Super Bowl performance was not one of those things. Owens is guilty of hyping his return to ridiculous lengths and putting his team through unnecessary media speculation and questioning. But playing in the game was far from selfish.

Owens understood the value he has for his team, and he did everything within his power to give the Eagles the best chance to win. For that Owens should be applauded, not classified as a John Abraham.