On the field, athletes are viewed by the public like gods. Men with superhero-like bodies making incredible ESPN highlight reel moments that regular people could only dream of doing. When the prime time cameras are on for game days, athletes rise to the occasion to become bigger-than-life icons in American society.
But what happens when those cameras shine on athletes off the field? What happens when the uniforms are off and they become the human beings they really are?
For Chad Ochocinco and Terrell “T.O.” Owens, that aspect of reality is now viewable to the public.
Both men are the signature stars for the VH1 television channel on Sunday nights with their reality programs. Ochocinco tries to find love in his tournament-style, dating show called “Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch” and Owens has cameras following him on a daily basis in “The T.O. Show”.
With both players’ personal lives on public display through reality television, the biggest question is what will become of their god-like aura. By being in reality television, their shows are not benefiting their larger-than-life persona created on the field, but damaging them.
In “Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch”, sixteen women are strategically placed in a bracket tournament similar to the sweet sixteen of NCAA’s March Madness. They are rated number one from his most favorite to number sixteen who is his least favorite as they compete to win him over.
This show has all the same characteristics as every other dating reality television show
Scantily clad women with make-up plastered all over their face and surgically altered bodies who degrade, insult and berate one another to win the approval of an egotistical pig of a man who views the woman as objects instead of human beings. Many of these men are usually unknown to the public or men who, prior to the show are known for treating women in such manner.
Although Ochocinco is known for feeding his huge ego, this concept was created on the field as an athlete. With this show, the superstar now joins the ranks of men in dating reality shows, which is to say that he views women as objects and not human beings.
Another big issue is the idea that he needs to have a show featuring himself as the centerpiece for women who want him.
While most men would surely love to change places with the Bengals wide receiver, the idea of women throwing themselves at a superstar athlete is usually a normal occurrence. The fact that he allows this to occur on reality television for his enjoyment negatively portrays him as the stereotypical athlete who is happy to use women for his own pleasure.
While Ochocinco’s show stars him and the sixteen women that fight for his love, “The T.O. Show” really has one person and one focus: Owens.
Since the start of the show last year, the cameras have followed Owens as he deals with issues in his personal life and joins the Buffalo Bills in 2009. The second season began in the middle of July starting from the end of his 2009 campaign with the Bills.
“The T.O. Show” has a few problems that hurts his image. The biggest issue is that the show feeds into the stigma that Owens is not only narcissistic playing football, but in life as well.
Like Ochocinco in his show, Owens talks about how he wants to find love someday all in hopes that the audience will have sympathy for him. The sympathy becomes invalid as he deals with his mixed feelings and numerous problems with his ex fiancée, ex girlfriend and a Victoria’s Secret model. All this occurs after he hooks up with the realtor who shows him his new Los Angeles home.
The other issue with his show is that it falls in the same genre as other reality shows similar to his own.
Shows like “Laguna Beach” and “Jersey Shore” all feature bland, uncharismatic people whom all think highly and care only for themselves. The only way many of these stars are popular is not through acting, but reality programming. These shows, and the people in them, are popular because the public likes to watch them act foolish and see how far they are willing to sell themselves to stay in the public eye.
“The T.O. Show” is virtually showcased to the public in the same fashion. Owens has always dealt with being foolish and self-centered on the field, but the show reinforces the validity of that stigma off the field.
For both Owens and Ochocinco, these shows may damage their image, but that is not a concern for both stars.
The negative stereotypes of reality stars as vain, self-absorbed divas are concepts that made both players who they are today on the field and will fuel them off the field with reality television as well. Both stars are pioneering the next frontier in reality television that many other athletes will most likely look to get into for years to come.
If that’s the case, they better prepare for the reality that their image may never look the same again.
