The long-publicized tumultuous relationship between former Philadelphia Eagles teammates Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens took yet another interesting turn this week.
During an interview with Bleacher Report's Master Tesfatsion for the 'Untold Stories' series shared on Wednesday (December 30,) Owens not only implied that he believes the rumor about McNabb throwing up during the Eagles' final offensive drive of their Super Bowl XXXIX loss to the New England Patriots is true, but also said he knew "for a fact" that the quarterback went out drinking the night before the biggest game of his career.
“Why would somebody lie, there were teammates that said he threw up in the huddle,” Owens told Bleacher Report when asked about the McNabb puking rumor. “Personally, I didn't see it, but there are guys, and I know there are teammates that I've talked to recently that said that they saw him throw up in the huddle. I've talked to teammates since then and know for a fact that he was out the night before."
In 2005, former Eagles center Hank Fraley told Comcast SportsNet that McNabb played through an illness during the fourth quarter of Philadelphia's 24-21 Super Bowl loss.
"He fought to the end. He gave it his all," Fraley said. "He could hardly call the plays -- that's how exhausted he was trying to give it his all. If you remember back when we played Jacksonville two years ago and he ended up puking, it was close to that scene. He exhausted everything he had."
McNabb has denied vomiting on the field through the years, including his own appearance on 'Untold Stories' in January, telling Tesfatsion, "I did not throw up. As I say every time people bring it up, roll the video tape. You know, the film don't lie."
McNabb also claimed during the interview that Owens' antics were responsible for breaking up one of the league's best passing attacks.
"Then the offseason goes on and all of a sudden there's turmoil here and there, different conversations going back and forth, and we had to answer those questions instead of focusing on what we need to do in order to get back to where we were," McNabb said via Bleacher Report. "I thought that was the major distraction for us."
"[T.O.] is doing sit-ups, he's doing push-ups, he's playing basketball, he's ordering pizza for the people out there, and we're sitting there in training camp just like, 'You've got to be kidding me.' We're in our dorm rooms, and I'm just sitting there watching on TV.
"Brian Dawkins and Jeremiah Trotter were my roommates, and Dawk would come in like, 'What'd he do now?' I'm like, 'Take a look.' This is like "Days Of Our Lives". It was unbelievable. But that was something that kind of broke us up. That was the most frustrating for me, because I knew what we could do, and, if we decided to just come together, what we could accomplish."
Owens was acquired by the Eagles following a blockbuster preseason trade in 2005, but left the following offseason to sign with the NFC East Division rival Dallas Cowboys.
McNabb told Bleacher Report that his relationship with Owens was still fractured, which led to Owens to teasing his own response shortly after the interview was published in January.
""Ohhhh s--!!!! I can't wait 2 tell my story!!!" Owens tweeted. "I'm bringing [popcorn], doing sit-ups and gonna eat a couple cans of 'CHUNKY SOUP!! This guy is a joke!! Talking bout I broke up the @Eagles!! Did u tell em that u vouched for the Eagles to pay Westbrook but NOT ME!! It's on!"
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