But Owens got off to a dreadful start in the Wild Card Round against Green Bay. He lost a fumble and dropped a sure touchdown after losing the ball in the sun in the first half alone. Owens recalled that a local paper used to name a "Goat of the Week" after each loss (and not in the Jerry Rice, "Greatest of All Time" sort of way).

He stood on the sideline and mentally braced himself to be given the literary dunce cap.

"That did not sit well with me," Owens said. "I looked around the stands and understood that I was going to cause a lot of heartache, not just for my teammates but also for the fans. Those were the things that were going through my head."

After trailing 17-10 at halftime, the 49ers scored 10 unanswered points to take a three-point lead into the fourth quarter. The two teams traded field goals before Brett Favre fired a 15-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman to give the Packers a 27-23 lead with 1:56 to play. There were three ties and six lead changes throughout the seesawing nail-biter.

Steve Young and the offense took over at their own 24-yard line with 1:47 remaining and all three timeouts. San Francisco took the field without Owens. Rice and J.J. Stokes were deployed as the only receivers.

San Francisco called timeout after a short three-yard pass to fullback Marc Edwards crossed midfield and reached Green Bay's 47-yard line. With the offense huddled together on the sideline, wide receivers coach Larry Kirksey suggested to head coach Steve Mariucci that he put Owens back into the game. Kirksey figured having three receivers on the field might open things up in the Packers secondary with just :54 on the clock.

"Owens was standing next to me as we were driving down the field," Kirksey said. "I said, 'Mooch, let's put Terrell back in the ball game.'"

It's imperative to note that Kirksey was always Owens' most ardent champion. He spent four years grooming Owens into one of the most imposing receivers in NFL history.

"Coach Kirksey constantly stayed on me," Owens said. "We'd have individual meetings and get in extra work after practice. He knew that I had the potential. He could see that there was something about me. These were things I continually tried to work on."