ALLEN, Texas -- Say whatever you want about Terrell Owens being a diva or selfish or a bad teammate, just make sure you mention that for a decade he was one of the NFL's best receivers.

That's not debatable.

He's caught more than a thousand passes and scored 153 touchdowns in his NFL career.

Terrell Owens caught three first-half touchdown passes in his IFL debut with the Allen Wranglers. Jerome Miron/US Presswire

So watching him spend three hours Saturday night wearing a navy blue jersey with his white No. 81 trimmed in red and a silver helmet with script "W" on the side qualifies as surreal.

There's no other word for it.

But there he was Saturday night on the field at the Allen Event Center north of Dallas with a group of anonymous players in a largely anonymous professional indoor football league.

A record-setting crowd of 5,711 saw T.O. catch three passes for 53 yards and three touchdowns and get named Player of the Game in the Allen Wranglers' 50-30 win over the Wichita Wild.

Shocking, I know.

Afterward, T.O. signed Dallas Cowboys jerseys, game programs, plastic footballs and anything else fans placed on the table in front of him for 30 minutes after the game.

It was an interesting crowd.

Some were Cowboys fans and T.O. fans who wanted another glimpse at their favorite player. Others were rubberneckers trying to figure out why a potential Hall of Fame receiver was playing in something called the Indoor Football League.

And with the Mavs on their All-Star break, the Rangers in Surprise, Ariz., and the Stars off until Sunday, there wasn't much else for a sports fan to do in Dallas if he or she wanted to watch a game in person.