Don’t believe the hype: Terrell Owens cares what you think. Yeah, he might pop off with “no regrets” this and “speak the truth” that, but that’s all part of the game, part of being T.O., future Hall of Famer and wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys—and not just Terrell, good ol’ country boy from Alexander City, Alabama.

“It’s sad when people say negative things because of what they hear,” Owens says of his checkered public image. “I wouldn’t say I regret the things I’ve said and done, but there are situations I could’ve handled differently. I’m still growing.”

With his 35th birthday looming, Owens is increasingly concerned with his future. Maybe it’s because, after 12 seasons in the NFL, he’s beginning to think about life after football, when his body won’t be able to secure those ridiculously large checks. Maybe it’s because he’s searching for a higher purpose than living la vida luxurious. Or maybe he’s realizing that star power, handled indiscriminately, can burn itself into irrelevance in the time it takes a flash bulb to light up that one great magazine cover shot.

“I think I’ve made a name for myself,” he says, munching on a handful of almonds at New York City’s Gramercy Park Hotel. “If they don’t know my name, they know the initials T.O.”

On this afternoon the All-Pro wide receiver is in town to promote an Alzheimer’s Association event. Owens’s grandmother was diagnosed with dementia during his rookie year with the San Francisco 49ers, so the cause is dear to him. “Any way I can increase awareness, I devote my time to it,” he says of his 12 years as an outspoken advocate for Alzheimer’s research. “With different people, Alzheimer’s progresses differently. I’m fortunate that my grandmother’s still around. She’s responsible for me being the person that I am.”

On the gridiron that person is a player of the highest caliber. Within his first 10 seasons in the league, he scored 101 touchdowns. As a Dallas Cowboy he set the team’s single-season record for receiving touchdowns (15 as of 2007). He’s been the first to gloat about his accomplishments—sometimes innocently (as with his patented “bird dance”); other times obnoxiously: After catching a touchdown during a November 2006 game against the Washington Redskins, Owens laid down in the end zone, rested his head on the football and pretended to nap.

T.O. is also a controversial figure, largely due to his penchant for straight talk. At best, his comments have provided plenty of copy for the SportsCenter writing staff. At worst, he’s been tagged persona non grata and run right of town. In November 2005 the Philadelphia Eagles suspended Owens for the remainder of the season, partly due to his unfavorable remarks about quarterback Donovan McNabb and about his teammates, who he claimed showed “a lack of class” by not celebrating his landmark 100th touchdown. The team released him from his contract in early 2006.

Owens argues he’s just an honest dude who is frequently misunderstood. “When I got to the league, I started hearing the term ‘politically correct,’” he says. “I didn’t really know what that meant. They asked me a question, so I answered it. It got to a point where I was ‘bashing a teammate’ when, in my heart, that’s not what I was doing.”

The conflict between T.O.’s MO and the NFL’s way of doing things came to a head in 2005, when contractual disputes with the Philadelphia Eagles grew heated.

“All I wanted was my fair market value,” Owens says of his demands. “I came back from what everyone was saying was a career-ending injury [to play in the Super Bowl]. I put my career on the line, so give me what I’m worth.”

Vernon Davis, a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, says Owens was justified in seeking a pay increase. “The better you perform, the more you obtain, so [his new contract] was well deserved,” he reasons.

The Dallas Cowboys presumably understood T.O.’s worth. In March 2006 the team signed him to a three-year, $25 million contract. After two seasons, they came to terms on a new four-year $34 million deal, placing Owens’s among the league’s highest paid receivers.

But more money didn’t mean fewer problems for T.O. In September 2006 he was rushed to the emergency room after overdosing on hydrocodone, a pain medication. Although Owens insisted the overdose was accidental, some football fans still speculate about his mental health—and his erratic behavior certainly hasn’t helped. There’s the December 2006 altercation, with then-Atlanta Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall- T.O. spat in Hall’s face and was fined $35,000. And, in January 2008, T.O. burst into tears after losing in the NFC playoffs to the New York Giants. Owens defended quarterback Tony Romo and pleaded for fans not to blame Romo for the team’s defeat.

“I knew the attacks would be directed at Tony,” Owens explains. “I knew it would lead to, ‘Do you think his performance was affected by what he did during his time off, when he went to Cabo with his girl [Jessica Simpson]?’”

So was T.O.’s strong sense of camaraderie the cause for his tears? Well, not entirely. “It was a combination of losing and knowing where their attack was going,” Owens admits. “Losing was a huge letdown, especially when we know we could’ve played better.”

Although some folks mocked Owens’s tears, others argued it showed a different, more tender side of the player.

“Owens is an emotional guy,” says Mark Lelinwalla, a sports writer for the New York Daily News. “He cried after catching the game-winning touchdown from Steve Young in the 49ers’ win over the Packers in ’99.” But Lelinwalla says T.O.’s recent breakdown highlighted Owens’s growing maturity level. “While crying, he defended Tony Romo,” he says. “I don’t know if T.O. would have done that a few years ago.”

Davis agrees. “America only sees T.O., the football star,” he says. “They don’t see Terrell Owens, one of the most humble and respectful men in the NFL.”

Even when discussing his future, Owens speaks with remarkable humbleness. “I’ve been a part of three great franchises,” he says. “What better way to go out than as a Dallas Cowboy?”

The curtain call is at least four years away, but Owens is shifting his attention to other realms. He’s releasing a fitness book (September’s T.O.’s Finding Fitness), making TV appearances (catch him on HBO’s reality series Hardknocks: The Dallas Cowboys), endorsing a new exercise product (Bodylastics Terrell Owens Super Strong Man Edition workout bands) and raising a family (he won’t give details but says he’s “a proud father”).

Most of all, he just wants people to know he’s a decent guy. See, Owens finally understam nds that his kind of star power eventually burns out, but with the right attitude and love from the fans, it can keep shining long after the stadium lights have gone dark.

For more T.O., click here for his exclusive photo gallery!