He plays chess against himself in the weekly opening of The T.O. Show. Or, more to the point, he plays against his alter ego, T.O., in a visual metaphor for his self-styled split personality.

Terrell, he says, is the real him. T.O. is his football persona.

"That's pretty much it — there's two people," he says. "When I'm around and it's lights, cameras, action — that's pretty much the T.O. side of me. A lot of it is playful, playing to the cameras. A lot is Hollywood. It's pure entertainment. That's what fans and people come out to see."

He says he wanted to do the VH1 show, which is on hiatus and has been renewed for a second season, to let people see his softer side. He thinks of it as a rebuttal to his public image.

"Wherever I play, obviously the fans are for me," Owens says, "but I think on the outside looking in from other areas of the United States people listen to the media. They only know the T.O. side of me."

Terrell, he says, is the side he lets his friends and family see. It is the side that does charity work, such as his appearances for the Food Bank of Western New York. (Donations can be made at 81TacklesHunger.com.)

T.O. is the sometimes petulant presence that makes catches — also headlines.

Naomi Muhammad, 32, a registered nurse from McComb, Miss., fell in love with Owens on the show and flew to Buffalo with friends for last week's home opener.

She fans three credit cards in her hands outside the stadium and says the whole thing cost her about $1,000, including a side trip to Niagara Falls and $80 for her No. 81 jersey.

She is not a Bills fan. She is not a football fan. She is a T.O. fan.

"He's a beautiful man, that smile melts me," she says. "My husband knows I am a T.O. fan. He likes him, too."

Owens seems utterly unsurprised that someone would make such a pilgrimage.

"With the show, I think everyone has gotten a feel of who I am," he says. "They now see that I've been getting a rap all these years. And I'm not saying that I've been cleared of everything that has been said or done about me. Everybody has done wrong."

Still, isn't playing chess against yourself a study in stalemate?

"It's like playing tug of war when you know there are some strengths and weaknesses to both parties," Owens says. "And for me it's like there is a lot of strength to T.O. in what he brings. Obviously you see that here in Buffalo with the excitement.

"And at the same time, with Terrell, there's a lot to deal with. Because now, even with all the excitement that T.O. brings, Terrell may get a little jealous here and there. But at the same time he stays grounded — and T.O. can just pop up at any given time. Even as Terrell, there are moments when T.O. can show up. Terrell just tries to balance both of those two worlds."

Sounds complicated.

Owens says work on the show's second season will begin after the Bills' season is over.

"I hope it ends on a good note in Buffalo," he says. "It would make for a better show."