Be nice to the people you meet on the way up, the saying goes, for you'll meet the same folks on the way down.

Terrell Owens, Randy Moss and Allen Iverson are on the way down.

I take that back. They're already down, and they're looking to get back up.

To which I say, bon chance.

Owens has signed a deal of some sort with the Allen (Texas) Wranglers of the IFL and now, reportedly, Chicago's IFL team is interested in Randy Moss. But what both diva wide receivers are really hoping for is one more NFL payday.

Moss, age 35, has a more realistic shot at an NFL job than the 38-year-old Owens, but his odds are still long.

Wait, you say. Jerry Rice started for the Seattle Seahawks at age 42. Right-O. But Rice had something going for him that Moss and Owen lack: He wasn't a jerk.

Even long after his prime, Rice was welcome in an NFL locker room, for he oozed professionalism. As for what Moss and Owen ooze, well ...

Owens tweeted the news of his comeback with his usual self-effacing reserve: "The wait is over!! Getcha popcorn ready!!"

As for Moss, "I wanna play football," he said Monday on UStream. "Your boy is going to come back here and play some football, so I'm really excited."

That makes one of you, Randy.

What Owen and Moss were to football -- in both talent and selfishness -- Iverson was to basketball, and now the petulant one says he's willing to play minor league ball -- if it can lead back to the big-time.

"Allen only wants to play if there's a possibility that it leads to the NBA," a source close to Iverson said. "That's the only way he would go to one of these lower leagues. He wants to get back to the NBA and leave the game on his terms."

News flash for Iverson: People who burn as many bridges as Iverson did don't generally get to leave the game on their terms.

It's ironic that Owen and Moss are trying to get people to think of them at the same time another wide receiver is being remembered easily and fondly.

Freddie Solomon, who died Monday at 59, had a fraction of Moss and Owen's talent.

Solomon did score 48 touchdowns in his 11-year career and won two Super Bowls with San Francisco, but the impression he made on others had more to do with who he was than what he did statistically.

"Freddie was very influential to me and my career, and taught me about work ethic and professionalism," said the aforementioned Rice. "He inspired me to go out there every day and emulate him."

Solomon inspired Rice and taught Rice the ropes even though the future Hall of Famer was drafted to take his job.

Remembered quarterback Joe Montana: "There was no one who gave more on and off the field than Freddie. The kindness he demonstrated was inspirational to all that knew him, and a joy to be around."

Following his football retirement, Solomon spent two decades helping the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Florida, mentoring youth and teaching life lessons through football fundamentals, among other volunteer work.

"Freddie was all about helping others," Lt. Chad Chronister said.

Said former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr.: "I've met thousands of players who came through my locker room with the 49ers, but I've never seen anyone with a heart like Freddie."

In December, a few months after he was diagnosed with cancer, Solomon said this:

"We give what we can give from our hearts. We give from the knowledge we attain. A person who wants help, we should be able to provide help."

A man with a philosophy like that doesn't have to worry about who he might meet on the way down. For a person with that perspective, there is no down.

Contact Jim Gordon at
gjames43@msn.com.