THE ROAMING RAM : Travel Makes a World of Difference to Owens

You get the feeling that Ram linebacker Mel Owens will not consider his life complete until he goes where no man has gone, does what no man has done and sees what no man has seen.

They say you only go around once in life, but Owens seems intent on making the world his velodrome.

Through a season, he goes in search of fullbacks. Through the spring, he goes in search of answers.

Life to him means more than playing Tampa Bay on Sunday, and so he will continue to traverse the globe, touching the pyramids one day, feeding piranha in the Amazon River the next.

Owens is a linebacker and adventurer, a regular Indiana Jones with cleats.

In his 27 years, he has walked the hot sands of the Middle East, mingled with the poor in Bombay, danced the samba in Rio de Janeiro and led a safari through Africa.

His idea of traveling is not valet parking and room service but catching an ox cart to some dimly lighted bar in Casablanca. His life has been lifted from the pages of adventure books.

“I just look at the map and say, ‘I wonder what that place is like,’ ” Owens said.

There’s a side of him that’s as crazy as a linebacker, which would explain his desire to run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Owens wants to spice things up by dressing in red.

Yet there’s another side that’s probing and philosophical. Owens was a political science major at the University of Michigan and has set out to find answers to life’s questions.

“I have to think about what I’m doing here,” Owens said of his existence. “Meeting other people, maybe I’ll have a better understanding. I’m not superstitious or believe in the supernatural, but it’s intriguing. It’s good to know about different religions.”

Last February, Owens set out on an 80-day trip around the world. Willing to go along for the ride were his brothers, Kyle and Lamar, teammates Irv Pankey and Barry Redden, and Ram strength coach Garrett Geimont.

The trip started in Rome and ended in Hawaii. After 10 days in Rome, it was on to the famous Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, which essentially is a two-week party in the streets.

“We were going to get all painted up (as is the custom), but it was raining that day and it would have rinsed off,” Owens said.

From there it was on to Nairobi, Kenya, where Owens and Co. would play out a few days of Wild Kingdom.

Owens, looking a bit like Rambo, walked into a store one day to buy the latest in safari ware. He had his video camera around his neck, but everyone in the room hit the floor thinking it was a machine gun.

“Once they found out it was a camera, I couldn’t get them out from in front of it,” he said.

Owens and the other Rams were imposing figures in Kenya. An avid weightlifter, Owens is 6-2 and 224 pounds. The natives called him Superman.

Owens carried a Ram pocket schedule around with him since there’s a game photo on the cover and he could show people just what it was he does for a living.

His adventure was exciting but so was it depressing, as when Owens landed in Bombay, India, on his way to the Taj Mahal. There, he saw another side of life, one that will forever stay in his memory.

“There were dead oxen in the streets,” Owens said. “We stopped at a light and this beggar came up and tried to stuff her baby in our car. She would have just put the kid in my lap and left it.”

It was a three-hour drive to the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world. It is Owens’ wish to see them all.

“Once you see one, you want to see all the others,” he said.

After India, Owens’ group toured Bangkok, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

Once his football career is over, Owens plans to travel even more extensively. But his career is far from over. Although he missed two weeks of training camp in a contract dispute, he is off to one of his best starts with the Rams.

He was named the NFC’s defensive player of the week two weeks ago for his performance in the win over the Indianapolis Colts.

A lot was expected of Owens when the Rams made him their first-round pick in 1981 and, although he has always been a steady player, it appears he’s moving to a higher plateau, even though he plays outside linebacker on the strong side, a position that seldom produces press clippings.

Owens plays across from the opposing team’s tight end and is the target of nearly his every block.

“The open-side guys are the ones you hear about,” Fritz Shurmur, the Rams’ defensive coordinator, said. “The guys like Lawrence Taylor. It’s hard for Mel to lead a team in sacks. But if he continues to play the way he has, he’s going to have a big, big year.”

Ram coaches were actually worried after Owens reported late to camp this year. But Owens played well in the opener and had a great game against Indianapolis. Along with it has come recognition.

“I knew, sooner or later, it was going to pay off,” Owens said. “I always kept working hard, thinking good things would happen. I am playing better now. It’s my fourth year as a starter.”

But the day Owens can’t play, he expects to pack up and live the life of an expatriate. He’s thinking of moving to France, for starters.

You can rest assured that you will never catch Owens in a business suit at lunch.

“Football could end tomorrow,” Owens said. “But I don’t see myself working for someone else. Ten years from now, I’d like to be floating on a boat in the Mediterranean.”

Ram Notes Quarterback Steve Bartkowski practiced in full uniform Thursday and told John Robinson that he is ready to start Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay at Anaheim Stadium. But, so far, Robinson has said no and still plans to start Steve Dils against the Buccaneers. Bartkowski injured his right knee in last Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia. . . . Mike Blatt, agent for Henry Ellard, said Thursday that the Rams have given him permission to talk with the Indianapolis Colts about a possible trade. But, Blatt said, Ram Vice President John Shaw wants a first-round draft choice in return, which he isn’t likely to get. “Shaw said that the Colts had offered their second-round pick three weeks ago but that he wanted a first,” Blatt said. Blatt has not called the Colts.

Because of the season-ending knee injury to linebacker Steve Busick, the Rams signed veteran linebacker Cliff Thrift Thursday and released cornerback Herman Edwards. Robinson said the move could be temporary and has advised Edwards to stay in town. “This was a stop-gap measure,” Robinson said. “We definitely left the door open. There’s a strong chance Herman will be back with us. . . . Linebacker Carl Ekern, who missed last week’s game with a groin pull, is listed as probable for Sunday’s game with Tampa Bay.