By FRANCO PANIZO
It appears not even an NFL labor dispute is enough to keep Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco off the field.
Ochocino will join Sporting Kansas City for a four-day trial starting next week, Kansas City announced on Wednesday. Ochocinco will join Kansas City next Tuesday, and following the tryout, head coach Peter Vermes and his staff will decide whether or not to extend it.
"We're always searching for players who can help our team and bringing in new talent,” Vermes said in a press release. “We know that Chad is an exceptional athlete and that he loves the sport of soccer, and he did play a lot when he was younger. We're excited to see how his skills will translate once he arrives next week and begins training with our team."
While the trial may seem like just a publicity stunt, Sporting KC and Ochocinco are adamant that it is not.
"Due to the NFL lockout, I’m excited to be able to follow my childhood dream of playing for a Major League Soccer team,” Ochocinco said. “Thanks to Sporting Kansas City for giving me this opportunity.”
Ochocinco was introduced to soccer at the age of four. As a youth, he played the sport competitively as striker until attending Miami Beach Senior High School.
What do you think of Ochocinco trying out with Kansas City? Believe it to just be a publicity stunt? Hoping it's not so you can see Ochocinco chase the likes of Thierry Henry and Landon Donovan?
Share your thoughts below.
Its great PR for the league. Ochocinco is a great athlete. So why not give him a try. Lot of fun too.
Contrast RSL with SKC. RSL is one win away from CCL Final and SKC is trying out American football players. Pretty funny. Can’t wait til RSL plays Sporting.
I would love it if he made the team.
1. More press and higher ratings for MLS games
2. Good publicity for soccer, especially among African-American youth, with whom ’85’ is a well known name.
Really, NFL – go ahead and cancel your season. The MLS will take all of the NFL athletes that can play soccer and use them for the year. The athletes will do ok, but won’t be the stars. They’ll be interviewed a lot and will talk about the skill involved in the game, the challenges, the joy of scoring goals. Even if just 1% more of out top athletes chose soccer over football/baseball/basketball because of this, it would be worth the years worth of media circus.
Really, imagine the USMNT full of the top American athletes – the Kobes, the Reggie Bushes, the Jeters, but with those athletes having focused their energies on soccer instead of other sports.
JV soccer…..hardly, JV players don’t hit bombs like Juninho…….
I’m crying foul, Chad was 18 when the MLS’s first season started.
There’s no way this is a “childhood” dream…
“athleticism can hide/make up for some sportIQ, but that is prevalent in all sports, including soccer”
This is correct.
Every sport requires a certain level of… well maybe not intelligence (I once helped a 5th year senior all-american defensive lineman at a big SEC school register for reading class). But it at least requires a mix of understanding, experience, and intuition to be successful.
That said, there are certain athletes in certain roles whose athleticism can make up for deficiencies in those mental traits. Look at outside backs and wingers. Yes, some of them are incisive, creative, intelligent passers and movers. However, I can say pretty confidently that, for many of them, athleticism is perhaps a more important trait than guile.
I’m just saying, there’s no reason that it would be impossible to find a place on the field for 85.
Footnote – Why because the last time he played “organized” soccer was in middle school does everyone assume that’s still the level of sophistication he plays at? That is far from a safe assumption.
Welker kicked an extra point this year for the Pats too. I remember because he was on my fantasy team.
Cap him now! LOL
If it doesn’t work out for Chad Ochocinco in soccer, he can always try his hand at rugby — there’s a sport that an out-of-work NFL player should be able to adapt to!
I watched about five minutes of sportscenter and it mentioned this.
That evil Chad Johnson, bringing media attention to the MLS!
I really don’t see a downside. Let him dresss in the early round Open Cup games (and travel for the Columbus game) and at least sell tickets. If he doesn’t dress for MLS games, oh well. KC could use the publicity, and 85 will do anything for it. It’s mutually beneficial. It’s a shame the lockout wasn’t earlier, 85 would have made a big splash and sold tickets playing in friendlies.
For those predicting an unmitigated disaster- calm down. I’m sure the league will go on without your support, and with rumors that the quality of play is bad. Outside of the 10 and under crowd, it’s not a closely-held secret that we are a couple pegs below the elite leagues so just enjoy the PR in a country that could barely care less about soccer. Outside of the kickoff game and MLS cup, how often does MLS actually show up on the news here??
Chad Johnson may be a clown and a media whore, but point out one thing he has done that has been mean spirited. Point out a time when he has cheated. Find me a profanity filled rant. Find me fans he has blown off. Find criminal charges on him. Just because he likes the spotlight doesn’t mean he is a bad guy.
By the way- Naming the team Sporting Kansas City, while most likely still an attempt to get “soccer cred,” actually brought multiple sports under the organization’s umbrella (Rugby and Lacrosse included I think), so it actually is a sporting club (for upper and middle-class whites) whether some wish to acknowledge that or not.
“I live in seattle and play on that turf all the time…”
Are you a Seahawk? Ex-Sounder who just got, uh, “let go” yesterday?
Just wondering…
the thing a lot of people don’t understand is, it is EXTREMELY common for professional sports teams in the US to hold open tryouts every year. (in fact I think it might even be part of the deal to retain anti-trust exemptions)
This is only news because of the name involved. It is like Master P trying out for the Hornets or Michael Jordan playing baseball.
Everyone dogging Chad is a bit nuts. I for one want him to succeed and show a lot of skill because frankly we don’t have anyone on the National team roster who can even come close to competing with his pace. It is a well worn phrase but it is the truth: you can’t teach speed. If he has some ball skills and can strike a ball he can be dangerous quickly with his pace.
Agree with you up until the part about Ochocinco being entertaining.
Good one!
What would that say about college players or USL Pro players?
“If you call me Chris one more time… ”
“OK. Chriiisss.”
Table turned over… Rome falling out of his chair in fear like the little turp he is… classic stuff!
Your other points are well taken.
OK, Euro super fan… who is your favorite Euro team? Let’s see if I can guess. Hmmmm. If you’re like most Eurosnob kooks it’s probably Barca, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Man U, Bayern Munich, et al… you know, great teams and worth watching for sure… but also the Euro teams most heavily marketed to people like you.
If you’re into somebody else, that’s good for you. You’re a little bit different. But I bet you’ve got your little Euro team scarf and jersey – like you’re actually one of their true supporters – and you settle in for ESPN or FSC Euro telecasts – by yourself, most likely – like those teams actually give a damn about your pathetic “support”. Congrats! You’re a useful idiot.
You don’t like MLS. But some people do. If you don’t want to support your local team or the league, that’s your choice. But don’t troll.
So for those of us who hate ESPN, can someone provide an update? Was the MLS – Ochocinco story mentioned on any of their TV shows today?
Sportscenter? Jim dbag Rome? SportsNation? Around the Horn? Pardon the Interruption?
Thanks.
You play on Qwest’s field “all the time”? Pray tell just how you pull that off..
A lot of negative comments!
Personally, I would let him try out. Why not?
If he makes the team, ESPN will have A LOT more coverage about the sport. There will be discussions and buzz about the sport in general.
If he doesn’t make it, then obviously the sport is a lot harder than a lot of people make it out. ESPN would report how Ochocinco, a top level NFL player, couldn’t make a small market soccer team. “Is soccer that hard? What do you mean he couldn’t keep up? Really?”
Didn’t Usain Bolt try out for a top euro team? Wasn’t it Real Madrid or Man U? With this in mind, are you going to tell me that both teams are “mickey mouse” teams?
All in all the bigger discussion should be how many athletes in the big 3 leagues in the US would’ve played soccer had there been the infrastructure and money to be able to make a choice.
A lot of these athletes know that they’re athletic ability and skill is a temporary thing that can be ended with injury and certainly with age. With that in mind, most of them make the decision on which sport will give them the most money, fame, success and happiness before they can no longer perform in an elite level.
That’s what, in my humble opinion, this is about. Imagine if Ochocinco (or whatever his name is now) and other elite athletes had grown up with a top level soccer league in the US that paid relatively close to what they get paid now.
Like they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
The guy can play. He freaking loves the game.
this is sick, hes gonna be dirty. cap him now
Exactly right. There’s just no reason to get all bent out of shape about this (or whether you think 85 has a legit chance at the squad or not).
MLS is a legit league. This tryout/publicity stunt does nothing to change that.
and you told socnow to be mature! dude just go away
Ok, there is definitely some hyperbole there. The fact remains tho, PURE athleticism will take you so much further in those two sports than it will in soccer. In soccer, it’s the opposite with intelligence.
I’m sorry if I offend some of you, but for my money the biggest thing that robs MLS of credibility is our fans’ constant need for approval from non-fans. What makes this move different from similar moves in other leagues is not that those leagues existed longer; it’s that so many of us seem to care what the reception will be. I love MLS. I really do. Chad Ochocinco (Johnson) making the team (which, in my wildest dreams I can’t see happening) might make a few people look down on the quality of the league. But those people were certainly already doing so, right? And that condescension has exactly zero impact on my opinion of the league. The only opinion I think we should have on this move is if it’s entertaining to us! The fans. It’s definitely interesting and entertaining to me. I’m all for it. Everybody else can go watch a different league.
Great, now the MLS will be creating a “NFL players allocation draft.” If he turns out to be a star, the MLS will make sure he finds his way to the Galaxy or NYRB.
I think that was Shaq.
I think it’s half-serious. SKC wouldn’t be doing this if it was some NFL player without the name recognition. Like I said, “clearly SKC is just trying to drum up some real interest”. I don’t believe Chad will make the team, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he had the skill of a College soccer player or a USL Pro soccer player.
I will… and you enjoy jerking off to all those kelly clarkson cd’s you own!
This is a joke.. The guy said he could beat Michael Phelps at swimming. He’s making a mockery of MLS.
Bravo
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out…
Get over yourself.
I remember that. He kept calling Jim “Chrissy”. Everett warned him and Rome didn’t listen.
Moving away from Rome, my larger point was that mainstream sports media has been slow to embrace soccer. In my mind this only helps if Johnson’s tryout fails. It does briefly draws attention to the sport, albeit for the wrong reason.
Sport’s journalist need to respect the game in the states (the Ive’s and Wahl’s excepted) before it can be embraced. And if a player from another sport can just walk over and pickup playing the sport at the highest professional level offered in the U.S. it doesn’t bode well for the league.
Renoldo Nehamiah moved from track to play for the 49ers for a number of years. But the NFL was already established. Same with Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders playing baseball and football.
No, the MLS fans “hoping he does well” is what gives them more ammo.
Hear what you’re saying… but who cares what the Eurosnobs think?
Good. Enjoy watching soccer in your mother’s basement by yourself.
SKC just pandered to the Lowest Common Denominator for a PR gimmick. Isn’t this is the team who signed the first “Indian player”.
SKC = gimmick.
My condolences SKC supporters.
I’m not worried about Jim Rome. I’m more worried about guys like you who think this is serious.
I’m just glad Chad Johnson promotes the sport.
F$%k off Eurosnob. Can’t your wee brain tell the difference between reality and fantasy? This is a PR stunt.
Again, didn’t Man U have Usain Bolt in for a “trial”? Boy that EPL, real Mickey Mouse league.
Troll.
You’re making Fulham look bad.
No, it makes SKC look weak from a marketing point-of-view imo… but some might disagree and think they’re scoring PR points.
I have no problem with an MLS team giving a 4 day trial to a healthy elite professional athlete with a well-known love for soccer. And neither should you. It is difficult to imagine that he will have the tactical or technical skills at this point in his life to impress, but who cares? Don’t regular middle-age Joes spend thousands of dollars of their own money to attend fantasy camps and “play ball” with retired players. Don’t kids pretend to hit the game winning grand slam in the bottom of the ninth, hit the winning jumper, or score the winning goal? Don’t fans of every sport say things like “we” won, even though they are not a player or otherwise employed by the team? When it isn’t a business or a form of entertainment, sport is a fantasy. A pursuit of something that reflects something about who we are, what we like, what we are good at doing. A chance to feel emotional about something personal that has essentially no real-world impact compared to politics or family or religion. Chad isn’t trying out to be President or Pontiff. He will get to briefly live the dream that just about any sports fan would love to live for a few days. His celebrity will bring always needed attention to the sport he loves (and to a smaller-market team) at the start of its season. If it turns out that he is good enough to play, that is something we will all be able to judge for ourselves in due time, and then we can either embrace or criticize him or SKC based on facts. But for now, all I see is a little kid with world class athletic ability and some time on his hands living his dream. And so should you.
Hilarious publicity stunt! Can’t wait to see some footage.
Heck, I was a decent athlete and young soccer player. So if I just watch EPL I can be in MLS too!?! Whoopee!
You’re an idiot. Typical Flounder.
Are you serious? This is a PR stunt.
I thought it was Man U? Anywho… they must suck too.
Ives: When is the last time you got 200 comments on an article not related to the USMNT?