Cincy Jungle
You might be surprised to learn who played a role in it happening.
Chad Johnson recently appeared on “Inside the NFL” and told audiences how he ended up building a brand around the name “Ochocinco.”
The idea started with two Bengals quarterbacks at the time.
According to the Cincinnati Bengals legend, Carson Palmer and Jordan Palmer came up to Johnson during Spanish Heritage Month in September and said, “Dude, you should put Ochenta y cinco on the back of your jersey.”
The receiver says he replied, “Dude, for what? That makes no sense.”
But then Johnson changed his mind, and he got a big assist from someone from the team’s personnel.
“So I go to [equipment manager] Rob Recker...‘Rob, put velcro on the back of my C. Johnson, and make me a nameplate that says Ochocinco because Ochenta y cinco was too long. He makes it. NFL is pissed. They call down to David Fulcher, ‘Fulcher, tell him to take that off the back of his jersey.’
“I refuse to take it off. The NFL fines me thirty grand for altering the NFL uniform the following morning. So, I purposely changed my name in the offseason to ‘Ochocinco,’ and then now, it’s a brand. It’s huge. Rob Recker, thank you. You are responsible for all my success to this point. And I’m still getting gigs because of that damn name.”
You can watch Johnson tell the story himself in the video below.
For those who don’t know who David Fulcher is, here’s a quick highlight video of the pioneering safety’s career.
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