By Chad Ochocinco on Labor Talks: “With that extension, I still don’t think a deal gets done. It’s just not going to happen.”
March 4, 2011 – 10:00 am by Eric Schmoldt
“Act like you’ve been there before.” That’s always the go-to line when somebody provides an entertaining and/or excessive celebration in sports. However, it begs the question: Where exactly is there? Is it football’s highest level, the NFL? Is it the highest level of the NFL, the Super Bowl? Is it even a real place?
Apparently, to Chad Ochocinco, it must be the Super Bowl, because the Cincinnati wide receiver says it’s never really been there before. There’s little doubt that Chad Ochocinco has heard that line plenty of times throughout his career as he’s brought us some of the most outlandish celebrations in football history. But the saying certainly hasn’t changed the way he has performed after touchdowns.
However, Ochocinco — yes, that’s still his name — has plenty of other things to worry about right now anyway. For instance, who is going to be throwing him the ball next year in Cincinnati? And will there even be a season?
Chad Ochocinco joined WCNN in Atlanta with Buck and Kincade to discuss why he never changed his name back to Johnson, the extension to the deadline surrounding collective bargaining agreement negotiations, what’s going on with Carson Palmer, if the Bengals have the ability to turn things around and celebrating the way he does because he’s never been there before.
On his name not changing back to Chad Johnson:
“Why would I mess up the brand? I can’t mess up the brand. I have so much going on. … I [said] that to piss off the people at ESPN.”
What the extension of the collective bargaining agreement negotiating deadline meant:
“With that extension, I still don’t think a deal gets done. It’s just not going to happen. … Let’s take any team, an owner, the agent and a player and their contract is up and it’s time to redo a contract or discuss getting something done. How long does that take? … Take 32 owners, take the NFLPA … and try to get one deal done.”
On the public perception of the players’ stance on the whole issue:
“I think the public is behind us but I think most of them think it’s getting a little greedy. All they see is the millionaires fighting with the billionaires over revenue. I think it’s a bigger picture than that. You have to think about health insurance, you have to think about our future, our kids, a lot of things that go a little deeper. But I think the public is behind us. But the fans make the game what it is and they’re the ones that get hurt in the long run.”
What’s the story with Carson Palmer, who says he’s not coming back to Cincinnati?:
“When someone like Carson, someone quiet that grows a random beard now and then, when he speaks you listen, especially when it’s out of character. It’s one of those situations where you know he’s not playing and he’s frustrated. What we call it, where I’m from, is he’s pulling a power move.”
Is he confident the Bengals can turn things around?:
“It’s unfortunate. … Things have been bad. They’ve been bad since I’ve been there, they were bad before I got there. At some point things have to turn around. They have to. You have to think about the Colts organization, Tampa Bay, everyone’s gone through their times, the Raiders. Cincinnati, at some point in time, is going to revive itself.”
Why he plays with the style that he does:
“The way I play the game is the same way I played when I was a kid, in high school. It’s about having fun. You get to this level, it’s about being straight-laced, put a helmet on, don’t smile, no personality, score the touchdown, hand the ball to the ref, act like you’ve been there. I’m not going to act like I’ve been there when I really never have.”
Listen to Chad Ochocinco on WCNN in Atlanta here
Tags: Carson Palmer, Chad OchoCinco, Cincinnati Bengals, NFL, NFL Labor dispute
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