As a huge fan of the Miami Dolphins I can only liken the acquisition of Chad Ochocinco to one of my favorite movie lines from Forrest Gump: "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Barely a Dolphins player, Chad Ochocinco is already stirring up some controversy, though doing so in a more subtle way than many might be used to. One thing is for certain, he is already keeping Miami Dolphins fans on their toes.
Confusing Message for "Dad"
Like many NFL players today, Ochocinco has taken to the Twitter airwaves to speak his mind. One of his latest Tweets referred to NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, as "dad," which is something the wide receiver has affectionately done in the past. However, this time he warns "dad" that he will be a problem this year and even lets Goodell know where to send the fines.
On the first glance I took this to be a bad sign. I personally don't like when players are going out of their way to stir up trouble. But then I looked into it a bit more and am thinking that perhaps Ochocinco is anticipating trouble in the form of too much celebrating after scoring touchdowns. If some of that comes with additional Dolphins victories then that's some trash talking I can live with.
Confusing Message for All
In 2008 Chad Ochocinco legally changed his last name from Johnson to the self-made Spanish translation that means 85. Now, in a twist of fate Chad Ochocinco seems to be sending a message that he might be changing his name back. Evidence of this is online as he recently changed his Twitter name from Chad Ochocinco to Chad Johnson. He has even conducted an interview where he talks about getting back to Chad Johnson. But what's it all mean?
While it certainly appears that he might want to go back to his birth name, others are saying he has no such plans. Maybe he means he wants to go back to the Chad Johnson style of play. Maybe he really does want to change his name. Again, he has Dolphins fans like me on their toes.
No Confusing Passion
While Chad Ochocinco's message this offseason has been somewhat confusing, his intent doesn't seem to be. When he addresses the media he is calm yet stern. His voice is one of thankfulness for getting to come home to play in Miami but there is also a sense of passion as well.
Chad Ochocinco knows how to play the fans and the media. Another favorite Forrest Gump line of mine is, "Stupid is as stupid does." In this case it is Ochocinco is as Ochocinco does and as much as he is keeping Dolfans on their toes now and likely will be the entire 2012 season, his intent to be a great wide receiver again is pretty crystal clear. In the end, that's all this Miami Dolphins fan really cares about.
Jimmy Collins has been a loyal "Dolfan" and fan of the NFL since he was six years old when he met Dan Marino and several other Miami Dolphins players. Still a resident of South Florida, he attends numerous Miami Dolphins games each season and enjoys writing about the NFL and the Miami Dolphins in particular.
More from this contributor:
Will Lamar Miller Push Reggie Bush in His Final Contract Year? Fan Perspective
This Miami Dolphins Fan Wants to See the Team Beat Tim Tebow Twice in 2012
Miami Dolphins' Ryan Tannehill Will Hopefully Be like Tim Tebow: A Fan's Perspective
