November 10, 2006 - Ever wonder why you never see Chad Johnson with the "For who? For what?" alligator arms over the middle of the field?
That's because growing up, Johnson learned to play football in the street.
"Middle of the street, that was our field," Johnson told me as we talked about his new game, NFL Street 3 (PS2, PSP). "For some reason, there were always rocks wherever we played at and you always tripped and ran into cars by accident. One time they tried to throw me a deep ball and I was looking up, a second later I hit a car and I'm on the ground. That's street football. Only time play stops is when a car is coming."
Johnson didn't make the catch that day (Johnson says the car was guilty of pass interference), but when it comes to who hits harder, Ray Lewis or a Chevy, the Ravens linebacker has nothing on the hood of an Impala.
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NFL Street 3 is the first videogame cover for Johnson, a self-proclaimed Madden addict who is happy to leave the curse for Shaun Alexander, even if Madden is his favorite game (along with Winning Eleven). In fact, the man who unleashed Ocho Cinco into sports vernacular (complete with NFL fine of about 54,000 pesos), recently lost a custom Chopper motorcycle betting on an online Madden game against the Chiefs Larry Johnson (footage of the game airs on MTV November 13). And if that wasn't enough, when the stakes were raised and L.J. said he'd shave his head down to a Mowhawk and color it Bengals orange if he lost, it was Chad who ultimately suffered defeat and was forced to dye his Mowhawk Chiefs red. "He converted 4th and 5. I was in Cover-2 and he threw it in the hole. My corner missed the ball."
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These days, though, Chad is back to Mr. Clean, the same bald look his character has in NFL Street 3, a game of 7-on-7 ironman football where the goal is to earn respect. Earn enough street cred, and a virtual Ocho Cinco will even bring you new plays for your playbook. "Just throw me the deep ball," laughs Johnson. When asked to pick his ultimate Street team, Johnson was quick to fill out his roster. "I have to bring Housh along with me, Clinton Portis, Steve Smith, Ray Lewis, Champ, and D-Hall. Since I have to play defense, put me at safety. I'm very rangy."
And to Johnson, the NFL Street series fits his boisterous image perfectly. "Brassy, bold, trash talking, celebrating…that's me. That's Street."
And while fans might be disappointed with the NFL's crackdown of celebrations in real life, Chad has a different take. "You just celebrate within the rules. I have no problem with that. No problem at all."
His favorite?
"The Riverdance. That was me at my best."
His most creative?
"Proposing to the cheerleader. Now that was a good one. It was something different, something no one else would think of. Who would think to do something like that? Just like the Ocho Cinco on the back of the jersey, it's funny, it's creative. All that you're seeing is just me. Just me having fun."
