The No Fun League The NFL being too Stringent Again

A lot of things have been said about Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson, but one thing is for certain, he is entertaining. In many eyes that is what the NFL needs more of these days. We It would be nice to see less stringent rules and more excitement in order to attract more fans. That is exactly what Johnson offers. From his touchdown celebrations to his off the field interviews, Johnson is always quotable and entertaining. The entertainment continued this week as Chad Johnson has been officially allowed to change his name on the back of his Bengals jersey.

The NFL finally allowed Johnson to wear his new, legal name Ocho Cinco on the back of his jersey. The name derived in one game when Johnson ripped of the “Johnson” from the back of his shirt to reveal the name Ocho Cinco. Ocho Cinco is his nickname that refers to his actual number 85 in Spanish. He was later fined for the move and told that he could not display any other name on his jersey other than his legal name.

So what did Johnson do next? He went out and legally changed his name to Ocho Cinco so that he could proudly display the nickname on his jersey. The Bengals allowed him to do so but the NFL still stuck to its guns and would not allow him to wear the jersey during games. The argument was that they had already produced a number of Reebok “Johnson” jerseys and that Chad would have to pay back all of that money before he could change his jersey. So Johnson refused to pay the money and continued to display his original name during games.

This year the NFL has finally allowed Johnson to actually change the name on the back of his jersey but with one difference. Although Johnson wants his nickname to be Ocho Cinco, as two words, the league is only going to let his name be displayed as Ocho Cinco. Their reasoning is that he wrote that on his legal name change document so he has to display his exact legal name. Johnson cannot be too happy about being held to such stringent rules this season, but is still selling a lot of Paraphernalia on his website displaying Ocho Cinco as two words and not one.

Truth be told, the NFL is a game for the fans and they should be giving moments and players that truly entertain them. While the NFL has always stuck to its bearing when it comes to tradition and rules, it is time for the league to start loosening up. Barely any TD celebrations are allowed and superstars aren’t even allowed to entertain the way they want to. If the league doesn’t start to ease up then they may not be able to attract a new generation of fans that flock to high profile personalities such as Ocho Cinco.