Ochocinco Changing His Name Again Prompts Mixed Reactions From Fans
Chad Ochocinco, born with the last name Johnson, will change his name once again much to the disapproval of many fans.
Ochocinco, 35-year-old New England Patriots wide receiver, recently responded to a fan who told the athlete that he posted five of his autographed football jerseys on a wall. The Patriots wideout responded by telling the fan that the last name on his jersey would change soon.
"Take them down,"Ochocinco tweeted. "I'll be Johnson on July 4th."
The athlete initially changed his name from Johnson to Ochocinco in 2006 during Hispanic Heritage month, to represent the number on his football jersey. TMZ reported that the boisterous athlete's fiancé, reality television star Evelyn Lozada, is the motivation behind the change since the pair will marry in July.
However, some football fans took to Twitter to question the change. One fan seemed to think the name change would have a negative result, comparing it to the end of the world.
"Ochocinco is going back to being Chad Johnson," the fan tweeted. "The end of the world is definitely upon us."
Don Jamieson,stand-up comedian and television host, seemed to think the wide receiver's name change would not matter. The host tweeted that the Patriots' wideout is not relevant, after his team lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl recently.
"Chad Ochocinco is changing his name back to Johnson," Jamieson tweeted. "Why? He was anonymous all football season anyway!"
However, some fans seemed supportive of the athlete's decision.
"Ochocinco is changing his name back to Chad Johnson finally," another Twitter user wrote.
Another fan seemed to think that Ochocinco's initial name change impacted his performance on the field.
"Glad you're going back to Johnson," the person tweeted. "Ocho wasn't nearly as good."
Still, Lozada told TMZ in January that she was considering adding Ochocinco to her own name.
"I'm kind of debating. I don't know if it's going to be Evelyn Lozada-Ochocinco," she said. "We'll see."
