Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco had his first day of a four-day tryout with Sporting Kansas City. Frankly, it was a light day for the six-time Pro Bowler.
While the majority of the club toiled on one end of the field at the team's Swope Park practice facility, Ochocinco did rudimentary footwork, passing and shooting drills one-on-one with an assistant coach on the other side. Later he joined in a light scrimmage with his would-be teammates.
Ochocinco admitted in a press conference following the workout that his soccer skills were, in fact, a little rusty. Sharp as ever, though, was Ochocinco's knack for delighting the media. "I love you," he told the faction of reporters that surely was the largest to cover a team function since last July's game against Manchester United.
Was he sucking up to people who would be covering him all season long?
Maybe, but not terribly likely. In the post-practice press conference,
Ochocinco toed the same line that Sporting Kansas City has in the week since
it was announced he would be trying out for the squad.
In a
nutshell: He said this isn't just a publicity stunt, and he knows that he
isn't ready to play against the league's top players. But he promised
that he was taking it seriously and wanted to test himself. Oh, and he
is willing to play for free if he makes the team. With an incentive like that, how does SKC not sign him?
Watch him assess his performance below.
