The Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor will soon have two new members. The franchise is inducting Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson and Boomer Esiason in its Ring of Honor at halftime of its Sept. 25 home game against the Los Angeles Rams.
"Boomer and Chad were both exceptional players," Bengals President Mike Brown said (via the official team website). "If you look at the statistics, Boomer has a long list of quarterback firsts here. And Chad was a superb athlete who was probably the quickest receiver we have had here. They could have moments when they just carried the team by themselves. Both players are very deserving of this honor."
Ochocinco, as he will forever be referred to, opted to accept the honor under "Chad Javon Johnson," according to the team. Johnson and Esiason will become the seventh and eighth members of the exclusive club, joining Ken Anderson, Willie Anderson, Paul Brown, Isaac Curtis, Anthony Muñoz and Ken Riley.
Johnson remains the Bengals all-time leading receiver with 10,783 yards. He spent the majority of his career in Cinci, playing for them from the start of his professional career in 2001 until 2010. During his time there, he was a three-time first-team All Pro, a six-time Pro Bowler and the NFL's receiving yards leader in 2006.
He certainly made his mark on the city and the team and often did so in a very unique way, with antics that kept people talking. On theme with how he approached the game, Johnson is hoping to go into the Ring of Honor to the song "My Way" by Frank Sinatra.
"Because that's exactly how I played the game," Johnson said. "I would never change anything. If I could go back again and redo it, I would add some more [redacted] to it."
Johnson said he "didn't care about the Hall of Fame ... didn't care about the accolades." What he did care about? "I wanted to have fun," Johnson said.
Johnson said this honor means more than a Hall of Fame spot would, noting that it means "everything."
"To be shown appreciation for all the years of hard work is awesome," Johnson said. "It's a great honor and I'm very appreciative. I'm getting my flowers now while I can smell them. To me, this honor means much more than getting a gold jacket, honestly. This is home. The fans understand the good times and the bad times, the ups and downs, and they accepted me as my true authentic self. This is a welcome home -- you will always be a part of us -- and this means a lot to me. A lot."
Reflecting on what the city means to him, Johnson said, "Cincinnati is all I know."
"I said, 'Give me a year or two and I'm going to do everything I can to put the city and the team back on the map,"' Johnson said, reflecting on what he said when he got to the Cincinnati. "I made sure we were in national headlines. Every time I could think of possible. I made it OK to wear Bengals gear outside of Cincinnati. I made it cool to wear our stuff outside of Cincinnati."
Esiason, meanwhile, was a leader on and off the field for the Bengals, playing quarterback for the team from 1984 to 1992. While in Cincinnati, he was named league MVP, first-team All Pro and three-time Pro Bowler.
He led one of the best offenses in the league and set records and standards while doing so. He set the team single-season passing record of 3,959 yards in 1986, recorded a single-game team passing record in 1990 (490 yards), and had the league's top passer rating in 1988 (97.4).
Overall, he is third in team history with 27,149 passing yards and 187 touchdowns.
"I will always remember I got this because of the season ticket holders," said Esiason. "They're the ones who have the memories. They're the ones who spend the money to support the team. They're the ones who know who their favorite players are and who had the biggest impact when they were there. That's not to be taken lightly or ever taken for granted."
The two inductees were voted on by the season ticket members from a ballot of 13 individuals who made an impact on the team.
