As much as many of us in the soccer world would like to believe this was all just a big joke, it now appears that Chad Ochocinco is going to be with Sporting Kansas City on some kind of trial. At least, that seems to be the only way to really interpret a tweet from the official SKC account.
Yes, Chad Ochocinco Is Really Coming In For A Tryout With Sporting Kansas City
Excited to have @ochocinco coming in to tryout/train with the team next week. More details to come....
Sporting Kansas City
SportingKC
As you should by now know, Ochocinco is currently available because he’s currently out of a real job as a NFL wide receiver. With no clear end to the impasse between the NFL owners and players, and Ochocinco previously claiming an interest in soccer, maybe it was an inevitability that some MLS team would at least give him a chance.
I trust that SKC coaches will not be force-fed actually putting Ochocinco on the roster, but this still seems like an unnecessary distraction. If we assume that Ochocinco is being given an honest chance to make the roster, is there any reason to believe that someone who has never played professionally can do enough in a few tryouts to warrant a roster spot? If we assume this is just a publicity stunt, is this fair to SKC players who are getting ready to embark on a season-opening 10-game roadtrip?
For all the right moves SKC ownership seems to have been making over the past year or so, this is a real head-scratcher. There does not seem to be a clear upside, other than drawing attention to a team that seems to be doing just fine getting it in the right ways.
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