Celebrity flag waves at Premier Sports Campus

One man caught the eye of the Premier Sports Campus crowd at the United States Flag and Touch Football National Championships Jan. 13, and it had nothing to do with how he played, because the man didn’t play on that day.

You couldn’t miss him if you tried. Wearing ‘70s-style circle shades, a blue jacket and blue shorts in 60-degree weather, he looked like the coolest guy on Earth. Literally the coolest — he kept jumping up and down to prevent shivering. Throughout his time at Premier, he took pictures with players and fans alike, all of whom called the man by his infamous nickname.

"Ochocinco."

“I didn’t have anything else to do,” Johnson said, laughing. “I’m still active. I haven’t stopped moving around (since leaving the NFL). I have the opportunity to play football at a highly competitive level, so why not?”

Yes, Chad Johnson, the six-time NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals, made an appearance at the tournament via helicopter. He was there for two reasons. One was to host a throw-off among fans, and the other was to promote a different flag football tournament, the American Flag Football League’s U.S. Open of Football, which will hold a regional at Premier on April 13-15. That tournament will feature teams of both pros, like Johnson, and amateurs. In the league’s “test” match last July, a team led by Johnson and Mike Vick beat a team led by Terrell Owens 64-41.

I caught up with Johnson and asked him why he’ll be lacing up his cleats in Lakewood Ranch.

“I didn’t have anything else to do,” Johnson said, laughing. “I’m still active. I haven’t stopped moving around (since leaving the NFL). I have the opportunity to play football at a highly competitive level, so why not?”

As for why he’s playing flag football instead of tackle: “I’ve been wearing pads since I was 4 years old,” he said. “I’ve had enough wear and tear.”

Johnson also said he was impressed with Premier’s fields, noting that he had never seen a bigger athletic space. He’s excited to come back for the AFFL, he said, and added that he loved taking pictures with the fans who supported him throughout his NFL career. The sentiment sounded genuine.

There were still hints of the “Ochocinco” persona some fans loved. Asked to recall a favorite flag football memory from his childhood, Johnson said he couldn’t.

“(Shoot), man, I’m 40,” he said. “I can’t remember that long ago.”

Except he didn’t say “shoot.”

Premier’s director of operations, Antonio Saviano, said he was only superficially aware of Johnson’s accomplishments (Saviano is a soccer guy), but it was great to have him there. The event didn't draw locals (Saviano didn't expect any) but Johnson's appearance helped boost the signal of an event that had already brought massive amounts of outsiders to the area.

The USFTL’s tournament, the largest flag football tournament in the world, saw 456 teams, both youth and adult, travel to Lakewood Ranch from the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and Mexico. After three days of competition, which ran from Jan. 12-14, teams were named champions of their respective divisions.

This includes Adrenaline Rush, the women’s 5-on-5 contact champions. Megan Penrod, 32, and Liz Sowers, 31, were two key members of the team with Penrod, a cornerback, winning Defensive MVP, and Sowers, a wide receiver, winning Offensive MVP. They’re both from Kansas City, Mo., but other members of the team hail from across the country. Women’s football is a tight-knit scene, Penrod said, with members meeting at national tournaments like this one, staying in touch and eventually playing together.

The key to 5-on-5, Penrod said, is playing quick and not going deep too often, instead hitting quick strikes near the line of scrimmage and churning out yards after the catch. Obviously, the strategy worked.

“It feels pretty good,” Sowers said of the win. “We got to get up on stage in front of our fans.”

Fans, in this case, means a handful of the players’ family members, but it was a cool moment nonetheless. Penrod agreed, but also said she’s glad it’s done. She and Penrod both played on three teams at the tournament in different divisions to get as much out of the weekend as possible.

I don’t know how they were able to walk off the field. By the final afternoon, I was tired, and I didn’t play a single down.

One thing’s for sure: I saw how much flag football players care about their sport, and I can’t wait to see that same passion again when Ochocinco and the pros come to town in April.