Admit it. If Chad Johnson doesn’t score a touchdown, Sunday NFL highlights just aren’t the same. The league’s most celebrated celebrant has made an art of end zone exultation. In the process, he has blurred the line between good guys and bad guys in pro football by being a little angelic and devilish parts of both. Who is Chad Johnson and, more to the point, how exactly do you stop him? Love him or hate him, no one plays the game—on or off the field—quite like Chad. This is his story…

GROWING UP

Chad Johnson was born January 9, 1978 in Miami, Florida. (Click here for a complete listing of today's sports birthdays.) His father’s name was Sam, but Chad did not know his dad at all. His mother, Paula Johnson, was not a consistent figure in his life either. For most of his childhood, he was raised by his grandparents, Bessie and James Flowers. Their daughter, Paula, lived a few blocks away but was in no position to look after the boy. He called Bessie "Mama" and still does today.

As a kid, Chad developed a healthy appetite for sports—but had no interest in schoolwork, and possessed zero attention span and almost no impulse control. He crashed the family car at age 10 and defended his actions by saying he was taking it to the carwash.

Outside the Flowers home, Chad was surrounded by the influences of the street, namely drinking, smoking and stealing. Thanks to Bessie and James, however, he developed a sense of where to draw the line. Football was the way out for him, and he knew it. Two of Chad's cousins, future NFL stars Keyshawn Johnson and Samari Rolle, showed him it could be done. Once Chad set his sights on an NFL career, there was no stopping him. And there was no Plan B.

Chad rooted for the Dolphins. Mark Clayton and Mark Duper—Dan Marino's "Marks Brothers"—were his favorite players. He followed Keyshawn’s career on the West Coast as well. On many afternoons, Chad could be found at a nearby field playing pickup games with Samari and Duane Starks and Terry Cousin, both of whom would also go on to NFL careers. Another boy he played with was Sam Brown Jr. Chad didn’t know it at the time, but he and Sam were half-brothers. He later discovered that he had a half-sister, Chinita.

After low grades got him bounced out of Coral Gables High School, Chad enrolled at Miami Beach High School. He made the varsity football team as a frosh and played receiver, quarterback, punter, and handled snaps on extra points. His grandfather attended every game.

Chad was one of the team’s best players by his sophomore year. In the playoffs that fall, he took the field and did not see the familiar face of James Flowers. His grandpa had been shot and killed the night before, and Chad did not find out until after the game. The thought of Bessie alone and destitute was a big wake-up call. Chad vowed to fill this void. He was now totally focused on making it to the NFL.

Making it to class was another matter. Chad did not see a connection between success on the field and even a minimal academic effort. As he feel behind in his schoolwork and cut classes, many of his teachers gave him a pass. As so often happens with young athletes, the favor they thought they were doing for him would later turn out to be a curse.

Chad got his high school degree by the skin of his teeth. Although he was recruited by top programs, including Miami and Florida State, he didn’t have the grades to get in. In fact, he had to take night classes the summer after his senior year just to graduate. With his college options severely limited, he ended up at Langston University, an NAIA school in Oklahoma with a decent football squad.

Chad reported to the Langston campus in the late summer of 1996, and that was pretty much the last time he was seen in an academic building. A no-show in the classroom, he was eventually kicked out of school for fighting. Chad made the mistake of assuming that college would be like high school—the teachers would just move him along for the good of the team.

Bessie, a former teacher and counselor in the Miami school system, knew Chad was headed nowhere—and fast. She told him that he had to go to school, and suggested he live with his mother in Los Angeles and attend Santa Monica College, which had a good football program. Chad joined the Corsairs in 1997 and played beside Steve Smith, another future All-Pro who was flying under the college football radar, too. (Chad remains close friends with Smith to this day. Smith calls Chad “The Entertainer.") Also on the squad was Eugene Sykes, who later found a home in the Arena Football League. Whenever a Corsair scored, a touchdown dance would follow.

After it seemed he was on the right path, Chad’s football career took another giant step backwards when he came up a credit short and had to miss the 1998 season. At a low point, Chad started to think that the stars were aligned against him. He was ready to give up on football. Once again, Bessie intervened. She told him to get his grades back in shape and play football for Santa Monica again in 1999. Finally, he was starting to understand the connection between school and football.

ON THE RISE

Just as Bessie instructed, Chad returned to the gridiron and had a nice year for the Corsairs. The biggest improvement came in his route-running. More precise and more disciplined, he also become more explosive out of his break. In two seasons at Santa Monica, Chad reeled in 120 passed for 23 touchdowns and more than 2,000 yards.

Chad’s greatest accomplishment in his JC years was connecting with receivers coach Charlie Collins. It was Collins who became a surrogate father to Chad, pushing him back into the classroom after he had been declared academically ineligible the year before. Chad continued to work with Collins in the summers at his Phenom Camp for receivers. There he got to go head-to-head with future NFL DBs like Ricky Manning. Chad credits Collins with much of the success he has today.

West Coast scouts drew a bead on Chad, and he talked to a number of schools, including UCLA, USC, San Diego State, Hawaii and Oregon State. Some were sacred off after a domestic incident with a girlfriend cost him 30 days of community service. With a big black mark on his record, Chad chose the Beavers because of Dennis Erickson, whom he greatly admired and respected. Chad told coach Erickson that he would not regret taking a chance on him. Collins also gave the coach his assurances that Chad was a good kid who was getting his act together.

Still 18 credits short of OSU's academic requirements, Chad had to crack the books and increase his course load in order to qualify for a four-year college. He had to skip spring practice with the Beavers and didn’t actually join the team until three weeks before the 2001 season started.

In his first taste of the big time, Chad blossomed into a star. He began the year buried on the depth chart, but by the fourth week he had the plays down and became a difference-maker on the field. Chad gave a lot of credit to his teammate, Dennis Weathersby, a cornerback who covered him in practice. Weathersby was one of the best in the Pac 10, and he did not hold back in practice. Chad also benefited from playing with fellow wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh, a future teammate in the pros. They roomed together for road games, and the  pony-tailed wideout flashed Chad hand signals from across the field in the early going so Chad knew what the plays were.

Chad finished the '01 campaign with 37 receptions for 806 yards and eight touchdowns. His highlight-reel moment was a 97-yard touchdown catch and run against Stanford. The play that got the pros excited, however, came against Syracuse and superstar corner Will Allen. With the ball in the air and both men running all out, Chad put on an explosive burst that left Allen (and his 4.3 40 speed) in the dust. One NFL scout crowed that Chad might surprise everyone and be the #1 pick in the 2001 draft.

The Beavers finished the year with just one loss, an overtime defeat to Washington that Oregon State almost won on a field goal that drifted wide right. They went to the Fiesta Bowl and beat Notre Dame to end up at 11–1 and #4 in the nation.

Chad later played in the Senior Bowl and caught seven passes for 93 yards. No one on the field had a prayer of covering him. Now a blue chip prospect, Chad chose to enter the NFL draft, even though he had a year of college eligibility remaining.

Unfortunately, the hype that Chad created faded during the combines. He ran a slow 40 and moped through other drills. As Chad watched the draft unfold, he grew concerned when the first round passed and his name had not been called. He was eventually picked #36 by the Bengals early in the second round. His biggest fan in the Cincinnati war room was offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski. He was thrilled later in the draft when the Bengals also took Houshmandzadeh.

Chad joined a team that was in the midst of a tailspin. The Bengals had failed to record a five-win season in three years. Jon Kitna was a capable quarterback and Corey Dillon a dangerous ground gainer, but the team was paper thin at almost every other position. Chad saw mostly bench time in September, catching his first two NFL passes and scoring his first touchdown against the San Diego Chargers on September 30. Two weeks later against the Cleveland Browns, he fractured his collarbone after making a catch and spent a month on injured reserve.

The Bengals improved somewhat to 6–10. Chad gained just 329 yards on 28 receptions, but he was hardly a non-factor. Teams had to account for his whereabouts at all times, and he was capable of forcing defenses into bad matchups. In the final game against the Tennessee Titans, Chad drew an interference call against Michael Booker that set up Cincinnati’s game-winning field goal.

Chad started his second NFL season on the bench but forced his way into the starting lineup by Week 3. He surpassed 1,000 yards and led the Bengals with 69 catches and 16.9 yards per reception. By season’s end he had established himself as a go-to guy and premium deep-threat receiver. Chad had a November to remember, smoking the Baltimore Ravens, Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers for consecutive 100-yard games. In the contest against Cleveland, he scored on a 72-yard pass from Kitna. It was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal 2–14 season for Cincinnati.

During the off-season, Chad spent time at a retreat for receivers and DBs held by Deion Sanders at his estate in Texas. Sanders opened Chad's eyes to the tendencies of receivers and pass coverage specialists. He was seeing a whole new layer of the game. Of those three days in Dallas, Chad says that Sanders took him “over the rainbow."

MAKING HIS MARK

Chad had a stellar season in 2003, smashing Eddie Brown’s franchise receiving mark and leading the AFC with 1,355 yards on 90 catches. He also scored 10 TDs.

Chad went coast to coast on an 82-yard catch and run touchdown against the Ravens in an October meeting. A week later, he caught the winning TD against the Seattle Seahawks. Under new coach Marvin Lewis, the Bengals recovered from an 0–3 start, finished a surprising 8–8 and were the last team bumped out of the playoffs. One of the season’s highlights was a win over the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs—a victory that Chad brashly guaranteed.

Chad’s first postseason appearance came as a starter in the Pro Bowl. He connected with Steve McNair on an eye-popping 90-yard touchdown play and finished the game with 156 yards, second-most in Pro Bowl history.

The demanding Lewis was known as a defensive wizard, but he had a profound effect on Chad’s game. In his first camp, Lewis chewed Chad out for cutting the occasional corner on his routes. Eventually Chad asked his coach what the problem was—did he expect him to be perfect on every play? Lewis responded by asking Chad if he wanted to be the best. His game would soon reach the next level.

In 2004, Chad and the Bengals proved they were no fluke. Cincinnati turned in another respectable 8–8 season, as Carson Palmer took the quarterback reins and Rudi Johnson—a junior college foe of Chad’s—became the featured back. The press had a ball with the Johnson & Johnson theme, especially with Rudi being so quiet and Chad being the NFL’s unofficial TD celebration king. He paid a heavy price for this distinction, earning fines for some of his more elaborate gyrations. The piece de resistance came during a 41–38 win over the San Francisco 49ers. After finding the end zone, he sprinted over to a snow bank where he had stashed a pre-printed sign that he held up for the cameras: Dear NFL, Please don’t fine me again. That one cost him $10,000.

Chad led the AFC again with 1,274 receiving yards, while his 95 catches placed him third in the NF. Among Chad’s highlight-reel plays were a gravity-defying touchdown catch against the Steelers, a game-winning TD snatch against the New York Giants, a pair of 50-yard catches against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football, and a diving grab in the end zone between two New York Jets defenders on a 60-yard bomb by Palmer. After the season, Chad was named to his second straight Pro Bowl as an AFC starter.

After two .500 seasons, the Bengals took a giant leap forward in 2005. They won 11 times and obliterated many of their opponents. Palmer, in particular, hit his stride. At times, the Cincinnati passing game was literally unstoppable.

Chad was an essential part of that attack. He broke his '03 franchise record for receiving yards with 1,432. Once again, that total was tops in the AFC, 286 yards more than Marvin Harrison—and third overall in the NFL. His best game came in a loss against the Harrison and the Colts. Chad racked up 189 yards against the Indianapolis to establish a new personal high. He also caught 11 balls in a victory against the Detroit Lions later in the season.

The Bengals won the AFC Central, but their Super Bowl hopes were dashed when Palmer suffered a devastating knee injury in the first quarter against Pittsburgh. Cincinnati fell to the Wild Card Steelers and watched them roll all the way to the NFL title—all the while wondering what might have been.

The 2006 season was full of hope for Bengals fans, provided Palmer recovered fully. With defenses keying on Chad early in the season, the Bengals often looked elsewhere for their offense. That changed as the season wore on. In a late-October game against the Panthers, Chad set up the winning score when he sprawled and caught a fourth-down pass under heavy coverage for 32 yards. Watching from the Carolina sideline was his cousin, Keyshawn, and former teammate Smith.

Chad also turned heads off the field in '06. During Hispanic Heritage Month, Chad announced that he would prefer to be called Ocho Cinco (his number, 85). In a game against the Atlanta Falcons, the "C. Johnson" on his jersey was replaced by a Velcro patch that said "Ocho Cinco." Palmer ripped off the new name tag before game time, but the league still fined Chad $5,000. Worse, the Bengals lost the game. Thanks to a deal with Atlanta’s DeAngelo Hall—if the Bengals didn’t win, Chad had to shave off his mohawk.

In November games against the Chargers and New Orleans Saints, the clean-shaven receiver gained 260 and 190 yards, respectively. The successive contests broke the two-game NFL record of 448 yards set by John Taylor of the 49ers in 1989.

Chad found the end zone only seven times in ’06, he but finished the year with 1,369 receiving yards— three more than Indy's Harrison. It was Chad’s fourth AFC receiving title, but the first time he led the NFL. No Bengal had ever done so before. Chad was the also the first player since conference play began to lead a conference in yardage four times in a row.

He was also named a Pro Bowl starter for the fourth season in a row and tortured NFC defenders with three catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. Chad drew an interference call at the end of the game to set up the AFC’s winning field goal.

The 2007 season will be a proving ground for Chad and the Bengals. They play in a tough, unpredictable division, as witnessed by their second game of the year, which was billed as a potential defensive struggle. Cincinnati lost 51–45 to Cleveland. Chad racked up 209 yards in the game to become the team’s all-time leading receiver with more than 7,200 yards.

Chad clearly enjoys the spotlight, but it’s not about records or headlines for him. He wants to win, and he will do or say anything it takes to make that happen. Does his brashness inspire teammates? Does it rile up opponents? Is it a distraction for the Cincinnati coaches? All sorts of theories have been advanced. At the end of the day, however, Chad is a player who helps his team and hardly ever hurts it.

CHAD THE PLAYER

When NFL fans look at Chad, some see an arrogant, selfish showboat. Others consider him a player whose passion and talent know no bounds. When NFL coaches watch Chad, they see two big, soft quick hands, explosive speed and breathtaking athleticism.

Chad is difficult to stop, hard to frustrate and you can’t try to trick him twice, because the trick will be on you. He studies enemy defenses and has a deep and complex arsenal of moves that he unveils slowly as a game develops.

Chad is excellent after the catch, but where he truly excels is getting the edge on his defender and then catching the ball where it’s thrown. He is just as good in mid-air, making acrobatic catches as well as anyone in the league. In fact, receivers coach Hue Jackson likes to call Chad "Gumby" for his ability to twist and make circus grabs.

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