Football player Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson Skyped with more than 100 students in UF’s Sports Media & Society class Thursday morning.
Professor Ted Spiker lectured about the role Twitter plays in the sports world and kicked off Operation Ochocinco. Students took to their personal Twitter accounts to catch the attention of Johnson, who has more than 3.7 million followers and 40,000 tweets.
“I’ve had this thought before that we ought to put our Twitter power in one concerted effort,” Spiker said.
At about 11 a.m., Johnson responded. Girls shrieked, guys gasped and Spiker’s face lit up.
“Everybody in the class got pretty excited,” said Nick Swain, a 20-year-old telecommunication junior.
After sorting through technical difficulties, the athlete video-chatted with the class about his love for Twitter, opinions about football and his trip to Gainesville last weekend.
“I thought he came across as a real person,” Swain said. “He showed us his own personality, which I thought was the coolest part.”
Morgan Moriarty, a 20-year-old telecommunication sophomore, said she was in shock that the athlete agreed to speak with the class.
“He was so open and honest with every question we asked, which was great,” she said. “You could tell he was being himself.”
Spiker said the session was perfect.
“He cracked jokes, but was dead-on serious at other times,” he said. “I don’t think I should do any more lectures this semester because that won’t be topped.”
