How does Chad Ocho Cinco find the time to play football?
In addition to appearing on this season of Dancing With the Stars – debuting Monday, March 22, at 8 p.m. ET on CTV/ABC – the superstar wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals will star in his own reality dating show.
VH1 calls The Tournament a “mix of Ocho Cinco’s on-field charisma blended with the drama of the dating pool played out in a bracket-style dating tournament.” The cabler reveals the 10-episode free-for-all will première this summer.
“Chad Ocho Cinco is one of the most electrifying individuals in sports today. His bigger-than-life personality on and off the field and his notorious skills as a social networker, connecting daily with his fans, makes him a perfect fit for VH1,” said Jeff Olde, executive vice-president of original programming and production for VH1.
“This show will not only give viewers a look inside his professional life, but also reveal his softer more romantic side when playing a very different kind of game.”
Playing off Ocho Cinco’s jersey NFL number, the series will begin with him finding his “first 85” players – women from across the United States who would like to throw him a pass (get it?).
By the end of the first instalment, he will have narrowed the field down to his own sweet 16: a quartet of women from each of the four regions of the country, Northern, Western, Southern and Central Divisions.
Then the women juggle one-on-one time and double-dates with Ocho Cinco. Instead of a rose like on The Bachelor, the lucky chosen will be given a football in addition to moving on in the competition. (No word on if he will ask each woman if she “will be my quarterback.”)
The final date with the two remaining women will result in Ocho Cinco awarding his chosen love the coveted Championship Ring.
In the 2009 season, Ocho Cinco caught 72 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns. But will he score on the dating field?
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