If you are not a fan of professional football, maybe you’ve never heard of the highly numeric Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, who once was named Chad Johnson until legally changing his last name to match his jersey number and nickname.

One of the better pass catchers in the league, he is one of the new breed of NFL players: outlandish, a periodic distraction to his team, and a Twitter phenomenon with more than 300,000 followers.

And while through his public persona Ochocinco brings us almost daily doses of drama, it shouldn’t be taken lightly when he said this week that he’s planning to form his own social news network on Twitter using his player contacts around the league (and his well connected agent, Drew Rosenhaus) to provide news about other teams.

In essence, he’ll try to compete with the NFL “insiders” at the ESPNs and Cincinnati Enquirers of the world to tell fans what’s going on with NFL teams through tips from players league-wide. The Ochocinator said he might even get other NFL players involved in his reports.

The idea reportedly grew out of his partnership with Motorola, which will provide the technology, meaning he didn’t think of the idea at all, but that the marketing people at Motorola approached his agent with the notion and the cellphone manufacturer is paying Ochento a handsome sum (Side note to Motorola or your outside PR or Advertising firm that developed this idea: you are welcome).

Regardless, the potential of a Twittering Ochonymous reporting through the “OCNN” — Ochocinco News Network — has striking implications that it seems those of us in new media circles are seeing at every turn.

Rupert Murdoch, of course, said of new media: “Technology is shifting the power away from the editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it’s the people who are in control.” And indeed, he is right.

A few factors that will make OCNN interesting to watch:

• Sources: without question, ESPN and other leading mainstream sports outlets will continue to be leading sources of sports information. But as reporters covering the NFL spend more and more time surfing the likes of a Deadspin, JoeSportsFan.com, HallOfVeryGood.com, and now Ocho’s Twittering Palace — the face of leading sources of quality insight continues to evolve.
• Immediacy: our thirst for information — right here and right now — has played an enormous role in the growth of Twitter. It’s been the first place of reporting on many high profile news stories like the US Airways crash in the Hudson River.  Search an NFL topic on Twitter and it’s up seconds after it happens. Then ESPN’s SportsCenter tells you about it five hours later.  Ochocinco has the ability to report on things quickly before they have filtered through news organizations.
• Access: many athletes and coaches are resentful of reporters for whatever reasons that would take too long to explain. But with another player — someone they feel they can trust and will carry their message with the understanding of a peer — then the stakes kind of change.
• Execution: this is the key. If the Ochinator has the right support from Motorola (you’re welcome, again), this deal could bring a level of access and immediacy that no sports network can really offer. But it’s still the biggest question of whether it will fly or fail.

So as media becomes further democratized, and the power is further taken from editors’ hands and into direct voices — don’t scoff at Ocho’s new venture. Especially with his slogan being: “If I break it, you might as well believe it.”

Because if it turns out that NFL fans and the likes of well-regarded NFL insiders like Chris Mortenson, Adam Schefter, and Peter King actually “believe it”  — things might get interesting.

Carry on.