"T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught more than 500 passes for the Cincinnati Bengals. He played in the Pro Bowl and a playoff game there. On a team where Chad Ochocinco was clearly the squeaky wheel, Houshmandzadeh was often the voice of reason.

But until NFL Network did a fantasy-league-inspired commercial in which his name was mangled -- not once, but several times -- by an unknowing fan, Houshmandzadeh had not arrived on the national stage.

Now, he's all over it. The Ravens' newest receiver is recognized as one of the NFL's most productive playmakers as well as one of its most articulate. In the past four years, he has 373 catches, third most in the league.

An unrestricted free agent in 2009, Houshmandzadeh, then 32, was good enough to receive a $15million guarantee from the Seattle Seahawks, more than $6million due this season while the Ravens pay him just $855,000.

Slow to rise at first, Houshmandzadeh's star has ascended quickly after the commercial appeared. In a fantasy-league draft, the unknowing fan called him Houshmanzilly and Houzyurmomma, among other feeble attempts to pronounce his name.

The commercial could have been considered offensive, but "it didn't offend me," Houshmandzadeh said Thursday, smiling at the recollection.

But, yes, he said, it did make a major impact, and it did put him on national radar for the first time.

"Yes, because I would meet certain people that weren't hard-core football fans, and they would ask my name," Houshmandzadeh said.

"When I told them my name, they would say, 'Oh, I remember you from the commercial.' So I think, if they didn't know the face, they knew the name, and then, obviously, when they had seen me, they're not going to forget me."

Houshmandzadeh will not be forgotten soon, if at all, in Cincinnati. When he returns Sunday with the Ravens, it will be to equal parts curiosity, excitement and appreciation. He spent eight seasons with the Bengals, helping them rise from ashes to playoff prominence.

But the native Californian is uncertain what type of reception he will get at Paul Brown Stadium.

"Expect the worst, hope for the best," Houshmandzadeh said earlier in the week. "I don't know either way if it will bother me. ? I started at the bottom, so maybe they have a little more [sympathy] toward me.""