I’ve been admittedly a little obsessed with the phenomenon of Johnny Football, but so is everyone else.
What a difference a year makes, especially for Texas A&M’s star quarterback Johnny Manziel. This time last year, no one knew a redshirt freshman would emerge with a historic campaign that would include being the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy.
He earned what I dubbed the greatest sports nickname of all time as his life made a 180 degree turn --- but was it for the better or worse?
Mr. Football has been frankly obnoxious after his freshman campaign earned him his claim to fame, and rightfully so (the claim to fame part). With such accurate throws, he passed for more than 3,700 yards and 47 touchdowns last season. He helped lead the Aggies to a 41-13 win over the University of Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.
He started the offseason with flair but would quickly tarnish his reputation. It wasn’t his release from the Manning Passing Academy when he “overslept.” It wasn’t his decision to take allclasses online and tweeting his discontent with College Station, Texas. It wasn’t his shoving a grad assistant during practice or getting kicked out of a frat party --- Johnny Football gets hit with an alleged violation that jeopardized his eligibility.
The NCAA investigated claims that Manziel accepted money for autographed memorabilia. After interviewing him for five hours, NCAA representativesdetermined the young quarterback violated a bylaw and suspended him for the first half of Saturday’s opener against Rice University.
That’s it. That’s all and I’m not surprised. Everyone can move and forget about it.
But wait, Johnny Football shows up, has an incredible half game in the season-opener 52-31 win and reminds us all of why he is THE American college football player. The smack talking. The sarcastic gestures. The loudness. The talent. The brazen attitude that he won’t apologize for. The slap on the wrist the NCAA gave him probably fueled the gifted son of a gun to be obnoxious.
He’s that shameless villain that everyone loves to hate --- like the Joker.
I don’t know if he’ll learn to settle down and just play the game with the talent the football gods endowed him. Maybe he’ll take to Twitter and cry victim one more time. Maybe he’ll sign away his glorious and pure soul for entry into the year’s biggest frat party. Or maybe he’ll just play ball. Maybe if a privileged few media members were allowed to interview him while he sits on gold brocade cushions in his robes made of fine silk, we’d know what he was thinking. But all we’ve got are his actions.
However chaotic the Johnny Football sensation becomes, I support it. He’s only 20-years old and is being blinded by media spotlight. I’m not fond of his attitude or antics, but I support it because it works (he’s a winner). It’s like your best friend who decides to date the tall, handsome numbskull --- you don’t like it, you support it.
My colleague of mine, Titus the Journalist, put it best in a recent text message to me: “To hate Johnny Manziel is to hate America.”
Titus was spot on.
Jessika Morgan is the sports editor of The Free Press. She can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.