Gridiron grinds on amid travails of ‘Johnny Football’
In among the shards of the post-Super Bowl celebrations and recriminations, a mildly tragic story emerged of a footballer flirting with the scrap heap.
Standing in sharp contrast to the flawlessness of Tom Brady and the competitiveness of Russell Wilson â the opposing quarterbacks in a modern classic â was the overhyped rookie drafted by the Cleveland Browns, Johnny Manziel.
After a couple of seasons of massive success at college level where he built a reputation of partying that matched the inhibitions of his playing style, Manziel chose his first off-season as a professional to be the right time to check into rehab.
Last week, quietly, he told his family and his team that he needed help, that he probably overly depended on alcohol.
It was a sad end to what had been a little bit of a farce. Here was a player who arrived all guns blazing, celebrating the few touchdowns he scored or created by rubbing his fingers together to signify all the money his talents generated.
Of course it didnât help that he came from money â Texas oil money â so the garishness of that banter would only get him so far.
And everyone knew well that when he was finally handed an opportunity by the Browns to take snaps in big boy football, there was going to be the inevitable cabal of angry linebackers anxious to knock him down a peg or two.
In recent memory, thereâs probably no young player that has matched his brazen arrogance.
Thereâs no sport crueller towards its pups, no game with more exacting demands of the new members of their elite club.
Itâs a particular slap in the face for grizzled veterans to watch the confrontational antics of a jumped-up young fella â whether heâs their opponent or team-mate â and know that all he really has under his belt are a few handy performances at a lesser level where porous defences offer every achievement a nice sheen.
And so he rode into the NFL on a wave of publicity. Most teams shied away from committing their future to him and by all accounts, it was the Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam who saw the benefits of bringing the young Texas A&M star in.
The Browns â a perennial punchline in the NFL â were well matched to Manziel. But it was an equally ill-advised proposition.
Reminded of the Cleveland fan whose dying wish was to have his coffin carried by Browns players so he could be left down by his team one last time, this was in fact a match made in hell.
There wasnât much of anything to report when it came to the actual business of games. After Brian Hoyer, the first choice quarterback, ran out of reasons to be selected, Manziel was given the nod. It didnât work out and he was quickly returned to the bench.
Manziel, determined not to change for anyone, became less and less relevant.
Itâs not clear what happened behind the scenes when the joke started to become less funny.
As the season ran its course and as the real football storylines â mainly of success â overcame the inconsequential ones, you wouldnât blame anyone for forgetting about that player whose nickname âJohnny Footballâ had a nice ring to it and nothing else.
He, his family and advisors must have agonised.
Maybe the Browns pointed out that he was at an early crossroads. Whatever was said, he took the courageous step of entering rehab.
A coordinated family and team statement pointed out that: âJohnny knows there are areas in which he needs to improve in order to be a better family member, friend and teammate and he thought the off-season was the right time to take this step.â
Itâs a rarity that a 22-year-old would bow down to their faults. Not many 22-year-olds have the chance to make it big in professional sport so thereâs an obvious incentive for Manziel.
His troubles go way back and are well documented. His father Paul spoke openly to The New York Times in 2012, revealing how he would offer incentives to his son not to abuse drink.
A few attempts failed to the point that Manziel Jr was arrested. His father even resorted to demanding that a judge double the-then high schoolerâs community service.
âIâm going to hold him accountable; Iâm going to make a man out of him,â Paul told the newspaper at the time. âHe wasnât going to get (to the NFL) the way he was walking.â
He entered professional life, not exactly reformed. Hard partying followed him until last weekâs breakthrough.
As Johnny Manziel noted himself recently, he was either going to learn or find something else to do.
As Tom Brady proved in Arizona, the NFL world keeps on spinning with or without the might have beens who didnât make it.
Contact: johnwriordan@gmail.com
Twitter: JohnWRiordan
