With Johnny Manziel’s latest I-don’t-know-what-he-was-thinking moment Saturday, in which he was penalized for taunting an opposing Rice player and subsequently benched by his head coach, it seems the whole country, including his own school, is turning on him. Better late than never, I suppose.
Most people, including myself, seemed content with him going to NBA games and meeting the likes of Chris Paul and LeBron James. The average fan didn’t bat an eye when he starred in a country music video.
And it was a treat when we all learned who Wale was when Manziel played a casual 1-on-1 hoops game with the rapper in January on SMU’s campus. Because, why not?
The truth is the majority of college football fans didn’t really hate Manziel before now – they were just tired of hearing about him. Sure, he might have drawn ire from Crimson Tide fans because of his dismantling of Alabama’s perfect season last November, but if anything, that win gave him credit among the rest of the country.
Now, it seems that honeymoon period has all but ended for the reigning Heisman Trophy recipient.
After narrowly escaping a possible season-long ban for questionable dealings with an autograph broker just a few weeks ago, Manziel proceeded to act out, signing an autograph while shaking his head at a Rice defender. The “show me the money” gesture resurfaced after showing itself numerous times last season. Coach Kevin Sumlin finally took his star quarterback out of the game after Manziel drew a 15-yard unsportsman-like penalty.
While walking back to the sideline, Johnny Football completely ignored and walked by his clearly irate head coach, not even removing his helmet to show he was listening. Which, of course, he wasn’t.
Even though Manziel got wrung out by the pundits on ESPN and other sports outlets, that was nothing new. The on-camera analysts have never been huge fans of No. 2. He doesn’t have to answer to anyone in the media, and we all know it.
Who he does have to listen to, however, is his head coach, his offensive coordinator and his teammates, some of whom have been wearing Aggie maroon longer than he has. Anyone who would be directly affected by his on-field antics possibly jeopardizing the Aggies’ chances at an SEC Championship deserves his attention.
There are dozens of college football athletes who’ve accomplished more than Manziel has in his career. Manziel wasn’t the first Heisman winner in the age of modern technology, where your actions at any given point in time could be broadcast for the world to see. None of those players have or had the kinds of issues Manziel is dealing with, though.
Manziel isn’t the first player to get a penalty for taunting the other team, either. Tim Tebow did it in the 2009 national championship game and got penalized.
I just could not imagine Mark Ingram, Robert Griffin III or Andrew Luck blowing off their college coaches on national television. That image of Manziel is going to stick for a long time.
