Johnny Manziel: “This is just another day”
When you describe yourself as feeling “like Justin Bieber”, then perhaps it may be time to take a step back for a moment or two, but not for Johnny “Football” Manziel.
He may have felt that “This is just another day,” speaking on Wednesday at the SEC Media Days, he faced a barrage of questions surrounding his off the field antics and behaviour, in particular, the recent issue of why he left Manning Passing Academy.
”I don’t feel like I’ve done anything that’s catastrophic,” Manziel told reporters. ”Of course, I’ve made my mistakes. It’s time to grow up.”
”I was not asked to leave. It was a mutual decision,” said the Heisman Trophy winner. ”The speculation of me being too hung over and that’s the reason I missed the meetings is absolutely incorrect,” he said to the awaiting media.
Acknowledging there were social events taking place every night with the Mannings, he was adamant that did not miss his meetings due to partying.
Manziel went on to say he fell asleep without setting his alarm and his phone ran out of battery during the night and – as a result – overslept. He said he was rooming with Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, but that he didn’t wake him up in the morning.
Nothing like blaming your roomie, huh?
”I’m definitely not going to pin it on him,” Manziel said. ”It’s my fault – 115, 120 percent.”
Well that’s good, nobody would want an innocent party in all of this to be blamed. He said he was disappointed he missed camp activities, but ”no hard feelings” were left between him and the Mannings, and apparently having already been invited back to next summer’s camp.
The worry comes when such a star in the making gets swept up by the media whirlwind that is currently swirling; his outbursts last month on Twitter, talk today of him being good buds with LeBron James, the upcoming ESPYs, and not forgetting him drawing comparisons to a pop star who, outside of his own fan base, is seen somewhat as a petulant, obnoxious child.
Trademarking your own nickname, whilst possibly a good financial move in the long run, doesn’t do much for calming down one’s ego, but it remains to be seen just what may come of “Johnny Football” in the not-too-distant future.
