From Fox Sports and Bleacher Report
Review Kyle Clarke in SRM 334 (section 2)
The buzz around Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel has reached a high to the point where anything he says or does gets reported and from there, his remarks or actions are critiqued to the max. In these articles, Clay Travis and James Sullivan try to dive inside the minds of audience opinions on Johnny Manziel and point out unfair critiques of Johnny Manziel.
Since beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa last year and winning the Heisman trophy award, Johnny Manziel has been under the microscope of the media across the nation. Every thing he says or does, someone has an opinion on it. Most recently Johnny Manziel played in his first game of his redshirt sophomore season against Rice University. During the game Johnny Manziel did a lot of taunting, “money” gestures after scoring touchdowns, and drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which caused his coach to pull him from the game. Clay Travis wrote on the reactions from the media. “ESPN reacted like Manziel was the Unabomber” (Travis, 2013). He also wrote how Tim Tebow received a taunting penalty however no one really reacted in a way they did towards Johnny Manziel. Clay Travis believed that how someone felt about Johnny Manziel could tell a lot about how that person. For an example, if someone were not in favor of the way Johnny Manziel played the position of quarterback, that person is most likely someone who is a rules follower. “You believe Johnny’s a showboat, and you are rooting for Nick Saban and Alabama, the ultimate rule-following-team, to teach Johnny a lesson” (Travis, 2013).
James Sullivan took the same position as Clay Travis but went into a little different direction. Presented a timeline of what transpired throughout the game. He displayed “The National Response” which was the opinions and thoughts of the media who reacted negatively towards the antics of Johnny Manziel. For the most part, James Sullivan thought Manziel is being crucified for acting like a confident 20-year-old who happens to be the reigning Heisman award winner. Everyone is going to have an opinion on Johnny Manziel. Some feel that he is very immature and that he does not handle his high status among college football well at all. Others feel that he is just your average college student athlete he just happens to receive more attention then others. Because of his success on the football field last season combined with his personality, everything Manziel says or does will draw millions of opinions and analysis. One has to wonder where did this spotlight come from. Was it his performance against Alabama last season that led to an upset of the number one team in the nation, was it being awarded the Heisman trophy season for dominating the opposition last year, or is it a combination of both. His status has elevated beyond Texas A&M and possibly college football in general. No matter how people may feel about him, Johnny Football is the face of college football. Whether he likes it or not, everyone will be watching his every move and it will draw headlines, even if it is him attending a party.
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Review by Patrick Boling in SRM 334 (section 2)
The article “Manziel opinions say a lot about us” (Travis, 2013) is an insightful analysis regarding the recent controversies surrounding 2012 Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny Manziel. Manziel has recently been involved in a number of incidents that have circulating the national media. These incidents include: Manziel partying with Drake, getting into a bar fight, unexpectedly leaving the Manning Passing Academy allegedly due to heavy drinking, partying at a rival school at Texas University, and then was accused of accepting $7,500 in exchange for signing autographs. Clay Travis quickly comes to the defense of Johnny Manziel with respect to the national exposure and criticism, particularly by ESPN. Yet, Travis does not directly address the controversial behavior by Manziel. Travis goes as far as saying Manziel is, “the most scrutinized athlete in college sports history.” It is my opinion that Clay Travis is correct in saying that, whether Manziel is deserving of the scrutiny or not. Travis was surprised that ESPN made such a big deal out of Manziel taunting the opposition Rice and celebrating by pretending to rub money in his hand after scoring a touchdown. But to me, the thorough coverage of Manziel is not surprising given the advanced evolution of social media and technology. In fact, Manziel was video recorded with someone’s personal cell phone signing dozens of autographs in a hotel, but there was no evidence of Manziel receiving payments for them and thus breaking NCAA rules. ESPN and the most of sports media rely on advertisements for revenue and it is athletes like “Johnny Football” that will make people tune into ESPN for constant coverage of Manziel’s every move on and off the field. Another polarizing attribute about Manziel is he is either loved or hated, but even those who dislike him will still watch Sportscenter story on him or read articles about him online.
The article then goes into depth about how one feels about Johnny Manziel can be a reflection of your personality and values. Travis uses examples of this both on and off the field. For example, if you do not like Johnny’s unorthodox style as a quarterback then you are probably someone that is traditional and a rules follower, but if you embrace Johnny Football’s unorthodox style then you are more likely to be a free spirit and, “prefer heroes to be rebels.” Another point Travis makes is that he sparked a social and cultural debate regarding his party lifestyle off the field. For example, is it wrong for him to be out partying and drinking even though he is underage? If not, what about the fact that every other college student drinks while they are underage and is it fair to hold him to a higher or different standard? No matter how you feel about Johnny Football, odds are you are at least intrigued by him and intrigued enough to keep using sports media to see what Johnny Football will do next.
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