The Rise of Johnny Football

November 6, 2015

            This past Thursday, the Cleveland Browns set Johnny Manziel as their starting quarterback against the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals. An article on ESPN.com, written by staff writer Pat MacManamon, breaks down Manziel’s role in the Browns’ 31-10 loss. MacManamon states that Manziel “started played like an NFL quarterback, then didn’t.” Coach Mike Pettine is looking to make Manziel the starter for the rest of the season, and this was his test. Manziel was unable to play from the pocket and ended up being sacked three times. MacManamon says that this is a problem, as NFL quarterbacks face having to play from the pocket several times during the season. The media is raving about Johnny “not being able to show up once again,” but MacManamon makes a great point in saying that he needs to play to get better. We have seen that Manziel is capable of making these NFL plays, but he does not play often enough to make them consistent. Manziel’s response to the game was that if “he continues as a starter, he will make it happen.” MacManamon agrees that as long as Coach Pettine makes some adjustments to the offense to fit Manziel’s mobility, the Browns will be better off.

            Now, this is very relevant to sports, media and pop culture. Manziel flooded the headlines as his career as Texas A&M’s star quarterback neared its end. Many outlets were predicting Manziel to be a first round pick in the 2014 NFL draft. He ended up being 22^nd and was selected by the Cleveland Browns. Many people began to believe that Manziel’s style was not capable for the NFL. As Manziel reached training camp and preseason, we discovered that maybe he wasn’t worth all of the hype. Not only was he struggling during his transition, his reluctant partying became a big issue. Manziel was now a growing figure of the NFL and his actions bared much bigger consequences than before. He was faced with an entire new crowd—especially through the media—bashing on him as a player and a person.

            Because of all the media hype, I believe that Manziel finally had his wake up call. He announced to the media that he would be taking off some time and attending rehab. Does this not tug at your heart strings a bit—the arrogant quarterback, finally owning up to his mistakes and wanting to make a change? Of course it does. Now, Manziel out of rehab and ready to work, is still struggling, though making it known that he wants to work hard for the Browns and continue being the starter.

            My goal is to see what the rest of the campus thinks about Manziel and his situation. I am rooting for Manziel this season. As McManamon said, he has shown us that he can play like an NFL quarterback, his consistency just isn’t there. I believe that he has changed into a grown man that still holds a deep passion for football and just needs a little more time on the field.

Works Cited

McManamon, Pat. “Johnny Manziel’s Second-half Struggles Shouldn’t Send Him to Bench.” ESPN.go.com. ESPN, 5 Nov. 2015. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.

Fantastic Five Speeches

            Three specific speeches caught the minds of the Fantastic Five. These speeches include: Muhammad Ali—“Greatest of All Time”, Tim Tebow—“The Promise”, and Eric Thomas—“Secrets to Success.” Beginning with our third ranked speech, “Greatest of All Time,” was a poem about himself. It was a lighthearted speech that had the crowd laughing, though at the same time he was talking about how badly he was going to defeat his opponents, and was specifically geared towards the current match against Sonny Liston in 1963. Muhammad Ali took over the press during his time of championship boxing, though usually used it to discuss racial and religious issues. He was an active man in the community aside from boxing alone. You can tell through this speech that he was a confident man in several aspects.

            Our second favorite speech was Tim Tebow’s “The Promise.” This speech was given before all of his fame in the NFL. It was September 27, 2008 and the Gators had just lost to Ole Miss. Tebow apologized for the loss as his plan was to execute an undefeated season. This was a turning point for him and his team, and prior to the speech, the Gators turned around and won the national championship that same year. We have all always liked Tebow as a player in the NFL and his Christian values, but knowing that he was even a genuine guy back in his college days gives us much more respect for him. Through this speech you can tell that he loves the game, team and his fans—and ended up showing it when it mattered.

            Finally, our favorite speech was Eric Thomas’ “Secrets to Success.” This speech is very powerful. Although it is a general success speech, it can be used in any sports setting as well. Eric Thomas grew up in Detroit, Michigan with his mother and without a father. He dropped out of high school and became homeless. He was homeless for two years, and once he found his faith was able to get up and turn his life around, starting with McDonalds. He ran off of little to no sleep, got his undergraduate at Oxford and ended up taking a job at Michigan State University in educational leadership. He has given several speeches to collegiate and professional athletes. This particular speech speaks to us, though. He speaks about his coming up and becoming successful, and then gives pointers as to how one becomes successful. He doesn’t just give point a, b, and c. For example, one of the quotes from his speech starts with a man who asks a Guru how he can become successful. The Guru tells him if he wants to be successful, meet him at the beach at four in the morning. In short, the man shows up and is told to walk into the ocean. The guru comes beside him and dunks him underwater, holding him there. Once the man comes back up, the Guru says “how badly did you want to breathe just then?” The man says “more than anything.” The Guru replies, “once you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, that’s when you’ll be successful.” His speech gives you a perspective on how you look at things, making you dig deeper and realize that maybe you aren’t reaching as far as you should to achieve your goals. Eric Thomas is there to give you a hard wake-up call—and that is why “Secrets to Success” is our favorite speech.