The sports world is filled with popular athletes and media loves to update what exactly these players like to do in their lives. For example, guys like Tom Brady, LeBron James, and so on are very popular since they’re the superstars for their teams. But I wanted to focus on two particular individuals that get media attention so bad it has become a national story every time they do something in their lives. Yes, I’m talking about the ever popular athletes Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel.
Now, why is that these two individuals are the irresistible fruit to sports media? Could it be that these two were former Heisman Trophy winners? Could it be that these two were the most popular college athletes of our time?
The answer is no, but I do know why these two make the front page every time they do something particular that is apparently newsworthy. The answer is all summed up in one word: different. Think about it, have you ever seen anyone like these two guys?
On one hand, you have Tim Tebow, perhaps the most talked about player in the National Football League in the year 2011. This guy led the Denver Broncos to the NFL playoffs and yet many were criticizing him for his throwing mechanics, his throwing release and how “Tebowing” became a national trend on social media.
The media was so bad that they kept asking him about his love life and if he would switch positions for the better of the team. Now tell me, who else gets that attention? You certainly don’t see Tom Brady get that bad of treatment because he’s a superstar, four-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, and a great ambassador to the game of football.
Tebow was not a superstar, but he was certainly treated like one and I’m sure he wasn’t seeking extra attention upon himself because he was just trying to make a living in the league. You can make a definite argument that all of this media attention ruined his NFL career.
On the other hand, you have the party animal in Johnny Manziel or “Johnny Football” as some would call him back in his days at Texas A&M. Manziel was an intriguing person to cover for the media because he was different from the rest.
It seemed that every week he would be on TMZ for doing something at a bar, party, or going to Las Vegas; yet, he was under this huge microscope and every week you would hear the latest update of what he did on his weekend. Not only did this make him look bad it also made him a risky investment for NFL teams at the 2014 NFL Draft.
The guy was the face of that draft and once he got drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round, it was all downhill from there. His partying antics increased, he was living life to the fullest, and the media couldn’t stop making headlines about him. The national media were so drawn to him that they would be at the Cleveland Browns practices because of him and this was before he would take a snap in the NFL.
Manziel possessed great talent on the field, but was a big disappointment to many fans that wanted to see him succeed, myself included. Manziel was eventually cut by the Cleveland Browns due to his reckless decisions off the field, and who knows if he will play in the NFL again. I can tell you this, NFL organizations will turn away because he will be in the headlines for some of the wrong reasons since he is under this huge microscope.
I want to personally wish both of these guys the best of luck and I hope they find a way to start playing sports again. As for print and online readers, don’t be surprised to see these two in the headlines because I guarantee it won’t stop soon.
