It's pretty easy to understand why fans of the Cleveland Browns may hate Johnny Manziel. He was an immature, self-important waste of a first-round pick his first year in the NFL. The hype machine around him in college fell into disrepair the minute he stepped onto an NFL practice field. By the end of the 2014 season, it had fallen apart completely; the remainder of its parts sold to whichever media member would bid the highest for a story on Manziel's childish, unprofessional behavior (and, oh boy, were there a lot of them).
While the offseason has since calmed some of the Dawg Pound infighting where Manziel is concerned thanks to several steps on Manziel's part to right last season's wrongs - a self-imposed rehab stint, moving out of his downtown Cleveland apartment and retiring the idiotic "money sign" gesture he'd become known for - along with meaningful endoresements from a number of veteran Browns players, it seems those outside Cleveland still aren't big Johnny Football fans.
From Sports Illustrated's entirely non-scientific ranking of the "most hated" players, coaches and teams in the NFL...
"Perhaps this isn't fair. Heck, it's probably not. Manziel's bravado rubbed folks the wrong way even before he arrived in the NFL, though, and he took awhile to tone it down once he did. Who can forget him dropping his 'money sign' celebration on stage at Radio City Music Hall after the Browns drafted him?
"Deserved or not, most of the NFL world was rooting against Johnny Football from the start. Of course, this is nothing new-Manziel's act pitted him (and Texas A&M) against the world during his college days. After Manziel's 2013 season-opener for the Aggies (a game in which he was suspended for the first half), former Bears linebacker/Fox Sports 1 analyst Brian Urlacher ripped him: 'I'm not saying he's a punk, but he acted like a punk in that game,' Urlacher said. Tom Brady offered up a similar critique when asked about Manziel's excitable behavior, saying, 'Football's a physical game ... and as [Robert Kraft] would say, 'If you're a turd, it's going to come back to you.''
"Manziel's reputation preceded him to the pros. It has made him a target since his arrival."
Whether dubbing Manziel the "most hated" player in the NFL by fans is warranted is entirely questionable. He's a knucklehead, but he's also a kid trying to deal with the pressure and pratfalls of early success and the expectations that come along with that.
While it's absolutely fair to ding Manziel for wasting a season of the Browns and NFL fans time, it's really not his fault that he was drafted in the first-round by Cleveland GM Ray Farmer and immediately presumed to be the future of the franchise.
Perhaps it is Farmer the general NFL world should be directing their ire at, not a young kid likely ill-equipped to handle the spotlight now focused so directly on him.
