When it comes to the many adventures of Johnny Manziel, there are generally two lines of thought. On one side, you have people who think he is a spoiled college kid who needs to focus less on partying and more on football. On the other, there are people who say a 20-year-old kid is entitled to do what 20-year-old kids do without constantly being scrutinized. Aaron Rodgers is part of the latter crew.
During an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, Rodgers spoke about how difficult it must be to be a college superstar in 2013.
“I feel bad for Johnny Manziel,” Rodgers said. “I mean, he’s made some decisions … I just think, he’s a 20-year-old kid, and I wish he could just live like a 20-year-old.
“Ten years ago, when I was in college, nobody was following anyone around. I could walk around campus [at Cal] and no one knew who I was. No Twitter. Facebook was just starting. I didn’t even know what my Berkeley.edu address was. I couldn’t get a Facebook page. So that’s how things have changed.”
Rodgers went on to say that he loves the NFL but feels the media has “too much access” between cameras in locker rooms and social media sites always accessible.
A lot of people feel the same way Rodgers does about Manziel, but even Johnny’s own father has worried about him not being able to handle the fame. Plenty of college quarterbacks and Heisman Trophy winners before him were just as popular but kept a lower profile. Manziel does very little to keep the spotlight off himself, so it’s tough for me to feel badly for him.
