THE structure of American football’s National Football League (NFL) is designed to give every team a chance to win. So Cleveland Browns’ consistent record of failure is remarkable. They are one of only four teams never to have played in a Super Bowl, their last title the NFL Championship in 1964 in the pre-Super Bowl era. Since their most recent playoff appearance in 2002 they have finished bottom of their AFC North division nine times.
And yet their opening pre-season game against Detroit attracted record viewing figures, and ticket and replica jersey sales are through the roof. And the name on those jerseys is “Manziel.”
Quarterback Johnny Manziel was the Browns’ second pick in this year’s college draft, but it was his selection and not that of cornerback Justin Gilbert, their first choice, that has restored hope in advance of tonight’s opening game of the 2014 NFL season, away to Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 21-year-old Texan became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy for the outstanding college player after passing for 3,706 yards and rushing for 1,410 more in the colours of Texas A&M University in 2012, improvising thrillingly when plays did not run according to plan. But he also has the attitude and swagger that has been missing in Cleveland, where the basketball and baseball teams have been even less successful than the Browns.
He liked the “Johnny Football” nickname given him by Texas fans so much that he trademarked it. He was arrested for brawling, he partied in Las Vegas and Los Angeles this spring instead of preparing for training camp, and was fined $12,000 for making an obscene gesture to opposing coaches in a pre-season game. His response? “I am not going to change who I am for anybody.”
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Expected to be an early pick in the 2014 draft, he was passed on by a number of teams concerned about his personality. The Browns snared Manziel in 22nd place to end his surprise freefall down the draft board and within 25 minutes they had sold 200 season tickets, 2,300 in the next 24 hours.
Mike Pettine, head coach of the Browns, said: “He has the ‘it’ factor. We’re thrilled that Cleveland is abuzz about football. We want that feeling to persist, and we want it to go deep into the fall.”
Pettine has tried to play down the hype by announcing that Manziel will start the season as second-choice quarterback behind local boy Brian Hoyer, although it is widely assumed that Manziel will be number one within weeks, if not before.
Manziel’s performance in last weekend’s 33-13 victory over Chicago Bears suggests he has overcome an indifferent learning spell, the highlight a weaving run past a series of tackles ending with a pinpoint pass. “It was no, no, no, yes, yes, yes,” Pettine said. “That was just typical of his playmaking ability.”