Greetings!
You could say these words were written for one Mr. Johnny Manziel. He being the 20-year-old
record-setting quarterback at Texas A&M, who’s fame and popularity have
reached the levels of a rock star!
To think, just two years ago college football recruiters had
doubts about his size and abilities. ESPN
ranked Manziel as the 39th best high school QB prospect in the nation.
Today he is must-watch television. No question, the face of college football
and now he carries the distinction of being the first freshman in the 77-year
history of the Heisman Trophy to win
this prestigious award.
To show that his
selection was no fluke, Manziel followed up the awards ceremony with a truly
astonishing performance at the recently played Cotton Bowl. He led A&M to a
lopsided 41-13 victory over Oklahoma while decimating the Sooners’ defense with
516 yards of total offense, including an unheard of 229 yards on the ground!
Records and performance
aside, will Manziel be able to handle his new-found fame? After all, how many
college freshmen have their likeness plastered on a billboard in the heart of
New York’s Times Square? How many have a catchy moniker (“Johnny Football”) known to a nation of sports fans that has been
trademarked?
Since winning the Heisman,
Manziel has made the typical guest appearances on the Tonight Show
and David Letterman. But it his
recent activities - that are continually showing up online and in social media
sites everywhere – that has Texas A&M school officials showing cause for
concern. We’ve all seen Manziel sitting courtside at a Dallas
Mavericks-Miami Heat game that even the NBA game announcers wondered how a
college student could afford these expensive seats? He was then seen fanning out big wads of cash apparently won
at a casino along with another image of Manziel holding a half empty bottle of
champagne from a New Year’s night celebration at a prominent Dallas, Texas
night club (attended by his parents).
With
so much backlash being tossed at Manziel’s doorstep of late, it was recently disclosed that Eric Hyman, the university athletic director, set up a private
meeting with his parents on how to better deal with their son’s fame and the
decisions he’s making. “I told them he’s no longer a freshman, and he’s no
longer a sophomore, junior or senior. He is a ‘Heisman,’” said Hyman.
His coach at A&M (Kevin Sumlin) is doing his best to reel in Manziel and quietly
reminds his prized QB that “you have to be able to lead yourself before you can
lead a team, and in order to do that you have to have respect from your
teammates.”
Manziel’s life will never be the same. That
is obvious now. He is in a position to build on his football resume over the
next two years that may make him one of the highest paid sports celebrity
endorsers if he can keep his personal life “stain free” when he moves on to the
pro ranks. The thing to always remember, fellas, is that it is the performance
on the field that will dictate a player’s earning power; the company you keep
and poor decisions away from it is what can destroy the opportunity … sometimes
in a matter of seconds.
All the best my friend!
Jim Loria
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“I don’t know the key to success, but the
key to failure is trying to please everybody” – stated by legendary actor and
comedian Bill Cosby
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“Hold yourself responsible for a higher
standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity
yourself. Be a hard master to yourself” – stated by Henry Ward Beecher, a clergyman in the 1800s
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“The legacy of heroes is the
memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example” – stated by Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime
Minister, 1874-1880
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“The reputation of a thousand
years may be determined by the conduct of one hour” – Japanese Proverb
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“I shall pass through this life but once.
Any good therefore that I can do, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect
it. For I shall never pass this way again” - stated by Etienne de Grellet, prominent French Quaker missionary in the early 1800s
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“Do something now that will make the person
you'll be tomorrow proud to have been the person you are today” – stated by
unknown author
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Jim Loria
E-Mail: loria@sfstampede.com
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