STARK: Manziel’s play on field trumping play off it

Published 9:16 pm Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Earlier this summer, SEC radio personality Paul Finebaum made headlines by comparing college football’s most publicized player since, well, last season — anyone remember Manti Te’o? — to the celebrity brat of celebrity brats.

In the wake of non (not ill)-advised tweets, frat parties gone wrong and obvious media trolling that featured Tim Tebow jerseys and crushed Keystone Light cans, Finebaum took to the soapbox to deliver this about Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.

“In many respects, he is the Justin Bieber of college football because everybody is talking about him and not very much of it is very good,” Finebaum said on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

But last week, prior to A&M’s showdown with two-time defending national champion Alabama, Finebaum turned the corner somewhat when it came to Manziel.

“I think the nation will be pulling for Johnny Manziel. I don’t care what I’ve said, what other people have said,” he, well, said. “He’s just one of the most enigmatic players I have ever seen.”

And on Monday, just two days after Manziel posted a career-best passing performance and almost willed an upset of the nation’s No. 1 team despite a deplorable Aggies defense, Finebaum took his about-face even further. He retracted his criticism of Manziel — even welcomed self-critique, to be honest — and offered up his vote for the Heisman Trophy.

While trying to avoid feeding Finebaum’s ego more than it already has been over the years, the man is considered the voice of the SEC and his opinions are welcomed in high regard by legions. In many ways, it seems, his renewed appreciation for Manziel reflects the collective pattern of sports fans when it comes to polarizing athletes.

Remember when Mike Tyson was the most hated — and scariest — athlete in sports? An instantly iconic role in the best comedy of the last decade — at least, that is — helped turn Iron Mike into one of America’s most loved personalities.

Remember when Kobe Bryant got into all that trouble in Colorado 10 years ago and bought his ex-wife that huge diamond? An 81-point game, a pair of NBA championships and his first MVP award returned public opinion to Kobe’s greatness on the court.

A respect for greatness could also be said for LeBron James and Tiger Woods, who despite downward turns in public opinion during the past five years are still the best in their respective sports and have returned to public favor.

Despite the autograph scandal that surfaced just before the season some believed would derail his collegiate career, Manziel has returned to the field this month and is living up to his nickname Johnny Freakin’ (some choose a more emphatic exclamation) Football. And if he continues performing better than any other offensive player in the nation and steers clear of trolling on the field, he’ll most likely continue garnering the throngs of fans he did last year.

Of course, saving another kitten or two wouldn’t hurt.

Manziel’s performance against Alabama — a career-best 464 yards passing, 98 yards rushing and five touchdowns — represented yet another example of his greatness — all-time, if you will — at the college level. And after throwing two critical interceptions that swung the game in Alabama’s direction, many have blamed poor play calling on the first and a defensive penalty on the second.

There’s no Tony Romo-syndrome when it comes to Johnny Football.

And should Johnny Football lead the Aggies — alongside a better defense than what’s been displayed so far — unbeaten through a schedule that includes road games against Arkansas, No. 20 Ole Miss, No. 6 LSU and Missouri, a berth in the final BCS National Championship Game could very well be waiting. And should he lead A&M to its first national title since 1939, the entire 2013 offseason would be long forgotten.

Heck, that’s the kinda stuff statues are made of.