Johnny Manziel Says He’ll Hate the Browns Forever: ‘I’m Rooting for 0-16 Every Season’

Letting bygones be bygones is apparently something not in Johnny Manziel’s personality.

On a recent episode of the Nightcap podcast, the former Heisman winner and first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns said he believes the fan and media hype in Cleveland and the Browns’ organizational failings played a part in his inability to play up to expectations.

“I think I will always be looked at and viewed at because of how much hype and media and everything that was around me, and the city of Cleveland expecting me to be great, and that ultimately not panning out,” Manziel said. “I sit here today and I’m like, ‘Fuck it, I think I’m going to be pissed at them and hate them forever.’ So, it is what it is, man. No love for the Browns, I’m rooting for 0-16 seasons every season.”

While Manziel spreads the blame for his short and unremarkable NFL career around, he ultimately points the finger at himself.

“Was Cleveland the best situation for me to go to? Did they help me, knowing all the things they knew about me, with all the research and everything, did they put me in the best situation? Absolutely not. It was not the right situation for me,” Manziel said. “But when it comes down to it, you take all of that aside and you throw it away, you look in the mirror and you say, I let an amazing opportunity slip. It’s on me.”

On this last point, Manziel is entirely correct.

Manziel’s apparent ignorance of the fact that the league has moved to a 17-game schedule and no longer plays a 16-game schedule will not come as a surprise to Browns fans who are aware that Manziel never opened his playbook at any point in his rookie season. In any event, Manziel had tremendous issues with alcohol abuse and a partying lifestyle that ultimately would have ruined his chances of success at any NFL organization.

That’s why he’s correct in saying, “It’s on me.”