Johnny Manziel Deactivates His Twitter Account, and We Lose a Social Media Titan

Culture
ByMichael Calabrese

"I've kind of just shut it all off. With how the media has been with me for a while, I just shut everything off," Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel told ESPN.com on Tuesday. And like that ... he's gone. 

Manziel's meteoric rise has been well documented. Last summer, he was in a dog fight for the starting spot in College Station, with only college football junkies capable of picking the Kerrville, Texas native out of a lineup. By the end of September, Johnny Manziel was approaching cult hero status and merchandise was flying off the shelves. By the time he knocked off Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the hype-machine was struggling to stay ahead of his on-field performances. Manziel's historic freshman season (47 total TDs) ended with a Heisman trophy and an unforgettable bowl performance against Oklahoma.  

But just like his six touchdown coming-out party against SMU, his Twitter game took the world by storm. Since this is an article about Twitter, I'll assume your attention is waning, so how about Johnny Football's top five social media moments: 

#1 Scooby-Doo

#2 Heisman Moment

#3 New Year's Fireworks

#4 Ballin' Is A Habit

 

#5 The Beard 

 

"It's fun to have, but it can get to be distracting at points. I'm surprised to [see] how the attention has continued through the off-season. I guess I thought it would die off and slow down a little bit, but it really hasn't," Manziel confessed on Tuesday.   

Pressure is mounting for Manziel and the Aggies as they try to build off a surprising 11-2 season. It was reported on Saturday that Manziel shoved a graduate assistant during a spring practice, a non-starter for 99% of college football players, but a widely reported story for Johnny and A&M. Stories like that one make his social media blackout appear wise. Sadly, his mature decision will deprive the masses of one of the titans of Twitter. Let's just hope this gridiron genius' play can make us all forget his 140-character creativity. Either way, we'll have to wait another 124 days until he takes the field, which in Twitter days is a lifetime.