Jonny Manziel documentary on Netflix is great

[Brand J]

If Manziel was a studious football player who enjoyed the game more than being a celebrity and had a genuine drive to be the best, I think he could’ve been a bigger, more exciting Flutie type. 

[Pete]

17 hours ago, Charles Romes said:

I vaguely remember he quickly drove the Browns for a TD against the Bills the first time he ever saw NFL game action, but we beat him up after that. 

Johny Football debut in Buffalo. early in game, threw a long TD to Josh Gordon.  

 

I thought that was such a rare and interesting thing to see live 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Pete

[Captain Hindsight]

21 minutes ago, Pete said:

Johny Football debut in Buffalo. early in game, threw a long TD to Josh Gordon.  

 

I thought that was such a rare and interesting thing to see live 

 

It would have been, had that been what happened…

[NoSaint]

8 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I think him opening up about this is showing he finally understands accountability.  He didn’t make excuses, he admitted that it was him not working hard.

Minus the fact that he didn’t take a ton of accountability and often came across as still longing to be in those parties 

 

there was never a sense of “imagine what we could’ve done if I plugged in” and instead always “hell yea we did that” undertones talking about college experiences. 

9 hours ago, major said:

Billy Joe Hobert came to mind

It was sandlot football and it worked for him

I think he is still learning. His sister summed it up at the end

yea, I guess as a 30 year old i expected a shade more than his sister summing it up 

 

but then again his father, presumably in his 50s, offloaded a ton onto A&M with that “you give him to a program and you expect them to make him a man” comment. 
 

hopefully editing did them few favors and they get it more than it seemed 

[major]

47 minutes ago, NoSaint said:

Minus the fact that he didn’t take a ton of accountability and often came across as still longing to be in those parties 

 

there was never a sense of “imagine what we could’ve done if I plugged in” and instead always “hell yea we did that” undertones talking about college experiences. 

yea, I guess as a 30 year old i expected a shade more than his sister summing it up 

 

but then again his father, presumably in his 50s, offloaded a ton onto A&M with that “you give him to a program and you expect them to make him a man” comment. 
 

hopefully editing did them few favors and they get it more than it seemed 

I didn’t like his father’s comment. I feel the parents should have taught him how to be a man before going to college. College coaches ain’t got time for that. 

[Matt_In_NH]

15 minutes ago, major said:

I didn’t like his father’s comment. I feel the parents should have taught him how to be a man before going to college. College coaches ain’t got time for that. 

I agree.   Parenting is hard and some kids just go off the rails.   He tried to instill discipline from the sounds of it but as soon as Johnny had other options he just went on impulses.  I think he comes off as an entitled douche who only cares about himself.  

[Niagara Bill]

Very hard to understand that his behavior prior to the draft could not be spotted by a clubs medical staff as an issue. Whether he is bipolar now diagnosed, or just considered ADHD at the time, he certainly could not be expected to be a study rat, which is what it takes in the NFL, to be a QB. He had shown that. Missing this put him in a position where pressure, opportunity and the NFL microscope could never allow him the succeed. Drafting him was as bad as drafting a one armed wide receiver. It is a nice thought but is it worth millions of dollars and a wasted draft pick.

Frankly, with all his previous lies and antics, he and his agents masquerade prior to the draft, it is very possible that this book is a tale. Have they sucked everyone in again.? Hmmmm. 

[major]

As a Texas longhorns fan I never could figure out why we didn’t recruit him (he wanted to be a longhorn). Then I watched the documentary and realized why. I also now know why, as do we all, why he fell in the draft 

[NoSaint]

20 minutes ago, major said:

As a Texas longhorns fan I never could figure out why we didn’t recruit him (he wanted to be a longhorn). Then I watched the documentary and realized why. I also now know why, as do we all, why he fell in the draft 

it was a question mark for you all the way to this week?

[major]

11 hours ago, NoSaint said:

it was a question mark for you all the way to this week?

Wasn’t necessarily a question mark, it just confirmed what I feel we all knew but couldn’t confirm 

[Mr. WEO]

On 8/12/2023 at 9:44 AM, major said:

I didn’t like his father’s comment. I feel the parents should have taught him how to be a man before going to college. College coaches ain’t got time for that. 

 

The kid was ok until college.  Went to a regimented HS program.  Once in college the NCAA money making meat grinder swallowed him up.

 

The best part of this show was learning about "Uncle Nate"--this kid was a balls out genius at age 20 hooking up Johnny with tons of money making schemes.  How he came upon with the "his parents come from oil money". was amazing because everyone simply believed it (including me until that show).  Plus how he admits to everything and exactly how it worked.  

[BillsFan4]

On 8/11/2023 at 10:05 AM, Draconator said:

I didn't watch it, but read that when he was diagnosed with Bipolar, he didn't accept it and went into a spiral. As one who also has Bipolar, unless you find the right partner/therapy/medication, it is nothing to play around with. I was standing on the deck of the Golden Gate Bridge, ready to jump. My therapist at the time played around with my medication. Thankfully I walked off and went to the Psych ER instead, got my meds straightened out, and reconnected with my now wife 4 months later. 

 

On 8/11/2023 at 10:12 AM, JerseyBills said:

Thank God.!

Ya I've had some hard times where I thought about it, never attempted but i had the mentality that i was going to 1 day , mainly due to substance abuse and being young, thinking I ruined my life forever.  AA and NA meetings helped alot and made me realize I'm not alone or special and many ppl have a similar story and got me out of that thinking and on the right track

 

I am so glad you both were able to find the help you needed! It warms my heart to hear that.

 

As someone who just lost a close family member to suicide a few months ago, it is absolutely devastating. I can’t even put it into words besides to say It has destroyed our lives. Even just waking up in the morning, knowing we have to get through another day, feels overwhelming. It honestly feels like nothing will ever be the same. It’s like living in a nightmare. We are all in therapy, trying to recover and deal with the PTSD from the events of that day and finding him (it was gruesome, I’ll leave it at that…). Even some of his friends are in therapy.

 

Suicide is a loss like I’ve never experienced before. Any loss is hard to deal with and I am not trying to compare, but it is just so different than any loss I’ve experienced. The questions you are left with that you will never be able to get answers to drive you insane, as does the guilt/remorse. The anger can be overwhelming at times too.

 

I can confidently say that It is not a solution to any problem. It destroys your life and the lives of everyone you love.

[cale]

On 8/11/2023 at 11:29 AM, julian said:

He was the superior athlete on the field his entire life and was able to dominate the competition without any work or study habits.

 

 Once his rude awakening in the NFL had occurred and he realized he could never be successful without work and dedication he simply checked out.

 

 I won’t comment on his mental state for which I know nothing about, but it seems to me this dude was let down by those around him from a young age, he should have been taught the value of hard work, but instead it seems his upbringing consisted of coaches, agents, friends and family going along for the ride.

This right here. He was enabled by an entire group of people who benefited from his talent for whom he was their cash cow. The lengths people and organizations (including his high school, college, pro team) went to to *not* hold him accountable was mind blowing.

 

i grew up with a bipolar parent. It was hell. But they weren’t an a-hole. This guy is a class A a-hole. His disease just amplified it.

 

For me, it was a case of an athlete who had every privilege in the world leveraging it to the max. He didn’t care who got hurt in the process. Not one person in that doc said he was a nice guy (fun, yes. Nice, no). Not even his parents.

 

He and his circle weaponized his amazing talents. A wonder he didn’t kill someone in the process.

 

I think if a parent or coach can show a young person this doc as cautionary tale, that would be the real benefit of this show.

[Shortchaz]

I thought it was great as an academic study.

 

I’m glad he’s still alive and I don’t think he’s figured things out yet but he’s still young. 
 

something I learned when I was 35+ was that humans (many (all?) organisms) are programmed with internal mechanisms that reward hard work. Things that give pleasure can hijack this system. In a natural environment the two things that give humans pleasure are food and sex. most of human history a typical day would be toiling for food and hopefully eating some. If things were such that there was enough food one might even occasionally have some sex. Ones day to day wellbeing/happiness (psychological and physical) was mostly about the toiling. 
 

johnny was so good at something that was easy for him. Sex/drugs/$millions/attention. A blessing and a curse. 

[Draconator]

1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said:

 

I am so glad you both were able to find the help you needed! It warms my heart to hear that.

 

As someone who just lost a close family member to suicide a few months ago, it is absolutely devastating. I can’t even put it into words besides to say It has destroyed our lives. Even just waking up in the morning, knowing we have to get through another day, feels overwhelming. It honestly feels like nothing will ever be the same. It’s like living in a nightmare. We are all in therapy, trying to recover and deal with the PTSD from the events of that day and finding him (it was gruesome, I’ll leave it at that…). Even some of his friends are in therapy.

 

Suicide is a loss like I’ve never experienced before. Any loss is hard to deal with and I am not trying to compare, but it is just so different than any loss I’ve experienced. The questions you are left with that you will never be able to get answers to drive you insane, as does the guilt/remorse. The anger can be overwhelming at times too.

 

I can confidently say that It is not a solution to any problem. It destroys your life and the lives of everyone you love.

 

I am so sorry to hear this. Suicide when you're contemplating it, seems like the only way out. You're truly only thinking about yourself. Hearing this, it has much farther-reaching effects. There's nothing I can say that will ease the pain.

[JerseyBills]

2 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

 

I am so glad you both were able to find the help you needed! It warms my heart to hear that.

 

As someone who just lost a close family member to suicide a few months ago, it is absolutely devastating. I can’t even put it into words besides to say It has destroyed our lives. Even just waking up in the morning, knowing we have to get through another day, feels overwhelming. It honestly feels like nothing will ever be the same. It’s like living in a nightmare. We are all in therapy, trying to recover and deal with the PTSD from the events of that day and finding him (it was gruesome, I’ll leave it at that…). Even some of his friends are in therapy.

 

Suicide is a loss like I’ve never experienced before. Any loss is hard to deal with and I am not trying to compare, but it is just so different than any loss I’ve experienced. The questions you are left with that you will never be able to get answers to drive you insane, as does the guilt/remorse. The anger can be overwhelming at times too.

 

I can confidently say that It is not a solution to any problem. It destroys your life and the lives of everyone you love.

Appreciate it

 

Damn brother that sounds awful. Was he or she young, was it totally unexpected? I lost my cousin at 23 to an o.d and best friend 2 years ago at 29 to an o.d.. I carry so much guilt for both because I still feel I could have been closer when they were struggling. 

 

Them feelings you have will get better. Promise. Might not feel that way right now, It feels like it'll last forever but time will heal it to an extent.  Just hang in there, tell the family that he wouldn't want you guys suffering with that pain. Keep ya head up brother 

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

On 8/11/2023 at 10:12 AM, JerseyBills said:

Thank God.!

Ya I've had some hard times where I thought about it, never attempted but i had the mentality that i was going to 1 day , mainly due to substance abuse and being young, thinking I ruined my life forever.  AA and NA meetings helped alot and made me realize I'm not alone or special and many ppl have a similar story and got me out of that thinking and on the right track

 

Yes. Drugs are the pandemic nobody talks about. Took the life of my older brother and I went through addictions as well. I’ve experienced some very dark times and felt like I had no way out, but I refused on the off chance the Bills might win the SB. Then I can die happy 

[The Jokeman]

I think it was well done. I'm glad Johnny came grips to his wrongs and rights but so much got glossed over. 

[JerseyBills]

2 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Yes. Drugs are the pandemic nobody talks about. Took the life of my older brother and I went through addictions as well. I’ve experienced some very dark times and felt like I had no way out, but I refused on the off chance the Bills might win the SB. Then I can die happy 

It's a terrible epidemic and continues to get worse. Sorry about your brother,  the pain gets better but never goes away

 

Started with China creating synthetic fentanyl , sellingto Mexican cartels and by 2018 the whole U.S was flooded with it instead of heroin. ODs skyrocketed..

Then around 2020, xylazine,  a horse tranquilizer was mixed in and now the whole u.s is flooded with "tranq dope" as they call it. ODs skyrocketed more.

This stuff makes heroin look like candy... Biggest killer in 18-45 age range is o.ds.. it's unbelievable we haven't taken extreme measures to stop it

Edited August 13, 2023 by JerseyBills

[BillsFan4]

4 hours ago, Draconator said:

 

I am so sorry to hear this. Suicide when you're contemplating it, seems like the only way out. You're truly only thinking about yourself. Hearing this, it has much farther-reaching effects. There's nothing I can say that will ease the pain.

Thank you. Appreciate it. I didn’t mean for it to sound like I was directing any anger at you or anything like that. I hope it didn’t come off that way.

 

I really sympathize with anyone’s who’s struggled with suicidal thoughts/attempts. Being in such a dark place that suicide seems like the only answer must be a very difficult thing. I never knew until recently that suicide is like the #9 or 10 top cause of death in the US. It makes me so sad thinking about all those people and their families.

 

3 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

Appreciate it

 

Damn brother that sounds awful. Was he or she young, was it totally unexpected? I lost my cousin at 23 to an o.d and best friend 2 years ago at 29 to an o.d.. I carry so much guilt for both because I still feel I could have been closer when they were struggling. 

 

Them feelings you have will get better. Promise. Might not feel that way right now, It feels like it'll last forever but time will heal it to an extent.  Just hang in there, tell the family that he wouldn't want you guys suffering with that pain. Keep ya head up brother 

 

Thank you. Appreciate it. Yes, he was young (30’s). And yes, totally unexpected. Nobody even knew he was struggling, not even his wife and they were very close. He even made plans with her for that day and was in communication with her and others that day. That’s one of the things that’s made it so hard. It really caught us all by surprise and it’s hard to make sense of. It also makes it hard knowing he never even attempted to get help.

 

I’m doing ok though. A lot better than the first month or two. I know it’s going to take time.

 

edit - my condolences for your losses as well.

Edited August 13, 2023 by BillsFan4