The AAF Failed. Are We Surprised?

The American Alliance of Football has suspended all their operations with three weeks left in their regular season. I was going to write about something else today, but this takes precedence. That piece will come tomorrow. But, as I said, the AAF, for all intents and purposes, is done. Kaput. Finished.

Who could have for seen this coming? Who would have thought that football in the Spring would be pointless? Who would have thought that this poor, lower level "professional" football wouldn't last? I'll tell you who, me. That's right, I'm going to pat myself on the back today. I get a lot of things wrong, I keep picking the Indians to win the World Series for some reason, but this, the AAF being pointless, boring and that it wouldn't last, I got that right. I did watch one quarter of this league, out of pure curiosity, and was immediately turned off by what I saw. I actually watched with my dad, who is as big a football fan as I am, and he was very underwhelmed as well. After that one quarter, it was him that told me to turn it off. He wanted to watch the NBA instead. I was more than happy to oblige.

This league was a disaster from the start. They rushed it. They put it all together far too soon, and thought they could figure it out as the season went on. Sure, they had some big names attached, but those names are people that have been away from football for far too long. We had guys like Bill Polian, Steve Spurrier and Mike Martz. But, those guys haven't been relevant in a decade. Hell, the only players I know of were the former Wolverines, mainly DeVeon Smith and Denard Robinson, and I didn't even really care to look into how they were doing. I'd get updates from some Michigan websites I followed, click on it and then forget about it. I do know that Johnny Manziel was recently picked up by this league, I don't know why he keeps getting chance after chance, but only because I was in Memphis last weekend, and there were pictures of him everywhere. It was disgusting. But, in his two games he was apparently pretty mediocre anyway, just like the whole league. This thing was bound to fail. They introduced this as a semi pro developmental league, but it was really just a response to the dumbass return of the XFL, which I believe starts next year. That will also fold, maybe quicker than the AAF.

This was a bad idea. This was Theranos and Fyre Fest bad. At least the AAF didn't purposefully try to hurt people like Theranos, and they didn't put lives at risk like Fyre Fest, but still, this was a horrible idea that has now blown up in a lot of people's faces. The only people I feel bad for are the players. For some, this was their last shot at making it to the NFL. Some of them really thought they had a real shot. And I bet a few chosen ones would have made it. But now, who knows. This was an awful idea, a money grab and a mistake.

The AAF was no USFL. It was more of the XFL the first time around. Now that it is gone, I will forget about it pretty quick. Oof, I cannot stress enough how bad this idea was, and now, I do not see anyway back for this league. RIP AAF. You will not be missed.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was looking forward to the Madden version of the AAF. Oh well, at least he can now wait for the return of NCAA Football on an accommodating video game system.

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Johnny Manziel is a Waste of Our Time

Not to be wasted

Johnny Manziel was recently released from his CFL team, the Montreal Alouttes. This should not be surprising to anyone reading this. This kid clearly peaked in college. And, while he peaked with a Heisman trophy, I was wondering aloud to my dad earlier today, has there been a bigger waste of supposed talent in the NFL? I know about guys like Jamarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, Steve Etmann, Tony Mandarich, the list could go on and on. But, these guys never won the Heisman. Some played in major bowl games, but never won the title. Some played in other big games, but they were often bested.

Manziel on the other hand was a blur when he was a sophomore at Texas A&M. I mean, I never liked him, but the dude was a very good read option QB. He made plays. He beat Alabama, and he was the youngest Heisman winner ever. He then tumbled in the NFL draft, due to questions about his off field activities, and landed in Cleveland.

This was when it all started to go downhill. He struggled to start over career backups. His teammates didn't seem to care much for him. His coaches seemed to have little faith in him. And his demons, alcoholism and never being told no, really started to creep up. When he did play, he was highly ineffective. He was too small to see over the line. He threw too many errant passes, many resulting in interceptions. He wasn't faster than most D lineman. And he just didn't seem to care about the game. He didn't put in the hours. He would rather party than hone his skills and make himself a better player. Again, this goes to his never being told no, and always being told that he was the best. He never had to struggle, until it was too late. At one point it seemed like he was, at least on the surface, trying to get help. But, he had already been cut by the Browns, and no other NFL wanted to touch him, for good reason. He was damaged goods, had bad off field problems and his play was lackluster.

After failing to be signed by any other NFL team, he spiraled again. I felt absolutely no sympathy for him. This was his second chance, and he totally blew it because he would rather drink alcohol and go to clubs. He did this all to himself. He made himself an unsignable free agent. His family tried to help, but he didn't even listen to them. Manziel is a selfish punk who never really learned his lesson, and he was finally paying for it.

Yet another chance came his way,. A few years back, the CFL wanted to give him a shot, what seemed to be his last. And, just like his rookie season in the NFL, he was bad. I believe in his first CFL game he threw 4 picks. He completed less than 50 percent of his passes. He only saw the field in blowouts. Watching him in the CFL was almost sad. Almost. This just further proved that he was never really an NFL caliber player. He was now in the CFL getting beat out by guys that were never even a thought as a NFL draft pick. And then he went and did something, it has not been confirmed exactly what, that not only voided his contract with the Alouttes, but with the entire CFL. He cannot play for a single team in that league. I mean, this dude won a Heisman, and he threw it all away when the going got tough for him. He finally had to prove himself, and instead, he just did something else that made him get cut. He shot himself in the foot again. He couldn't handle the fact that he is not as good as he thought.

Now, he is reaching out to the AAF, a league I do not think is viable, just to try and get a workout. That is rough. He has fallen so hard, so fast and I couldn't care less. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, never had to work hard until he was playing the game with guys better than him, and when that got too hard, he finds ways to get himself cut, but blame it on someone else.

Johnny Manziel is a waste of talent. He is a waste of a roster spot. And when he doesn't make an AAF team I will feel exactly nothing for him. Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised if he doesn't make it in the XFL. Johnny Manziel is now a footnote, and it is just going to get worse for him from here on out as long as he continues to screw up and try to play semi pro football. Johnny Manziel is a joke.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He used ot think of Johnny Clipboard being equivilant to a one hot wonder in music. Then he remembered that those musicians actually had a hit, and worked damn hard to get it.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.