Johnny Manziel's Depression Was So Bad In Cleveland Even LeBron James Inviting Him Over Weekly For Boys Night Wouldn't Get Him Out Of Bed

Johnny Football was the ultimate "what actually happened" to a sports fan my age. It's hard to describe how big Johnny was when he was on top of the world. It was right before social media became bigger than life, which I think is very important in telling his story. He was everything. 

Joe Burrow had one of the greatest CFB seasons ever in 2019, and I don't think he even came close to Johnny Football levels. I'll tell my kids about how big the phenomenon of Johnny Football was. He was Jeremy Lin, but bigger, and won the HEISMAN. He wasn't a fad. He was pure entertainment every weekend in the fall.

Even though he went to the Browns, I wanted more than anything for Johnny to be a great NFL QB. I didn't have a Johnny Manziel jersey or anything, but the thought of him being a big-time NFL QB? The cinema we watched on CBS at 3:30 on Saturday's would instead happen on Sundays.

As we all know, it did not work out for Johnny. Thanks to his documentary and further interviews, we have finally found out more about why it didn't work. Whether it was the cocaine addiction:

The lack of watching film:

Or his mental health that was clearly struggling:

It stinks to hear. As a young sports fan, you really don't comprehend the fact that athletes have mental health issues. They should just perform like the superheroes you think they are. As you get older, you see these guys who turn out to be "busts" and wonder what was truly going on. Good on Johnny for discussing this as it may help some people, even outside of sports. Hopefully, he is in a better spot now in his post-playing career.

Also, good guy LeBron always puts a smile on my face. Seems like he saw what was happening with Johnny and wanted to help in any way he could. Saying no to a poker night at LeBron's mansion seems impossible, but that's what depression will do.