Two of my favorite activities are fantasy sports and Twitter. Since my odds of one day being a general manager of a professional sports team are, well, none to none, fantasy sports allows me to manage my own team, make moves, and compete against my friends to prove who (thinks he) knows the most about sports. And when it comes to Twitter, I just like to think everyone cares about what I do on an everyday basis.
But if I was a professional football player like Chris Johnson, I’d probably have my head in a different place with less than a month before the regular season gets going.
It hasn’t received much attention in the media, but Tennessee’s 2,000-yard rusher from a year ago seems to be more excited about what he can do on the field and in the media than he does about his team winning games.
Don’t get me wrong, Johnson isn’t the only high profile running back who thinks they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, as Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew and St. Louis’ Steven Jackson, among others, have talked about themselves as the best fantasy backs in the land, but Johnson won’t let it go.
His self-titled nickname “CJ2K” stems from his performance last season and desire to rush for 2,500 in 2010, and that’s all fine and dandy. But when asked by Adam Schefter about the goals for the team this season, those were his FIRST words. Don’t forget the Titans are coming off an up-and-down 8-8 season, just a year removed from their NFL-best 13-3 season.
Schefter’s interview, done on his ridiculously cool bus he’s taking across the country to NFL training camps, was more of a talk show than a sit down. Johnson and Vince Young were cracking jokes, talking about how they’re the odds-on favorite, and how we should all expect big things in Tennessee this season. It wasn’t a “60 Minutes” episode and they didn’t need to be all serious (no one on the bus has been), but Johnson’s head isn’t in the right spot.
Chris Johnson is one heck of a football player, but is his head in the right spot? (Jonathan Mohan/2009)
Even at the ESPY’s, Johnson’s acceptance speech for Breakthrough Athlete mentioned zero Titans’ offensive linemen or anyone on the Titans for that matter. What it did mention was “most of all,” his Twitter fans. He then preceeded to tell America they needed to follow him on Twitter before leaving the stage.
Again, there’s always time for pro athletes to be normal humans and have fun, but there a time and place for everything, and Johnson seems to be using all his time and energy on telling the world how good HE is, and not the team.
Who’s to say he won’t do that on the field, trying to rush for as many yards as he can instead of helping the team win? Athletes need to be cocky in this day and age, and maybe this is a bit of an over-reaction, but Johnson’s attitude is bordering on TOO cocky.
Earlier in the offseason, Johnson was holding out for a bigger contract (a big no-no in my book) based on last year’s historic performance. Better for Chris? Yes. Better for his team? No way.
After he agreed to a modest deal of $1.5 million, he did his best to act like he was happy, but still came off greedy and selfish. In an interview, he spoke of the “little money” Tennessee gave him, how “this will be the last time without [him] having a long-term deal” because it was a “must.” He claims he’s been promised the deal next off-season, but who knows at this point.
Personal goals are one thing but they can NOT be an athlete’s main goal, and right now it seems like that’s all Johnson is focused on. Here’s to hoping I’m wrong, Mr. “CJ2K.”
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