OK, the coverage of Johnny Manziel has officially become the web equivalent of a water-skiing deceased equine soaring over Jaws.
For those who are unaware, a photo of the shirtless Texas A&M quarterback posing with friends/acquaintances/fans while on spring break in Cabo was plastered on and exploded across the vast expanses of the Internet. The fact that Manziel was sans shirt didn’t cause the uproar; the fact that Manziel was sporting a Texas Longhorn tattoo on his person did.
Yes, there on the Heisman winner’s left ribcage was the (gasp!) Longhorns logo:
Such an homage to the flagship institution of Manziel’s home state of Texas would make sense on several levels, not the least of which is the quarterback has very openly admitted that he was a huge ‘Horns fan growing up. BustedCoverage.com, the website that first published the photo in question, used that as the basis for deciding “we’re not being trolled here.”
Thing is, they may actually have been by the very subject of the photograph.
While the website was being lambasted for posting what many claimed to be a picture that was photoshopped, Manziel himself responded via Twitter by claiming that the tattoo was fake -- i.e. a temporary or “henna” tattoo. Yes, it appears Manziel -- right or wrong -- is trolling the very people peering through the microscope under which he’s been living for the past few months -- and they’re not very happy about it.
Certainly Manziel could’ve handled the aftermath of TempTat-gate a bit better on Twitter -- was “tell your mom I said wassup” really necessary, Johnny Football? -- kudos to the player for continuing to tweak the stalkerazzi and having some harmless fun with his ever-growing fame.
(Tip O’ the Cap: MrSEC.com)