"Only way I convinced him": Aggies owner Billy Liucci discusses Johnny Manziel's fondness for beer

Imagine Johnny Manziel in a zoo. No. Not as the spectacle. Not even in his wildest element would that possibly happen. But as a spectator. Now you get the picture? Good old Johnny Football, staring at the tamed beasts of the wild? Seems a little off.

Manziel in a liquor shop sounds more like it. Well, it could just be that the zoo does have a liquor shop. At least that's the story told by Manziel's friend and owner of TexAgs, Billy Liucci.

Liucci appeared on the podcast, Hot Mic and discussed at length about his friend, Johnny Football. Among other things, he recalled an interesting story about their visit to the San Diego Zoo. Liucci said:

“The San Diego Zoo, he was not recognized and the only way I convinced him to go because we had a few hours to kill, he Googled it and found out they sell beer there.”

How Johnny Manziel's drinking habit affected his career

Manziel's love for booze is legendary. The former Aggies quarterback is a reputed life of the party. When he played for the Aggies, it was a major cause for concern. However, he also had the habit of delivering on the field. Indeed, the gridiron is probably the only other place Johnny Manziel felt as alive as at a party; perhaps, even more.

However, Manziel didn't really stop at a few beers. He used substance and probably abused it. He has a tattoo of marijuana on the side of his left palm, with the global pothead code, 420, inscribed alongside it in Roman numerals.

And while it didn't affect him much in college, it caught up with him in the NFL. Manziel's contract with the Cleveland Browns was cut short after only two seasons in the league. Thus ended the NFL adventure of one of college football's greatest exports.

Subsequent attempts to rekindle his career in the CFL met a similar fate. His brief stints with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Montreal Alouettes couldn't bring back the old Johnny. Instead, he was banned from the league on grounds of contract violation.

Johnny Manziel's immense football talent brought him college football success, the height of which was his Heisman Trophy win. But talent alone could never take the place of commitment and discipline.