Chris Johnson: Open Mouth, Insert Foot

By - Kris Fletcher

Even though I'm not a fan of the Tennessee Titans, I always liked Chris Johnson. That was until yesterday, when he made the same mistake so many other dumb athletes before him have made, in taking to Twitter and vilifying himself in all of about 140 characters.

Photo by: Streeter Lecka

Not that he wasn't already doing a bang up job of looking like a bad guy to most simply by holding out, but then getting online and telling people to "STFU," among other things, isn't going to win him many popularity contests.

I actually agree with Chris Johnson in that he should get paid. The NFL isn't like other professional sports. Contracts aren't guaranteed. Every play, guys are a misplaced tackle away from being unemployed, so I understand where he's coming from in wanting a big payday now. The Titans have already said they'll make him the highest paid running back in the league, but that's just not good enough. Johnson wants top five player in the league money. He wants to crack this list:

1. Peyton Manning: Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts - $23 million
2. Sam Bradford: Quarterback, St. Louis Rams - $18.4 million
3. Tom Brady: Quarterback, New England Patriots - $18 million
4. Michael Vick: Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles - $15.9 million
5. Richard Seymour: Defensive Tackle, Oakland Raiders - $15 million

Of those guys, the only two that are actually worthy of being in the top five are Manning and Brady. News flash, Chris Johnson isn't worthy of it either. He's not one of the top five best players in the NFL. He's not even the best running back in the league, so the fact that Tennessee is willing to compensate him as such is actually pretty generous on their part.

This isn't about what Johnson is or isn't worth though. Players are "worth" whatever an organization is willing to shell out to them. No, this is about the following:

Photo from: sportressofblogitude.com

First off, what is a "fake" fan exactly? I don't get it. Is that someone that dresses in team apparel but doesn't actually like football or something? A fan is a fan in my book, and they're entitled to their opinion of him. What Chris Johnson doesn't seem to get, is that THE FANS are the ones that pay his salary. So, if they wanna harp on him for holding out, he probably should just bite his tongue and not say, or in this case tweet, anything.

Furthermore, as he so elegantly put it, he "don't have a regular job." No, he plays in the National Football League, which is a privilege, not a right. To get on his little computer or phone and type something up so petty makes him look like he belongs in the XFL instead.

Also, given the fact that every time he opens his mouth or tweets he comes off as someone with about a fifth grade education, it's probably in his best interest to just stop all forms of communication entirely. I mean, the correct terminology is, "I COULDN'T care less."

Not too long ago when Johnson was asked how a meeting with Titans management went, he replied with, "things got WORST." Can somebody get this dude a dictionary or thesaurus already?

But hey, keep tweetin' it up my man. There's no doubt you're more athletically inclined than 99.9% of the "fake fans" you wanna complain about. However, it would be hard for you, or anyone else for that matter, to try an argue that you're SMARTER than ANYONE.

You should heed your own advice bro, and "STFU."