Kermit the Frog debuted the song It's Not Easy Being Green in 1970, in which he laments the fact his skin is the "colour of the leaves." He also says being green allows him to blend in with "so many ordinary things."
Some of the players in the green room at the NFL Draft may have wished they blended into the scenery and away from the cameras.
One of the traditions of the NFL Draft is watching a player invited to be in New York to come from the green room when their name is called. They're the players with the highest name recognition of the incoming crop of college athletes ready to see their NFL careers unfold.
However, there always seems to be one player that slips through the cracks and doesn't get picked into, if they're lucky, late in the first round.
This year had two participants in the annual slide, both of whom were quarterbacks.
Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel and Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater both saw themselves free-fall through the first round of the draft. Prior to the start of the college football season last fall, Bridgewater was expected to be in contention for the first overall pick. While Bridgewater had poor pro days and combine numbers that saw his draft stock fall before the draft, Manziel was more surprising. Mock drafts saw "Johnny Football" being selected in the top 10. The Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings, all with picks in the top 10, were linked to a quarterback early in the draft. If you listened to most of the experts, it was hard to imagine Manziel not being selected early in the draft by one of those teams.
As current ESPN analyst and former coach of the Buccaneers Jon Gruden made the case for Manziel to be selected No. 1 by the Texans, his co-panelists said South Carolina defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney was the way go. The Texans listened to the old saying that defence wins championships and went with Clowney.
With each pick in the top 10, Gruden made the case for the team to pick Manziel. Gruden was so high on Manziel because of the time they spent together filming his quarterback camp show for draft prospects. He seemed shocked when the Jaguars went with a different quarterback, Blake Bortles from Central Florida, instead of his - and the media's - golden boy.
Cleveland was the next logical place for Manziel to land. He would be the saviour of the franchise, leading a revitalized offence as the Browns' defence continues to improve. Instead, the Browns traded their pick with the Bills. With their franchise quarterback in place already, the Bills went with a wideout Sammy Watkins.
The Browns passed on him again with the pick they acquired from the Bills. The Vikings, who have no legitimate starting quarterback, passed on him as well. As Manziel fell out of the top 10, the lights in the green room began to shine brighter. Each time he was passed, the broadcast would cut to Manziel's reaction. He seemed calm for the camera, taking a sip of water from a clear plastic cup after each team passed him over. Just like when his instincts to scramble kicked in as an opposing lineman chased him down from his blind side, Manziel had a second sense for when he was on screen. Any sadness disappeared as he flashed a smile for the camera crews. Mike Evans, one of Manziel's wideouts in college, was picked seventh overall. Manziel went over to celebrate with his former teammate.
Bridgewater was rarely shown.
Then, in what seemed to be a pre-draft dream scenario for the media, Manziel was still on the board when the Cowboys picked at No. 16. Manziel, who is from a small town in Texas, would've been the heir apparent to Tony Romo. But, the Cowboys passed on Manziel and the media circus that would've followed. Manziel suggested the world would not be able to handle him playing for the Cowboys.
Manziel and Bridgewater slid out of the top 20. ESPN kept putting Manziel on screen and he kept flashing his trademark smile. Then, Manziel's time to escape the green room came when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called his name at the 22nd overall pick. Johnny Football was going to become Johnny Cleveland after the Browns traded up to make their second selection in the first round. He walked on stage to loud cheers from Cleveland fans in the crowd as he dropped his trademark "show me the money" celebration.
That left Bridgewater alone in the green room as the major name not selected. There were 10 picks remaining before the end of the first round. The Minnesota Vikings eventually traded for the 32nd and final pick of the first round to snatch Bridgewater. The pre-season No. 1 almost fell out of the first round all together.
This wasn't the first nor will it be the last time someone in the green room at the NFL Draft will slide.
In 2005, quarterback Aaron Rodgers slid from being the projected first overall pick to the 24th overall selection by the Green Bay Packers. He responded by becoming a consistent threat to win the league's MVP award.
However, the opposite can happen. In 2007, quarterback Brady Quinn slid through most of the first round until, like Manziel, the Browns traded up to take Quinn with the 22nd pick. He's been on six teams in seven seasons.
The green room can add sympathy to a player's story. They have a chip on their shoulder now and will probably remember every team that passed on them. But the draft is over. Manziel and Bridgewater now have a chance to prove to those teams that passed made a mistake.
