Johnny Manziel

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is measured for flexibility at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

(Michael Conroy)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – American sports fans can agree to disagree on many topics: the greatest pitcher, best quarterback, soccer's relevance in this country.

But express an opinion contrary to who we think our NFL team should draft? Yowza. You might as well be keying our new car. It’s a fang-baring, manhood-challenging debate. Especially, in this city, during this season, with a chance to draft a quarterback, namely Johnny Manziel, at No. 4 for the Browns.

The emotionally charged argument can turn rational friends into Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless caricatures. As someone who’s been a beat writer in three major pro sports, I find the passion the NFL Draft engenders unique and fascinating. The Manziel factor takes it to another strata.

Should the Browns, a franchise desperately in need of a quarterback, take the charismatic Johnny Football, who comes with great talent and much risk?

Three prominent Cleveland sports talk show hosts -- media members on the front line of this social conversation -- agreed the intensity and fan interest is almost unrivaled.

“With Manziel, it’s almost like a political debate,” said Chuck Booms, the co-host of Kiley & Booms on 92.3 The Fan. “It’s Democrat or Republican. You’re on one side or the other and each side knows its talking points.”

Booms and ESPN Cleveland’s Aaron Goldhammer are strong Manziel supporters. Goldhammer, the co-host of Really Big Show with Tony Rizzo, believes drafting Manziel would “change the conversation” about Cleveland and the Browns. He’s the one quarterback, Goldhammer argues, that could help the franchise escape the “vortex of losing.”

No league features a draft that excites and maddens a fan base like the NFL. It truly is a season of its own given the long buildup. It’s also the sport, because of the paucity of games and the age requirement for draftees, where average fans can monitor the development and form attachments to prospects. We’ve had a chance to watch Manziel blossom at Texas A&M over the course of two seasons. That’s certainly not the case in baseball and hockey.

Quickie quiz: Sam Bennett will be a high selection in the upcoming MLB or NHL draft? I covered the NHL on a day-to-day basis from 2007-11 and didn’t know the answer until Wednesday afternoon.

Football is so popular, its college games so available to mass audiences, many fans can give you reasoned opinions on what the Browns should do with their second fourth-round pick.

“It’s like we have thousands of mini Mel Kipers in this city,” Goldhammer said.

The NFL draft has great appeal across the nation, but because of the Browns’ legacy of losing it seems more vital here. It represents hope, it embodies a fresh start. The need for a quarterback and the presence of Manziel creates, in the words of Goldhammer, “a perfect storm.”

Some fans love No. 2. Others strongly dislike him and the attention he generates. In some ways, it’s not unlike 2003 when the Cavaliers had a chance to draft Akron’s LeBron James. Back then, few disputed James’ ability. It was more about his perceived sense of entitlement and the non-stop hype surrounding him.

In the case of Manziel, some aren’t sure his game translates to the NFL. They worry about his size and durability, having seen what the league has done to injury-slowed Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III.

Do you recall a prospect in any sport that has produced more varied opinions among respected analysts? It’s what makes the raging debate irresistible.

Goldhammer and Ken Carman, of 92.3 The Fan, say younger fans tend to be drawn to Manziel. They yearn for the next big star. They enjoy the way the position is evolving and how quarterbacks such as Manziel, Griffin, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick can affect a game with their arms or their legs.

Booms proffers another Manziel-centric theory: He appeals to people who aren’t risk-averse, who aren’t afraid to change careers or move cross country. Carmen, who prefers Blake Bortles, sees why an owner such as Jimmy Haslam would find Manziel intriguing.

“Many of these billionaires at some point in their careers have had to take risks that would either make them richer or cause them to lose their (butt),” Carman said. “That’s kind of the way Manziel plays the game. He’s not afraid to take chances.”

Carman can’t go shopping at Giant Eagle without fans stopping him to chat about his affinity for Bortles. Goldhammer’s love for Manziel comes with its own sound bite from a TMZ clip showing the quarterback entering a club with two women.

Everywhere the radio host goes, he’s peppered with, “How ya doin’ Johnny?”

In an effort to rally the Browns fan base ahead of the draft, Rizzo wanted listeners on Tuesday to include the Twitter hashtag: #BrownsGoodKarma in their tweets. By day’s end, it was trending nationally.

We all have our opinions on what the Browns should do with that first pick. I'm not sold on any of the quarterbacks at No. 4 and prefer University of Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack.

A local Browns blogger disagreed so much he offered a point-by-point rebuttal. He also was gracious enough to alert me to his column and asked if I had a response.

My reply: In our business, if you state opinion, you had better be prepared for feedback. That goes double when it comes to the NFL Draft.