Why Cam Newton hating isn’t such a bad thing
Cam Newton is a polarizing NFL figure, and opinions on the former SEC quarterback range from almost god-like adoration to intense disdain.
Pretty much every football fan has an opinion on Cam Newton, and most seem all too eager to share them. From open letters from miffed soccer moms to chants of “MVP”, the range of emotions Newton invokes in fans and the media is unlike any seen before.
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Carolina and Auburn fans absolutely love Newton. He is the embodiment of a champion and community do-gooder to them. They relish his on-field bravado and feel like his behavior is (as put to me by a die-hard Panthers fan and lifelong friend) “just a big kid having fun”.
But to a large section of the sports-watching population, Newton is (as put to be by a die-hard Georgia fan and lifelong friend) “everything that’s wrong with sports today”. Those who find themselves on the opposite end of Cam’s dabbing, Superman schtick and taunting view him as the ultimate me-generation player, with no regard for sportsmanship or humility.
College football fans (outside of southeast Alabama) have a long history of giving Cam the raspberry, whether it be from his laptop pilfering at Florida or his allegedly (unfounded according to his supporters) skirting the rules and having his father accept cash for his playing at Auburn.
It’s become a tradition as rich as tailgating – hating Cam Newton.
But those fans who take pleasure in belittling Cam Newton have come under fire recently, particularly by ESPN show host Mike Golic, who said on the Mike and Mike Show, “It’s stunning how stupid this is”. Fox Sports host Colin Cowherd took it a step further saying that men are simply intimidated by him and his Adonis-like stature.
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“We know statistically that men are jealous of other rich, handsome famous men,’ Cowherd barked on his show The Herd. “When Elvis came out, women loved Men hated him. He was a threat. Cam Newton is 6-foot-6. He looks like a model. He looks cool. Women think he’s cool. On a primitive level, he’s a threat to men.”
But I’m here to tell you that hating on Cam Newton and his antics isn’t a bad thing, in fact, it’s probably good for the sport.
Like many other great NFL quarterbacks, Cam Newton can play the game and play it well. He’s quickly entering the discussion with such names as Troy Aikman, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and others…and he hasn’t even won his first Super Bowl yet. The guy just shows that much talent on the field.
But can you imagine how desperately boring talking about the NFL would be if we had 32 Peyton Mannings on the sidelines or behind the microphone? Or 32 Aaron Rodgers monotonously chanting “reeeelax”?
Nothing but deadpan, canned answers and controlled emotion. Where’s the fun in that?
Simply put, the NFL needs someone like Cam Newton to bristle against the fans. They need his chest-beating and dancing to help dispel the illusion of the “No Fun League”, whether fans want to admit it or not.
Newton provides the ultimate villain for NFL fans. An antagonist gone completely rogue, running roughshod over the league and rubbing their noses in it when he’s finished. What makes it even better is, he doesn’t care…not one iota…how his “haters” feel. In fact, it probably charges him up even more knowing that people will be throwing their remotes and spewing unworldly strings of obscenities every time he mocks the Clark Kent transformation.
His latest Powerbeats2 commercial when Newton concludes with, “Too bad they don’t make band-aids for feelings” speaks volumes for his disregard for those who tell him to tone it down.
What Cam Newton brings is a side we haven’t seen in a successful NFL quarterback since the days of Joe Namath – a player who isn’t afraid of braggadocio and has the guns to back it up. He’s Deion Sanders on the offensive side of the ball, only bigger and better looking.
Oh sure, there have been some boastful NFL quarterbacks since Broadway Joe, but I challenge you to think of one quarterback’s name who played with the swagger and arrogance with which Newton does, and is more than just a footnote in NFL history.
Can’t do it, can you?
Newton brings some vicious talking points to the water cooler and call-in shows. He is fully aware of every gift he has – as a player and as an object of attention – and wears them like like Beverly Hills tailored suit. That’s what infuriates the masses.
Cam is a necessary evil, particularly in a league which is desperate to shake the ugly image brought on in recent years by so many players making bad decisions off the field. His Colgate-approved smile and ham-handed gestures of presenting game balls to wide-eyed kids may look disingenuous to some, but to the NFL brass those things are pure gold.
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So hate on, haters. Cam isn’t listening, and he isn’t changing. But the fact that you are so irritated by his success is providing for a more interesting season and Super Bowl, win or lose. If he falls flat in 2016, you..make that, we…can commence with the obligatory “told you so” narrative.