My (Non) Sporting Life: Cam Newton Takes a Pounding

So here I am with a post for this year's Super Bowl. 

Finally.  

As noted previously, I have been sick for a while now, a period of illness that apparently has culminated in pneumonia. I started taking a really bad down turn Sunday night (and I wasn't the only one but more on that later.) There was no way I was stringing words together to have a Super Bowl post ready for Monday. But here it is, Thursday, and I'm ready at long last to post my thoughts on Super Bowl 50. 

Except by this point, all that has needed to be said has already been said and even I am not that interested in what I have to say on the subject. 

• Yes, I agree Lady Gaga rocked the National Anthem. And the red glittered eye liner.
• Yes, Coldplay, Bruno Mars and Beyonce made an odd combo act but who cares? It was a well produced spectacle that even my oxygen starved brain found very entertaining. 
• Yes, the commercials were....what they always were, wildly varying levels of goofy, touching and weird. I will say that the absolute first time I saw that Doritos spot, I immediately thought about all the really icky implications of what happens after the would be mom tosses that bag of Doritos. I mean, yuck! I really don't think I can ever eat Doritos again. And I love Doritos, man! 
• Yes, the game was a disappointment. The Carolina Panthers had so dominated the season yet were never in contention during the whole game against the Denver Broncos. Way to go, Peyton Manning, for delivering a win on behalf of all us old guys out there. Still, I and a lot of other people really thought this was going to be the Panther's year to win the Super Bowl for sure.  

But a few thoughts on Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and the aftermath of this game. Much has been made of his boisterous bravado during games and in their aftermath. There were voices of disapproval, disdain over Newton's lack of humility and a perceived disrespect for his opponents.  Others saw it has natural expressions of exultation by a quarterback at the peak of his powers leading a team that was gelling together as an amazing football machine. Add the fact that Newton was doing all this following a serious car accident in 2014 and I say, who can blame the guy if he wants to celebrate? 

So what the hell happened Sunday night? Cam Newton was far from being a peak performer and the team was less gelling and more melting down into a disorganized mess. 

After the Super Bowl at the post game press event, Cam Newton sat down for questions but opted to walk out after two minutes.  

OK, Cam, lets knock off a few points for being unprofessional. Yeah, you lost the game but the deal is the leadership of both teams has to sit down with the press for awhile. Getting up and walking out after two minutes is not very professional or grown up conduct. 

And that's all I want to say on that side of things. The thing is, I will never have the kind of pressure on my shoulders to do anything like being the quarterback for the losing team in a Super Bowl, particularly when the losing team was fully expected to win. The heightened expectations of your team, your coaches, your team owners, your fans and, perhaps hardest of all, yourself, all this comes crashing down when the end result is a loss, not a win. 

From accounts I've read, Cam was within earshot of the Bronco's own players making comments on the Panther's abilities or even if Cam Newton even wanted to win. 

So, Cam Newton decides he doesn't need to put up with all of this and leaves. Again, not very professional but I'll be damned if I wouldn't have done the same thing but with a bit less decorum and restraint.  

Still, if you think Cam Newton deserves a life lesson how to deal better with loss, click here and see if North Carolina favorite son Andy Griffith can offer Cam some insight and advice. 

So this marks the end of a most remarkable season for the Carolina Panthers. It's a real shame it didn't end on a better note but the entire team deserves congratulations on delivering such an amazing season.  

Here, as they say, is to next season. 

Everyone, be good to one another.

Dave-El

I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You