Cam Newton’s ‘SUPER’ growing pains

Cam’s ‘SUPER’ growing pains
by Chris Saunders
Cam Newton. Photo courtesy: Charlotte Observer.

Cam Newton. Photo courtesy: Charlotte Observer.

When Cam Newton arrived in the Bay Area last Sunday, his Versace pants made him the talk of the nation. When Newton leaves, he’ll still be the talk, but for all the wrong reasons.

What Cam Newton showed everyone in his post game presser was his immaturity and willingness to representative of his team! Furthermore, immature is the only word to describe his behavior in the post game press conference. I didn’t expect to see him dabbing or wearing flashy clothes, or even having his classic million dollar smile; but I didn’t expect to see him acting like a baby. He wore an UnderArmor hoodie over his head and he moped while answering questions. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
It’s the same Cam Newton with the towel over his head, sitting on the bench as the Panthers lost yet another game a couple of years ago. It was the Cam Newton that he himself called immature.
“I was very immature,” Newton told Yahoo Sports back in 2012. “I’ll be the first one to tell you, the pouting and the moping, I kind of overdid it; I was a bad teammate.” Newton made these comments after Sunday’s Super Bowl loss to the Broncos. What’s truly sad and it’s bewildering to know if Newton realizes this, he wasn’t just a bad teammate, he was an embarrassment to the team and the city. He was an embarrassment to everyone who stood for him. He was an embarrassment for everyone who defended his dabbing and sign snatching. Correspondingly, his own father; whom was on “First Take” said days from the biggest game of his son’s career that, “I pull him in my laboratory and polish him off at the end of every season, tell him what works, what doesn’t work.”
In the press conference, Newton gave mostly one-word answers, kept his head down and barely looked at the reporters. “They just played better than us,” he said. “What you want me to say?” After scratching out a few more barely audible comments about how the Broncos outplayed them, Newton abruptly walked away, saying “I’m done.” My reaction after I saw that was one word. WOW!
Given these points, while I do understand Newton and the Panthers just lost the Super Bowl; but common Cam! Why is it that your teammates can sit there and answer questions? Cornerback Josh Norman cried on the sideline as shown by CBS, but even he in the press conference did respond to the medias questions and he gave thoughtful answers. As did Tight End Greg Olsen, Line Backer Thomas Davis, and linebacker Luke Kuechly. Kuechly held his head high and praised the Panthers’ fantastic season. He talked about the great play of the defense in the Super Bowl. “It stings,” he said regarding the loss.
“We accomplished a lot of what we wanted to do this year. We won the division. We checked a couple of boxes, but we just weren’t able to get this last one checked off.”
There is no doubt that Cam Newton had a fantastic season leading his team to a NFC Title, and even the Super Bowl. What Cam has yet to learn is how to be a true leader and role model accepting defeat with as much grace as the enthusiastic joy he displays when he wins. This is when we can say he is not only a leader but a true role model for many young athletes who watch and admire him as a player.
My advice to Cam is this..“If you don’t win, lose with class.”
Comment: Twitter @C_Broadcaster, Email Chrisweather16@yahoo.com
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