Cam Newton Deserves Your Respect

Before I get started, thanks to Enigma for reminding me I've got this platform to post my thoughts.


We are just over a week away from Super Bowl 50 between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers. The game features Peyton Manning, one of the game's old guard at QB who approaches strictly from an X's and O's standpoint and excels at a high level. Also featured is Cam Newton, one of the game's young, most explosive and charismatic athletes at QB.

Manning is my favorite QB ever, hands down. Say what you will about him being a regular season QB or pick on his playoff woes. In my opinion, Manning is the most intelligent player to ever step on a football field. If the Broncos win the Super Bowl, I will be happy for Peyton Manning above all, because this is a man, HGH accusations or not (come on, the guy has no neck left to lug that massive dome we call a head), who is the epitome of an icon.

However, I am pulling for Cam Newton and the Panthers. Cam Newton is not a POS douchebag. He's not a thug. He has fun. He shows that you can have fun playing the GAME of football. Is he arrogant? Absolutely. But you show me one NFL player who isn't arrogant, especially at QB, and I'll show you a career loser.

Furthermore, I'm disgusted by everyone telling me that Cam is arrogant and cocky and thinks he's a star, and praising Aaron Rodgers in the same breath. They're identical in their "outlandish" actions and celebrations. Does nobody remember the Discount Double Check? You know, motioning for the title like wrestlers and boxers do before they win it to show they have their sights set on the prize? And Aaron Rodgers cracks that "I'm better than everyone and I know it" smile all the time. And I don't hate Aaron Rodgers for it. He's my second favorite QB in the league, and I think he's the best one at it right now. My problem isn't with either QB. It's with the people who use Aaron Rodgers to justify their hate of Cam Newton.

Smile. Dance. Show off how talented you are. Do people REALLY want the NFL to be so level a playing field that every drive is literally a stalemate and we end every game in a 0-0 tie!? No. This is a competitive sport where the best and smartest athletes shine and make others look bad because they're just that good. Cam is one of those players. "Be humble" they tell him. No, Cam, don't be humble. Be exactly who you are. This world is passive enough, and nobody has tough enough skin to deal with anything. ONE TEAM will hoist the Lombardi trophy. The losers of the Super Bowl don't get to share in that honor. Yes, LOSERS.

If the Broncos win, I'm happy. If the Panthers win, I'm happy. But I'm pulling for Newton because he embodies what SPORT should be. He doesn't fight on the field (except with his own teammates in training camp). He doesn't spit on opponents. He doesn't do anything like Odell Beckham did by running 15 yards back on himself to target the head of a defenseless player. He doesn't do drugs and party all week like Johnny Manziel. He doesn't get 19 year old girls drunk at a bar and take them into a bathroom and force them to have sex with him while his offensive line stands outside the bathroom door making sure nobody walks in like Roethlisberger did. He's a class act who likes to smile, dance, and show off his God-given ability to play the game of football better than almost everyone else.

It's one thing to dislike a football player because he plays in your division and beats you twice a year to keep you out of the playoffs. It's another thing entirely to HATE a man because, well, he's not the white QB who does all those same things.

Image courtesy of the NFL, NFL.com, NFL Network, Carolina Panthers, and Dallas Cowboys