Well stated.
I see some of the sport talking heads are giving Newton a pass on his immature behavior, saying that it will soon be forgotten.
What will NOT be forgotten is his jumping away from his own fumble like a startled rabbit. That is unprecedented (as far as I know) in the NFL. It will forever be a Super Bowl highlight and an albatross around Cam’s neck. I think that may be the main reason for his post-game sulking...it runs counter to his pre-game (and season long) “I’m-a-black-superman-whom-white-people-fear” bravado.
The thing about it is, we as the fans weren’t the only ones who saw that.
His own teammates saw it.
The opposing team saw it and fed on it.
The rest of the NFL players watching saw it too.
Once you know you can get inside another player’s head, as an athlete, that gives you a huge advantage. In competition, players will try any way they can, like someone with a ring of keys trying to fit one in the lock, to find the one that sets a player off.
On the fumble, I give him a small measure of “benefit of the doubt” in that I wonder if he was trying simply to figure out where the ball was going to bounce. But that margin is small indeed. To the majority of people viewing it, he looked reluctant to put himself at risk in a critical moment.
My feeling on that is, if it is game 9 of the regular season, your record is 7-2, perhaps you don’t dive into the pile.
If it is the Super Bowl, you may never, ever come back again in your entire life. You jump for that ball as if it were a life line saving you from a sinking ship.
I admit I dislike Cam Newton as a player. I haven’t liked him from day one, and I detest his hot-dogging. I don’t have a problem with a player getting emotional and spiking a ball or yelling, or even doing a little celebration. Coming from him, it always seemed to be all about him, not the score. Doesn’t mean someone can’t change.
I disliked Richard Sherman, thought he was an obnoxious loudmouth blowhard. Give me a guy like Charles Woodson or even Ed Reed, who never came across that way to me. But when he approached Brady at the end of the game last year and extended his hand, that told me a lot about him that never came across in his trash talk.
Cam Newton may change, and my opinion of him may change as well. But the spoiled brat I saw last night is going to have to show some changes before I respect him.