Cam Newton is Bigger Than Football

Cam Newton is special. Coaches and fans alike have only ever dreamed of a quarterback with Newton’s size, arm, athleticism, and brass. The accolades Newton has accumulated at such an early juncture in his career are unbelievable, and he is now in position to lay another impact  on football. However, Newton’s impact stretches beyond the field. 

Major sports networks did us the justice of detailing Cam Newton’s collegiate career already, but it is worth reiterating that Newton had been fighting an uphill battle since his freshman year of college. At the University of Florida, Newton backed up star quarterback Tim Tebow. Being a highly recruited four-star player out of high school, the young athlete was given expectations of being the next Heisman winning quarterback at Florida. Those expectations came to a halt. Newton was criminally charged for stealing a laptop and was eventually dismissed from the team. He was on the cusp of stardom and so quickly reduced back to square one.

Without being able to play at Florida, Newton took his talents to Blinn Community College, where he absolutely dominated the competition. After serving his time in college football purgatory, Newton transferred to Auburn. Newton became Auburn football. He immediately took the nation by storm, elevating a mediocre team with almost zero NFL talent into a championship caliber team. He ducked and dodged defenders all over the field, throwing lasers to beat every level of the defense. Most importantly, however, he scored- a lot. The Auburn MVP was 6’5″, 250 pounds of inhuman force at the quarterback position.

A Heisman trophy and a National Championship victory were added to Auburn’s record books thanks to Cam Newton. Throughout that season the rejuvenated signal caller appeared as if he could not be stopped: and he never was. Well, not on the field. When Newton wasn’t suited up, he was dealing with allegations of having received money to attend Auburn. With cases like Reggie Bush and Terrelle Pryor still fresh in everyone’s mind, the football community went insane trying to make sense of the situation and find out the truth. As it turned out, Newton’s father was at fault, but of course, Newton still faced the brunt of the blame.

Allegations aside, Newton also faced an unfair draft process. Whether we like it or not, the media handles black quarterbacks differently than white quarterbacks. It’s awful and unfair, and Newton had to battle through it. Anonymous scouts and media personalities all over the nation constantly twisted his fun loving, competitive spirit for being a diva. A “diva” who had a fake smile and actually pouted all the time. A “diva” who could not possibly be a leader of men.

Even without concern for his “attitude problems,” many were worried that Newton would not be able to translate his college game to the NFL. He was seen as little more than an athlete by some. Many were worried that his affinity for running the ball and the simplicity of the offense he ran at Auburn would make his transition to the pro game too taxing and difficult. To some extent those concerns were fair, but doubt had certainly been cast over Newton’s overall abilities.

Cam Newton was drafted 1st overall come spring 2011. Despite all the noise, the Carolina Panthers pulled the trigger and invested in him as their franchise quarterback. Newton’s first year in the NFL was tough to make sense of. He played fairly well overall and certainly did not look like a bust, but a lot of his production came from him taking the game directly into his own hands. Many questioned if that style of play was sustainable. Each year since, the young quarterback has gotten better and better as a passer, further speeding up his mental process and grooming his ability to place throws accurately. The way Newton developed is every coach’s dream.

Still, each year, Newton faced the scrutiny of the media continually miscasting him as a diva. He was never credited as the passer that he truly was; he was always described as a runner before a passer. Newton was not getting the credit he deserved, but he shut out all the noise and kept working on his craft, waiting for his perfect time to strike. The 2015 season came along and Newton went for the kill.

Without a doubt, Cam Newton has earned the league MVP award for 2015. He diced up every defense he played with a rag-tag squad of receivers, nearly leading the Panthers to an undefeated record. However, mainstream football analysis is not limited from “snap to whistle”. After every first down, the phenom of a quarterback did his signature finger-point down the field with a huge smile on his face. With every score, Newton threw a quick dab and proceeded to hand the ball to a young fan in the crowd- putting a smile on both Newton’s and the child’s face. In frustration, Newton made it evident that he wasn’t going to settle down until he got the results he wanted, and was once caught swearing on a broadcast. Newton’s on-field attitude blended fiery competitiveness with genuine love for the game and the love for having fun. Newton wanted to win, but he wanted to do it with an infectious smile on his face.

More important to him than his own smile has been the smile of others. Newton is constantly talking to young fans before games and handing out game balls with every touchdown, making them feel like they are the same being as Cam Newton, even if just for a moment. The smiles left on these kids’s faces pull at your heart strings. The genuine, overwhelming sense of excitement when these kids get handed a football that Newton just scored with is a priceless scene. To them, it is like meeting Superman.

Sadly, many still miscast his fun, competitive spirit for him being an arrogant diva. His celebrations were said to be over the top and his ever-present smile was seen as disrespectful. Even his act of handing out footballs after touchdowns has been called a selfish stunt to boost his image. Can you fucking believe that? No matter what he did, Newton could not win over a sect of football fans, yet he could not care less. Newton went out every week and did his job, stringing together jaw-dropping plays to make his offense the most lethal scoring machine in the league. Once again, it seemed as if he could not be stopped.

As surreal as Newton’s play itself is, it’s much more satisfying to see when there is an understanding of what he’s battled. He’s had to make up for youthful mistakes, serve time in college football purgatory, trudge through a pay-to-play allegation that was his father’s fault, and deal with racist tones throughout his draft process and career. He’s overcome everything that has gotten in his way and truly become one of the most special, generational players that this era of football has to offer.

There will never be another Cam Newton. He’s won a Heisman, he’s won a National Championship, he was the No.1 overall pick in his draft class, he’s almost undoubtedly going to win the NFL MVP award in his fifth year in the league and he has a shot to bring the Carolina Panthers their first Lombardi trophy. He is the definition of a ‘create-a-player’ type quarterback and all of his accolades seem as if he is a fictional character. Newton seems bigger than the sport. Newton does not present himself to be such, but his talent and ability to execute no matter what people have said about him puts him on a different level from every other player in the NFL.

There will never be another Cam Newton. A player as unique, physically gifted, determined and genuinely joyous as he is will never appear again. He is a once-in-a-lifetime player. There is no need to debate over the little quirks in his game or whether or not he is a true pocket passer or anything of the sort. Cam is special in every sense of the word, both on field and off. He is to be embraced as he has embraced the sport and what it means to be a role model. There is nothing like Cam Newton and there never will be again.

Cherish him.