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The 50th anniversary of “The Big Game” will be
played in the next few days. This season, in the eyes of many, the most
unlikely of teams will be representing the National Football Conference in the
biggest game of the season: the Carolina Panthers. Their offensive and
defensive lines gave practically every team they faced over their nearly
perfect season trouble, but the biggest story coming out of Carolina if of
their leader, quarterback Cam Newton.
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| Source: USA Today FTW |
Many people, especially sports analysts, doubted that the
Heisman Winner and National Champion would not be able to translate his success
into the National Football League (NFL) for various reasons. Any and all doubt
that they had has been put to shreds as Cam and the Panthers are now one win
away from their very first football World Championship on the grandest stage in
a few days.
Along the way, while Cam has gained quite the fanbase due to
his excitement and dabbing (how that’s a dance, I’ll never know. LOL), it’s
that same excitement that has made him hated by many people as well. He has yet
to flat out target anyone in particular when he does his celebrations after a
touchdown, but there’s a good deal of people that seem to not like that a lot. In
fact, the hate picked up quite a bit when a Tennessee Titans fan wrote a letter
to the Charlotte Observer, which you can read for yourself here: (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/article45163665.html).
I’m sorry, I’m a Titans fan (don’t judge me), but that is nothing short of
petty on her part. There was nothing provocative about his dancing whatsoever.
He’s a good player that is having fun in the fan-described “No Fun League”.
Apparently, an Observer reader had a pretty good response to
the Titans fan: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/article45222729.html.
I mean, seriously, what harm has he done…except for harming the pride and egos
of other teams that have tried to beat Carolina this season but failed (except
for the Atlanta Falcons, whose one real bright spot this season was that they
spoiled a perfect season for the Panthers). The more this season has progressed,
the more polarizing Cam became. According to Cam himself in a press conference
earlier this week, he said that there are those that are afraid of him because
there’s no one else to compare him to (and oh yeah, there’s that whole “race”
thing which I won’t get into here. THAT’S for another time) To a point…the
man’s right. Currently and in the past,
there’s no one in the NFL that he can be compared to, but there IS someone in
the sports and entertainment world that is almost the splitting image (personality-wise)
that Cam CAN compare himself to…
AND HIS NAME IS…
Yes, THAT guy. The one with all those memes. (Cue Music)
Yes, I’m talking about the one and only John Cena from World
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
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| Source: WWE |
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know
that John Cena for the better part of a decade and a half has been THE face of
the sports-entertainment/pro wrestling company. Heck, he’s called himself “The
Face the Runs the Place”, and you would be hard-pressed to find anyone that
would say otherwise. Most people can tell you who John Cena is and they DON’T
have to be WWE fans at all. Now what kind of person Cena is will depend on who
you ask. For kids and young adults, he’s a guy who fights for what he believes
in and never gives up. For most women, he’s a walking, talking Adonis. For most
older males and Attitude Era fans (collectively known as the Internet Wrestling
Community or IWC for short), he’s wrestling’s form of cancer who holds back
their favorite independent wrestlers and Internet favorites from getting a fair
shake in WWE. The dude is polarizing regardless of how one feels about him. No
matter what, he’s going to get a reaction, mainly it’s mixed. But it’s never
quiet. Fans are cheering like crazy or booing their heads off, depending on how
they feel about Cena.
That is what Cam Newton has become in a sense. He has become
the NFL’s John Cena. No matter what Cam does now, he gets a reaction, whether
people want to see him succeed or fail. There’s no grey area with either guy. Both
men are taking their professions by storm by doing it their way and not “by the
book”, and you can’t help but be drawn to that either in a positive or a
negative manner. Both of them have even been compared to arguably the top
superhero of all time…Superman, due to their physical attributes for their professions. And as far as charity goes, you could not ask for better people to help others out in need, especially when it comes to children.
In the case of Newton, this just might be the best thing that could have happened to the NFL in years. Forget making a villain out of Cam. Let the fans choose for themselves how they want to perceive the Carolina Panthers quarterback. At the young age of 26, we are potentially looking at the new face of the NFL should he be able to defeat the leader of the old guard, “The Sherriff” and beloved automatic (forget first-ballot) Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on football’s biggest stage. Other teams will do everything they can to dethrone Carolina next year and in the seasons to come as they could potentially remain a top team for years to come if nothing changes drastically in the Panthers organization. The NFL will become better because they will have a new breed of measuring stick to surpass. One that will be loved and hated at the same time. One that no matter how much you try, you can’t take your eyes off of him.
In the case of Newton, this just might be the best thing that could have happened to the NFL in years. Forget making a villain out of Cam. Let the fans choose for themselves how they want to perceive the Carolina Panthers quarterback. At the young age of 26, we are potentially looking at the new face of the NFL should he be able to defeat the leader of the old guard, “The Sherriff” and beloved automatic (forget first-ballot) Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on football’s biggest stage. Other teams will do everything they can to dethrone Carolina next year and in the seasons to come as they could potentially remain a top team for years to come if nothing changes drastically in the Panthers organization. The NFL will become better because they will have a new breed of measuring stick to surpass. One that will be loved and hated at the same time. One that no matter how much you try, you can’t take your eyes off of him.
AND HIS NAME IS CAM NEWTON!!!! (cue music)
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| Cam Newton is to the NFL as John Cena is to the WWE. Get used to it. This season is only the beginning Source: ESPN.com |
