A Little Dab’ll Do Ya…If You Lighten Up
Earlier today, our Editor-in-Chief, Tony Lombardi, opined in his Word on the Street that he has no love for Cam Newton. TL railed against Cam’s first-down celebrations, “Dab” dance, and Super Man imitation.
First, let’s get one thing out of the way right off the bat – that right there is an AWESOME celebration. Simple, to-the-point, and very effective in calling to mind The Man of Steel. Even before my overall stance on Mr. Newton softened – I too, once felt as Tony does – I was a fan of this particular display of emotion.
The Superman: bad ass.
Granted, I do agree that one dance per touchdown is probably enough. Three per score – as Cam does these days – is indeed a bit excessive.
However, watching Newton’s choreographed celebrations doesn’t inspire in me a dislike of the man or the player. Rather, I find myself annoyed at the network for showing the dances instead of a replay of whatever awesome football thing Cam very likely just did.
Yes. That! Show me that again, please, networks.
So what are we talking about here? Dances. We don’t like the man because he celebrates? Really? I, for one, hate the No Fun League’s rules against team celebrations, celebrations with props, “excessive” celebrating, and all that nonsense. I miss the days of Terrell Owens pulling out a sharpie, Joe Horn revealing a hidden cell phone in the goalpost padding, and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson using the pylon as a putter and the football as a golf ball.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/3VKCS9y7r_I[/youtube]
All those guys I just mentioned were wide receivers, widely considered the “divas” of the NFL, though. So are we now clutching our pearls and shaking our heads disapprovingly only because it’s a quarterback we now see celebrating?
Well, I know some other quarterbacks who have been known to get a bit animated…
And not only when celebrating touchdowns (Tony said that “Cam celebrates first downs.”)…
(Yes, that last one is Chad Pennington. Random, I know. When the Ravens played the Dolphins twice back in 2008, when Pennington was leading them, I got very annoyed by Chad’s little air-stab every time he would get a first down with his feet. Remember that, Ravens fans? Ugh. Dork.)
Point being, quarterbacks celebrate too. And I don’t get mad about it, not unless it’s my team who can’t seem to stop said quarterback from doing celebration-worthy things. As an impartial observer, it’s all fun to me.
Do I appreciate the workmanlike, non-celebratory manner of guys like those Tony named in his piece – players like Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, and Jamal Lewis, who simply handed the ball back to the official after scoring? Of course I do. To my mind, there is a place for both types of player in sports. Though I can certainly understand the school of thought that sees such antics that we get from Newton and his ilk as disrespectful or self-congratulatory, I, for one, would find a league where every player kept their emotions completely bottled up quite boring. At that point, we might as well just throw robots out there to play the games (robots who have NOT been programmed to Dab, of course.)
TL suggests that maybe it’s a generational thing. While he’s a bit older than I am, I’m no spring chicken either. I had to Google “dab,” I wouldn’t recognize any of the current songs on the Billboard Top 10 (is that even still a thing?), and I’ve been known to shoo a teenager or two off my lawn. That also means, though, that I’m old enough to remember Ickey Woods’ “Icky Shuffle,” Deion Sanders high-stepping down the sideline, and other contemporaries of the aforementioned stoic players being outlandish and exuberant as well.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9oVth5rJbg[/youtube]
In short, I don’t think you have to be too young to rent a car to enjoy Cam.
Finally, Tony questions the sincerity of Cam’s habit of handing the ball to children in the stands after a score. Skepticism of Cam’s motives in these instances comes from media reports of his crimes (stealing laptops), ill-advised behavior (sulking on the bench during losses), and general off-putting personality (being a jerk to other players at the Pro Bowl in 2012).
I can’t argue with anyone who wants to hold such transgressions against Newton. He has a lot to atone for, and it may never be enough in the eyes of some.
But I did some things when I was in college and in my early (and mid…and late) 20’s that I’m not very proud of. Things that perhaps I was lucky to not get caught doing, and things that even if I did get caught doing, certainly wouldn’t be national news because I’m just some average schlub and not a finely-tuned athletic machine.
I certainly realize that there probably isn’t anything I could do that could make a kid as ecstatic in the moment as being handed a football by one of the greatest athletes on the planet. Still, I’d like to think that my sincerity – when I say, hug my niece or go watch my nephew play basketball – wouldn’t be in question because of something stupid I did a decade ago.
Isn’t it also possible that Newton truly became a changed man following his horrific car accident in December of 2014?
“I just can’t stop smiling because God has his hands on me,” Newton said at the time. “I’m on somebody’s fantasy league (team). And I think it’s the man upstairs. It’s great to walk away from something like that.”
Maybe Tony is right – maybe handing balls to the kids is a cold & calculated PR move on the part of Newton and his handlers and nothing more. Maybe his dancing and taunting isn’t all in good fun, but is really spiteful and childish and done with the aim of disrespecting his opponents.
I don’t claim to know the heart of the man, but I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully, I won’t end up looking the fool for thinking he’s a good dude.
I enjoy watching him play, and I’ll enjoy watching him play Sunday in the Super Bowl.
I’m rooting for the Broncos on Sunday. If they pull off the upset, I’ll be happy to see Peyton Manning go out on top.
If the Panthers win though, I won’t mind at all.
