I have a long-lived love/hate relationship with Cam Newton. Well, to be completely honest, it's mainly hate, so let me talk about that first.
It all started with Cam at Florida as an undergrad, stealing a student's laptop. Cam wrote "CAM" in chalk on the back of the laptop, then when the police came knocking in search of stolen property, Cam tossed it out of his dorm window. Process that story for a moment. There's a little humor and not a lot of IQ in it. Anyway, I found the whole tale pretty amusing, and I certainly didn't hate or love Cam for it.
Coach Meyer at Florida had a dude named Tebow in the quarterbacks' room, thus Cam decided to transfer. Here's where my hatred was ignited, although I didn't know it at the time. Auburn, not the cops, came a-knockin' for Cam. Wait, let me back up. According to those paragons of virtue, the NCAA, Auburn came a'knockin' to Cam's dad. Unbeknownst to Cam, so the myth unfolds, Auburn alumni stuffed various envelopes with somewhere between 200K and 400K to secure Cam's services. I don't know the exact amount. You might want to check with Charles Barkley; I'm pretty sure Sir Charles can pin it down a bit.
So Cam's dad packed up the truck and moved Cam to Lee. County that is. Swimmin' pools; undergrads. Well, the first thing you know, Cam is Auburn's starting quarterback and the biggest pain in Alabama's ass this century. He helmed a damned near unstoppable offense. Auburn was running plays my dad ran coaching fifth grade football with a stud quarterback. And nobody could stop the Tigers. Every QB off tackle play garnered five yards, it seemed.
This is where my hate revved up, but not directly because of Cam. You see, I had uncovered a truly awesome sleeper team that year, a team I thought could and would go unbeaten and win a national championship. I thought the team I liked was maybe the best college football team I had seen in a decade. Their team speed on defense was unbelievable. And I could get them at 100-1. So I took them. That team was TCU.
Andy Dalton was the TCU quarterback, and he was not nearly their best player. The Frogs opened with a 30-21 win versus #24 Oregon State, then went on a 384-64, 9-0 rampage before beating San Diego State 40-35. Then they wrapped things up with a 66-17 win at New Mexico.
I waited for TCU's invite to the title game. It never came. Auburn had won by three at Miss State, by three in overtime versus Clemson, by three at Kentucky, and by one at Alabama. The NCAA and its lapdogs chose Auburn and Oregon for its single-game championship. My 100-1 undefeated and beloved Horned Frogs were frozen out through no fault of their own.
It was then that I realized I needed to hate Cam Newton. Or at least hate Cam's dad. Or something. I missed a huge payday because Cam's dad got a huge payday. The butterfly effect had stung me in the ass.
Covid Cut
Well, it's a decade later, and the New England Patriots cut Cam Newton today. Most people were surprised. I really was not. The way Belichick played Mac Jones so many snaps the last pre-season game, I figured some PR stat-padding was in the works, and that implied certain things.
Theories abound regarding Cam's cut, but most center on Cam evidently being unvaccinated. He had traveled for a medical appointment last week, and some kind of Covid rules required him to miss practice for three days. Since Belichick stated that Cam hadn't broken any team rules, I'm baffled as to what occurred, and no clear cut explanation has emerged.
Media Reaction
What interests me is the language being used in discussions of why Cam was cut. Many blurb articles say Cam's "stance" on vaccinations was partly to blame. Publicly, Cam hadn't said a thing. He said his decision was private. That's all he said. So how is that a "stance?" Not saying anything is sort of the opposite of a "stance."
Did any of today's Cam articles feature questions regarding Cam's medical history? What about questions addressing Newton family heart issues or auto-immune disorders? Nope, I did not read one bit of speculation. No reporter broached the subject. Did anyone ask Cam if perhaps a family member or anyone he knew had a bad vaccine reaction? Doesn't appear those questions are part of the conversation either.
Look, I'm not defending Cam Newton for being unvaccinated per se. I am castigating media for not asking pertinent questions. As someone who has heart issues, who has a brutal auto-immune family history, and who could have died the last time I took a drug with a "rare" side effect, I can appreciate vaccine trepidation. Media members need to ask the proper questions, or at least frame them for discussion if Cam keep things completely private.
Cam's Future
Well, this is almost ridiculously hand-in-glove, but the perfect fit for Cam is the Dallas Cowboys. If Prescott gets hurt again, Cam fits the stylistic bill for the Cowboy offense. And they may be the least hard-core vaccinators in the most anti-vaccination state in the league.
That about covers everything...except I did say love/hate. So what do I love about Cam Newton? Well, keep it to yourselves, but I love his wardrobe. I'm not sure it's cool for a 64-year-old guy to love Cam's wardrobe, but I do. I bought a fine looking linen Cam Newton suit at Belk. I put on a few pounds during the pandemic, so I've kind of grown out of it, but it was my favorite suit. And I love the hats Cam wears to pressers.
So Cam, if you're reading this, I've bulked up to a 44 long. And bronze and maroon are my favorite hat colors. I'm not too shy to ask. The way I figure it, you or your dad owe me something.
Bob Dietz
August 31, 2021
