Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Super Bowl L: Final Thoughts









Okay, so another Super Bowl is over.

Now, we have had time to digest the game, and the ramifications for the future.

Among the major talking points was something that I briefly touched upon in yesterday's post reviewing the game, but perhaps it deserves more discussion.

If you have not guessed, I am talking about Cam Newton's now infamous response to numerous questions after losing the Super Bowl.

We all know that losing a game like the Super Bowl is tough, and clearly, these Carolina Panthers not only wanted to win, but expected it, too. Up to this point, Newton and the Panthers were all smiles, as they dominated their way through the regular season and the NFC playoffs.

But the Broncos defense did something to them that rocked their world, and Carolina simply could not adjust. It seemed that Newton was getting hit on every other play, that the Broncos were overwhelming that highly rated Panthers offensive line, and that the Panthers explosive offense just was never able to get into gear. 

Like most fans, I kept expecting them to snap out of it, to get hot. I was pulling for the Broncos, admittedly, but having seen how dangerous the Panthers offense could be in dismantling the Seahawks and the Cardinals (both teams have a reputation for being solid defensively), it seemed a matter of when, not if.

When Carolina scored that touchdown in the second quarter, and that guy was celebrating, it seemed like maybe they were just about ready to take over the game. 

Only, they weren't. Denver had slipped for one drive, but their entire approach this Sunday was to bend, but not break. They allowed Carolina to pick up some big chinks of yards and make some great passes and catches and runs here and there, but the Panthers never seemed able to put it all together enough to get into their regular groove, offensively. 

If you need proof of that, look at the points production that the Panthers had at the end of the game. 10 points. That was it. It was easily the least amount of points that they scored all season. 

Carolina had only lost one game all season, and that was to Atlanta, on the second to final week of the regular season. Atlanta barely won that one, and frankly, it seemed almost like a release of pressure, of sorts. My own impression was that they essentially were allowing the Falcons to win, and keeping the 2007 Patriots in the back of their mind. Going perfect in the regular season might have been simply too much for them. Absolutely nobody thought that they had lost to the better team after that one, because everyone knew the Panthers were way, way better.

After this surprise loss, however, you begin to scratch your head and wonder. After all, Carolina did not just lose, but they got dominated. 

Think about it: if someone told you before the game that the Broncos offense would produce a grand total of less than 200 yards, and would score only one touchdown, would you have believed that they would win?

Of course not. The Panthers offense would surely bury them underneath their usual avalanche of points.

Only, they did not. In fact, the Denver defense effectively outscored the Panthers offense, scoring a touchdown outright, and setting up Denver's subpar offense with excellent field position with several key turnovers. 

This game really was about Carolina's offense versus Denver's defense, and there is no doubt who won that battle. When we think about this particular Super Bowl Sunday, we will think of two excellent defenses frustrating the opposing offenses. The only thing is that the Broncos offense was used to needing to grind it out, while the Panthers were not.

And so, Cam Newton was justifiably frustrated at the end of the game. His facial expressions and body language throughout the game betrayed that frustration, and that alone told the story of how effectively the Broncos were imposing their will on the Panthers. 

Thinking about the game and how it went down, it was not at all surprising that Denver managed to win, but it clearly came as an unpleasant surprise for the Panthers, and particularly Cam, which helps to explain his reaction at the podium after the game. 

He barely spoke, sounded confrontation. Frankly, like he was whining. One of the articles that I referenced in yesterday's post suggested that criticizing him for this almost amounted to racism, but I disagree. There are ways that you handle things, and ways that you do not. I understand that he's young, that he's 26 years old. 

But at 26, as the face of your football team, you still need to be able to handle yourself better than he did after the game. Refusing to answer questions, when you know that this is part of your business, part of what you do, is unacceptable. He showed a lack of class, character, and maturity, to the point that you almost wonder how it is he managed to get the team that far to begin with. 

Did he think he would simply blow everyone away each and every time, and that opponents would simply step out of his way as he reached for his first Super Bowl ring? 

It was surprising and, frankly, disappointing. I am not a Panthers fan, although you cannot help but admire his physical gifts. That said, I was also beginning to admire his handling of his football team throughout this season.

No longer. All of that was lost when you see how poorly he handled things when he needed to handle himself much, much better. Frankly, he seemed like a pouting child who's parents just refused to buy him a toy that he really, really wanted.

Of course I understand that he was bitterly disappointed. So is the losing quarterback of every Super Bowl. So is every member of the losing team, for that matter. not just in the Super Bowl, but in the NBA Finals, in the World Series, in the Stanley Cup Finals. 

But I do not recall anyone handling himself quite that badly.

At some point, you have to face the questions, because that, much like passing and running, is part of the job that is expected of him. Yes, he gets paid millions of dollars to use his arms and legs on the field to help his team to victory, and that has worked out very well to this point, at least (even taking this loss into consideration). But he also gets paid - and very handsomely, at that -  to deal with situations like this when they happen. Like so many other prominent sports figures, he has to go out there and face the media if and when tough losses come. And yes, this was a very tough loss for the Panthers, and particularly for Newton. I think he did not help himself, or enhance his first and, so far, only Super Bowl experience by acting like a child in the postgame news conference. 

After the interview, Newton promised that the Panthers would be back. Indeed, right now, it's hard to imagine that they would not be in the relatively near future. 

However, even then, Newton seemed defiant, unwilling to take off that Superman persona, which I think made this loss for him all the more difficult. The fact of the matter is that no one playing on the field or coaching on the sidelines yesterday is ever guaranteed of making it to the big game again. Some great names never made it even once. Legendary names, like Dan Fouts, Warren Moon, Barry Sanders, Philip Rivers (so far, anyway), Randall Cunningham, Eric Dickerson, Derrick Thomas, and Earl Campbell, among numerous others. Still more only made it once and never got another opportunity, including Dan Marino, Walter Payton (who won with the Bears, but had a bad game), Ken Anderson, Boomer Esiason, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, and Donovan McNabb, to name just a few. That is not even mentioning how many great players in other sports either never made it to the championships in their sport, or made it only once and had a forgettable performance. 

And that is to say nothing of the greats who made it to the championships several times, but never won. Think of the Buffalo Bills in the 1990's, or the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970's or even, more recently. the 49ers from 2011 through to 2013. Think of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1990's into the 2000's, or the Utah Jazz in the 1990's. All of those great players, and they came so close many times, but never quite got over the hump. 

None of them left quite the negative impression that Newton did this time around, although they were obviously very disappointed. By and large, they handled themselves with a measure of class and dignity that Newton simply failed to muster, which painted a more negative picture of the man than anything that he did or did not do on the field of play on Sunday. 

However, disappointing this loss for Newton, he should be more appreciative to have reached this far than he seemed to be there at the end. I know some people seem to think that they would rather not go at all, then to go and lose. But the mere experience of overcoming all of those obstacles and then being in the spotlight has to be amazing, and something to remember. Newton got a taste of that, and clearly wants to experience it again. He will be a man on a mission, I am guessing. But if he does get back, let us hope that this time, he handles himself in a better, more professional, and more mature manner than he did this time around. 


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