Image via Complex Original
Both the remarkable circumstances that preceded Cam Newton's rise to fame and his childlike persona have made him one of the more polarizing athletes to enter the NFL over the last few years. Most people feel like he'll be a solid player for the Panthers in the years to come, but when asked about what type of person they think he is, the answers vary.
We all know the ridiculous ability and will to win, but he's had his fair share of jackass moments since becoming a player of note. Cam had the slip up at Florida, the celebration when he was getting trounced, and has been attacked for the consistent sulking on sidelines when losing. In that same breath though, he's given us the incredible Madden rant, dismantled every hater in his rookie campaign, and even had LeBron and D-Wade doing his pose. Is he a Jackass, or is he a Badass? Peep his resume and judge for yourself.
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Jackass: The Stolen Laptop Incident in Florida
When: 11/21/2008
Some of you may not even know this, but Cam originally went to Florida and was set to take over for none other than the Manhattan Messiah, Tim Tebow. Newton played five games his freshman year as the backup QB and his sophomore season was cut short due to an ankle injury that forced him to take a medical red shirt year.
During that off year however, Cam made one of the biggest bonehead decisions a college athlete has made in recent memory when he reportedly bought a laptop from the back of a guy's car for $500. The laptop was stolen from another Florida student and police tracked it back to Cam who threw it out his dormroom window when found by 5-0 as a means to hide it. He was arrested shortly thereafter and left Florida to play Juco ball at Blinn College in Brenham, TX before transferring to Auburn.
Let's just say buying anything out of the back of some guy's car is probably a bad idea. With the money these College football players get thrown nowadays he couldn't get the Gator nation to hook him up with a laptop? C'mon, son!
Badass: 2010 College Football Domination
When: 2010
We don't know if there's anyway to possibly have a better year in college football than the year Cam had in 2010 with Auburn. In his first and only season there he threw for 2,854 yards (30 TDs to 7 INTs), and rushed for 1,473 yards and 20 TDs nabbing the Heisman for himself and leading his team to a perfect 14-0 including the National Championship. Considering he did it all amidst some drama we'll get into later we just have to say that's dominance at its finest and Ace Boogie put the NFL on Cam watch for the months that followed.
Jackass: Eligibility Controversy
When: Fall 2010
OK, we get it, a lot of college football stars get paid for their services before they're allowed to, but this right here is still going down as a jackass moment. While Cam was killing it on the field for the Tigers, there was drama surrounding his dad and former NFL player, Cecil Newton, when reports surfaced that he had asked for money on Cam's behalf in exchange for Cam playing football for said school.
Newton was ruled ineligible by the NCAA four days before the National Championship game after they learned Cecil solicited $120,00-$180,000 from Mississippi State, another school that was vying for Cam's services. A day later he was ruled eligible when it was determined that Cam and Auburn didn't know about said soliciting. Jay said it best.
Jackass: Calls Himself an "Entertainer and Icon"
When: 2/22/2011
Going into the NFL Draft one would think the reigning National Champion and Heisman winner would have had the best and brightest around him to prevent cases of logorrhea. You'd be wrong though. In an interview with Peter King of SI, Newton apparently just wanted to let the world know that he's more than just a good football player, he see's himself as "an entertainer and icon." Needless to say it rubbed a bunch of people the wrong way and probably played a role in him being bashed so much before the Draft. Eh, we all know what happened next.
Badass: Historic Rookie Season
When: 2011
Now some people thought he'd be good, some people thought he'd struggle, some people thought he'd be mediocre. Cam however thought he'd be fucking amazing, and backed up that sentiment when he balled out of this world during his rookie campaign. He threw for 422 yards in his debut then followed that up with 432 in his second game while netting three passing touchdowns and two rushing TDs in a record breaking two-week rookie performance.
He showed everyone that he wasn't just going to run all over you, but he could also make all the NFL throws he needed to and even revive the career of an aging Steve Smith. He broke rookie records for passing yards in a season and individual game, and the records for rushing yards and TDs in a season for any QB. We could watch this highlight package all day.
Badass: Gets Taunted By NBA Ballers
When: 2011
You know you're really big when people who have far better things to do are banging with you. After Cam's NFL coming out party and patented Superman celebration hit it big, none other than NBAers D-Wade, LeBron, and Brandon Jennings gave Cam a little taste of his own medicine when they hit late shots against the Charlotte Bobcats with Ace Boogie in the building. Gotta love some interleague taunting, but then again it was the Bobcats. #justsayin'
Jackass: Sulking on the Sideline
When: 2011-Present
Losing is one thing most high draft picks have to deal with when they get to their prospective leagues. Cam found that out really fast during his rookie campaign when after he was putting up incredible numbers for a rookie, his team was still consistently catching Ls (Carolina went 6-10 in 2011).
During losses cameras have often caught Newton with a towel over his head sulking on the sidelines. If he's ever going to be the leader that a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning is, he's gonna have to learn how to inspire his team and maintain his good-natured winning attitude that can be echoed through his teammates. Sitting on the sidelines pouting not only hurts the squad, but it makes you look like a bitch to the world for being such a bad loser. There's nothing wrong with liking winning, but he'll have some more Steve Smith tongue lashing's if he doesn't learn how to deal with bad games better.
Badass: Madden Rant
When: 4/20/2012
The past two years Madden has put the power into the hands of the fans for its cover selection and coinciding Madden Curse. This year, the final selection was between Cam Newton and Calvin Johnson with Megatron being the eventual victor and cover boy for Madden 13. Cam didn't go down without a fight though, before the votes were put in he gave this glorious web gem to the world challenging any and everyone to a game of Madden. According to Newton, Madden was his life outside of playing football and he'd play and beat anybody on any system—PS3, Xbox 360, GameCube, Atari, and even Sega. Thank you Mr. Swag Man, thank you.
Jackass: Celebrating When Down 23-7
When: 9/20/2012
If there is one golden rule to celebrating it is unequivocally, "don't celebrate when you're getting beat down!" Somehow, Ace Boogie didn't get the memo and decided he'd give his Superman Pose following his Panthers lone TD to that point on the losing end of a 23-7 game in the third quarter against the Giants. Now Cam, we know we told you not to be a sore loser but this is unacceptable, you're not allowed to get that hype when you're getting your ass beat by the Super Bowl champs. By the end of the game Newton was back to sulking on the sideline as usual, but this moment stuck out to most who watched. The Charlotte Observer seemed to hark back on the odd celebration when they released this cartoon depicting a hello kitty symbol underneath Cam's jersey for his superman attire. Shots have been fired and have connected, you're taking the L on this one son.
Badass: His Reinventions of "The Superman" Celebration
When: 2011-Present
In order to remain relevant stars have to constantly evolve and reinvent the elements that made fans love them in the first place. It's one thing to have your own patented celebration that everybody loves, but it is another thing altogether to add elements of other classic dances or celebrations to it that make it oh so much better. In a close game with the Falcons Cam unleashed the A-town stomp in conjunction with the Superman, and in the past linked his pose with Deion's classic Primetime. He's easily the best QB celebrator of all time (somewhere Daunte Culpepper and Donovan McNabb are throwing things at their computer screens).
Final Verdict: Badass
How can a guy who gives us marquee highlights and celebrations, along with the ability to completely revolutionize the most important position in football, be anything other than badasss? Cam Newton is arguably the LeBron James of his generation for football, he's the guy everybody is picking to be the best once he hits his prime, and exudes more of the "it" factor than anybody we've seen in recent years.
He can be badass without even trying and has clearly has the passion for winning that's needed to succeed in the NFL. It's hard to hate on the kid but some people still manage to, we're just excited to see just how good Cam will be in the years to come.