Home is where the heart is, especially for Cam Newton. So just days before heading to the Carolina Panthers training sessions, Newton had only one place to go. He went home for dinner, with his mother and his family and his father too, Cecil, the guy who has been pushing Newton to be better since the NFL Pro Bowler was still in grade school.
“No matter how good I could do,” Newton explains in the last episode of Under Armour’s “Huddle Up” video series, “in my pop’s eyes I could always be better.”
Cecil was his deflator, the one guy who could break down the superstar, bring Cam back to reality. And with the franchise quarterback back home, it’s as if nothing has changed. Cecil is on him with the same childhood messages. Do better, be better, make the playoffs, lead the team, shut up the critics. Push. Push. Push.
Somewhere along the way, Cam Newton internalized those messages, because they’re all the same ones he’s teaching to his 7-on-7 All-Stars. At the end of the day, whether you win or lose, Newton says, you have to keep pushing. You have to keep playing, keep fighting. You have to challenge yourself against better players, and yeah, it might be uncomfortable at first but that’s how you grow. That’s how Cam has grown.
In the 7-on-7 national tournament, Newton’s team started strong but was eventually eliminated. For the coach, however, it was just another teaching moment.
“Growth is what success is all about,” Newton says. “You learn from it and you use that as fuel.”
Newton is doing the same thing in the NFL. He hears the pundits saying he’s not fully back from his injured ankle. He hears them questioning his leadership. He knows many people don’t expect the Panthers to make the playoffs again. But he expects the best from his football family, just as his father always expected the best from him.
Cam overcame adversity at Florida, fought for his love of the game at Blinn, and succeeded when others said he couldn’t at Auburn. He’s made it here only by expecting the best from himself. He doesn’t hope to win. He doesn’t hope to dominate. He doesn’t hope to make a difference. He doesn’t hope to be the NFL’s best player. He expects all that.
“I want so much from this game,” Newton says. “I’ve gotten Rookie of the Year. I’ve gotten Pro Bowls. What’s missing? Something’s missing. The Lombardi.
“The wrath of God is gonna have to stop me before I give up.”
Follow the series at UA.com/HuddleUp, and join the conversation on Twitter via #HUDDLEUP.
