By now, most people are well aware that after Cam Newton scored a touchdown late in his Carolina Panthers’ win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, he did an elaborate touchdown dance that incorporated dabbing, which is a kind of dancing. It pissed off his opponents and at least one mom, all of whom were rooting against Cam before he danced, anyway.
Besides those who harbor fandom-related or otherwise irrational hatred for Newton knows this is no big deal, so of course his coach, Ron Rivera, could barely be bothered to care when asked about the dance and the reaction it prompted. He understandably wants to shift the conversation to the cooler part of Cam’s celebration — the giving of the football.
“I think if it was anything, it might’ve been too long,” Rivera told NFL Media’s Lindsay Rhodes. “I understand the celebration. Probably one of the things that he does during the celebration — I think that’s probably one of the neat things — is he takes the ball and he gives it to a worthy fan. I think that’s one of the things that we’re trying to make sure gets focused in on a little bit more and that is the opportunity to go up there and give the ball to one of our young fans that have come out and watched us play.”
Rivera’s right on the money here. The dance may have only gained notoriety because it was a beat too long, but other than that, it was barely even notable. Cam’s honest connection to his young fans deserves a lot more attention than just a little dancing.
(Via NFL.com)
