Cam Newton is not the first Super Bowl bad loser, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are too
Thursday 11 February 2016 12:58, UK
Cam Newton has come in for plenty of criticism for his behaviour following defeat in Super Bowl 50, but Alex Ferguson says he's not the first.
I remember being at Super XLII when David Tyree caught the 'Helmet Catch' that kept the New York Giants in the game against the New York Patriots and led to Plaxico Burress' game-leading touchdown. No cheering in the press box? It wasn't cheering so much as a cry of shock to heaven and earth. I still can't believe it.
I also remember Tom Brady getting sacked at the end by Jay Alford and a dismal Hail Mary attempt which ended the Pats' Super Bowl chances and dream of completing an unbeaten season.
After the game I went down to the madness known as the post-match press conferences, and Brady was standing there.
He was asked what throws he'd like to have back after a 299-yard, one touchdown performance - where he was sacked five times too, and he said: "Pretty much all of 'em". He added: "We're usually on the better side of those three-point wins", referring to the 17-14 score.
Those comments could also be described as sour grapes. After all, Cam Newton's grumpiness at his postgame press conference led to him being called a cry baby over a lack of joy for Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos following Sunday's match.
Brady wasn't exactly effervescent when he was fielding a barrage of questions on the podium, either.
Could it be that it's probably difficult to be pleased for your opposition when the opportunity of a lifetime (in both quarterbacks' case) has been plucked away…..and you haven't had a particularly good game?
The media - both social and journalists themselves - have made too much of it. There are some people who have said that the reason why the media have been critical of Newton's postgame walk-off is that it's the kryptonite the sharks have been looking for. They don't like 'Superman' "doing his thing" - by which we mean be a decent person, look like he's actually enjoying playing in the NFL, and giving footballs to kids, all while leading the Carolina Panthers to a 17-1 record (going into Super Bowl 50).
And Newton - like Brady (although he never said it at the time) - didn't apologise for being a bit grumpy after the loss.
"Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser," he said, adding: "I don't have to conform to what everybody wants. I am my own person."
But there may be something more sinister going on than people just annoyed about a postgame press conference.
Shaun King of the New York Daily News noted Manning's Super Bowl XLIV loss to the Saints in 2010: "With time still remaining on the clock, Peyton did something that Cam Newton would have been absolutely skewered for - he left the field. He didn't congratulate the opposing quarterback Drew Brees, as is customary. He didn't shake any hands. He didn't try to smile. He just bailed."
In 2010 there was controversy after Manning walked away. A US sports reporter said: "Walking off the field without congratulating Drew Brees may go against our misguided notion of what sportsmanship should be, but it wasn't at all disrespectful or bitter. It shows how much Peyton Manning wanted to win the game. And who can argue about that?"
I can't argue with it. After all, what did we expect? Cam Newton to join Manning in the postgame press conference and offer to drink Budweisers with him and lead the party all the way to Disneyland?
The press needs to chill out about this Cam Newton business. After all, he's got no more tears to shed.
