Cam Newton is officially sick and tired of meeting with the media
Cam Newton should have celebrated the end of his pre-Super Bowl 50 media obligations with a dab.
No major Carolina or Denver player was less enthused to speak with reporters than Newton. For the second consecutive session Thursday, Newton stood in front of the cameras in his black-and-blue Panthers jersey looking more like he'd rather get sacked than answer questions -- especially from those who were asking about things he had had already spoken about earlier in the week.
The shark was officially jumped when a Wall Street Journal writer asked Newton why he was wearing socks with sandals. A befuddled Newton responded with, "Why are you wearing jeans with shoes?"
"Nothing has changed (with me) in the past 24 hours," said Newton, repeating the same statement in exasperation that he made at the start of Wednesday's media availability. "If I see an article about sandals and socks, that will be new."
Coincidentally, it was a friend of Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch -- who famously repeated the line "I'm just here so I won't get fined" to just about every question he was asked at Super Bowl 49 -- who provided Newton with some levity.
Celebrity reporter Snoop Dogg brought a huge smile to Newton's face when singing, 'Oh, Cam. Cam, Cam ... Dab for me." Snoop even got Newton to open up -- which was like pulling teeth after four days of media sessions -- by asking about the challenge of striking a balance between his personal and professional sides entering the quarterback's first Super Bowl.
"Half of me tries to be as professional as possible but the human in me wants to take it all in," Newton said. "It's hard for me to give you a direct answer without bringing both sides out. On the professional side, you have to come with any type of edge because you're still preparing. But with all the festivities, media and everything leading up to the game, all you see is Bronco-Panther conversation on TV. It's hard not to take it all in."
Much to Newton's relief, the media part is now over. The next official availability for players is after Super Bowl 50.