There was a part of me that thought sleep would help. That throwing some words on the page and coming back to edit with fresh eyes would allow me to see Super Bowl 50 in a new light. Maybe be hopeful about the future, or discuss how the Broncos lost two years before winning -- but I can't. I just can't do it.
This hurts more than 2003, and it's not even close. It was so much easier to see the Panthers back then and and say "wow, they came so close" following a season where making the Super Bowl was pure luck. The scoreboard was closer, but at least that team got to show their potential. They pushed the Patriots to the limit and forced a vaunted team to win on a last-second field goal. Super Bowl 50 was so far removed from anything we saw from Carolina in 2015 that it might as well have been a different team playing.
Losing the Super Bowl hurts much less than the reality that this team never got to realize its potential on the brightest stage.
That statement can live alone while still congratulating the Broncos for an amazing year and a worthy performance in the Super Bowl. The Panthers ran head-first into a buzzsaw and didn't have a chance on offense. Every single weakness was exposed, every strength was dismantled, the Panthers we saw were a shadow of themselves.
Before Super Bowl 50 I wondered why I wasn't more excited. After it I'm left trying to work out why this hurts 1,000 times more than I thought it would. See, I had this whole idea prepared. If Carolina lost I was going to talk about the future. How all the building blocks were in place for something great and how the Panthers' window was just opening -- but I can't.
Instead I just have questions. A million queries buzzing around my head like flies I can't swat away. Why didn't the offense get Mike Remmers help earlier? How does Mike Tolbert not fumble for five straight years then put the ball on the ground twice? Why did Corey Brown need to get injured at the time the offense needed him the most? How does Jerricho Cotchery drop a pass inside the 10-yard line when Carolina was just down 6? Why didn't Cam dive on the football? What happened that caused Graham Gano to doink a field goal? How does Luke Kuechly suddenly start missing tackles in the biggest game of his life? The read option was clearly sniffed out. So why didn't the offense move to something else?
I'd re-watch the game to try and determine the answers to these -- but I can't. Not yet.
Nothing went Carolina's way. I'm not talking about officiating errors, because those happen -- but for whatever reason every single fumble and loose ball bounced Denver's way, and firmly away from Carolina. Weird moments like the 61-yard punt return happened when they never should have. Sometimes things don't go your way, or they're not supposed to. I'd love to say this is part of something bigger and the Panthers will be back, better than ever -- but I can't. Not yet.
Cam Newton is getting torn apart for his one-word answers at the podium after being crushed in the biggest game of his life. Suddenly it seems he has no respect for the game. If he was an old white coach like Bill Belichick or Gregg Popovich it would be hilarious and endearing, but not Newton. He doesn't get that. Make no mistake: He should have probably stuck around and talked more. That's part of his job and I get that. However, putting an emotional 26-year-old at a microphone and being asked about the biggest loss of his life minutes after it happened in the same room as a Broncos player preening over how they shut the Panthers down -- yeah, that's bullshit. The media demands on players are utter crap. It's the 21st century. Stories can still be filed an hour after the game while giving players an appropriate amount of time to dump their adrenaline and be in a better place emotionally. Some players handle losing better than others. Just like how some humans deal with disappointment better.
I'd take Cam's emotion over the alternative any day. Most NFL players care about winning, but nobody in the league lives his wins and losses like Cam Newton.
The Panthers didn't get to have fun in the Super Bowl. That's what makes me the most upset. I think Cam's reaction would have been different if the game was a shootout, or if the Panthers played to their potential and got beaten in the last second. His disappointment echoed mine: The team never got to show up. People regret all sorts of things. personally, I don't regret the times I've failed in life -- I regret the times I failed and never gave myself a chance. That's what happened here.
So Bill Romanowski can have his racist hot-takes on Cam while ignoring what a roided-up, HGH fueled embarrassment he was while playing. Rob Lowe can make his pithy remarks about a 26-year-old, while ignoring that 24-year-old Rob Lowe made a sex tape with a 16-year-old. The peanut gallery is in full swing, and it's open season on Cam Newton.
How appropriate that we saw the bell curve reach its conclusion. Cam went from being hated, to loved and now everyone loathes him again. All is right in the world.
Thanks for the great season CSR. I'd love to give you some sweeping conclusion about how the Panthers will Keep Pounding an return to the dance, but I can't -- not yet. See you soon.