I know it's popular to 'hate on' Cam Newton, and some of the criticisms are unquestionably valid. But let me make a couple of points here:
1) Cam Newton making a stupid play in a PRE-SEASON GAME is no more a bad reflection on Auburn than Terrance Cody going to JAIL for animal neglect (or whatever the specifics are) is on Alabama. Hey, it's not like Cam pulled what his former teammate did - the one with a permanent residence within hearing distance of Gillette Stadium. I don't think that Michael Vick's prison time makes Va Tech look bad - it makes Vick look bad. I just don't think we should be living in a glass house here. Do the prison sentences of Sherman Williams and Jimmy Johns or the probation and fraud of Brian Burgdorf somehow embarrass Alabama?
I just don't think so - not in that much of a substantive way anyway.
2) For all the talk of Cam's clothes, let's be honest - if he had WON the Super Bowl then everyone would want to dress like Cam ("everyone" being used colloquially and not ultra-literally). It's like the 1986 Miami Hurricanes. They show up in fatigues and lose and they're punks; if they had won, everybody would have wanted to wear battle fatigues. (And given what came out as the years went by, Miami's thuggery was choir boy behavior next to what a certain DC on the opposition was doing).
Cam is a young and spirited guy who is going to make some mistakes. I just hope they're not the ones that hurt other people.
In 1982, Georgetown lost to North Carolina in a classic NCAA title game. The critical play of the game saw Freddie Brown accidentally pass the ball to UNC's James Worthy - and Georgetown was dead. As much as I despise John Thompson's sometimes racial appeals and excuses, I still like what he is alleged to have told Brown (paraphrasing) that if that's the worst thing he ever did then he was going to have been an outstanding human being.
I know he's flame bait here, and I can't say I even care that much for him. Maybe it's just my hope for consistency from people overcoming my fandom.