Jan. 26--A man wearing a football jersey walks into a living room and asks, "Hey, remember the game when I set the rookie passing record?"
Another asks, while straightening his bow tie, "How about when I had three events in one night?"
A third, wearing a cape, says, "I've been working on my new superhero move all day."
All three are Cam Newton, and the "Triple Cam" TV ad for Greek yogurt that ran during Sunday's NFC championship game is a perfect response to the fun police who take issue with his celebrations.
Why double down against your grumpy critics when you can triple down?
The ad works so well because it plays on the perception that Newton is too brash.
When Cam the football player says there is "zero holding me back," another Cam fires a couch pillow at him.
Mounted above the couch are four framed No. 1 Panthers jerseys. I think of them as four middle fingers directed at people who resent his touchdown celebrations, his signature dab.
I wasn't always in the Cam camp. I reluctantly gave him my 2010 Heisman Trophy vote because I viewed him as something of a con man, his college services going to the highest bidder.
But I'm all-in now. A con man would not inspire those around him, guiding an otherwise mediocre offense to the Super Bowl. The guy wasn't even considered a top-10 fantasy quarterback after Kelvin Benjamin was lost to season-ending knee surgery.
Newton is the real thing, and I love a guy who brings that level of joy to his craft.
The only thing better than one Cam Newton is three.
tgreenstein@tribpub.com
