Although I enjoy Joel Quenneville’s volcanic eruptions during Blackhawks games, I would never suggest that he cares about his team more than a less-demonstrative player or coach cares about his own team.
I never would have suggested that Mike Singletary or Dennis Green, who both had legendary outbursts, wanted to win more than a less-expressive coach did.
That’s what was so annoying about Cam Newton’s explanation for his spoiled-brat act at a post-Super Bowl press conference. Of his terse answers and distant look, the Panthers quarterback later said: “You show me a good loser and I’m going to show you a loser.’’
If you’ve played sports, then you probably played with someone like Newton. These are the people who either pout or make a loud scene and want everyone to believe that, through their behavior, they care more about the outcome of the game than the rest of the team.
You might have played with the kid who would slam his mitt on the pitching mound when things were going poorly for him or the kid who cried like a newborn after a tough loss in basketball.
Did he (or she) want it more than someone who internalized things? Did he care about the game more than his teammates did? Not necessarily.
Giving short answers to reporters’ questions after a Super Bowl loss is not the sign of a winner. It’s the sign of someone who greets difficulty in life with a curled lower lip.
An athlete who deals professionally with the media after difficult losses is not a loser. But that’s exactly what Newton is calling any Panther who sucked it up and answered questions the best he could. Loser, with a capital “L.’’ That takes an incredible amount of nerve.
