Over two revealing quarters Sunday, NFC quarterback Cam Newton presented a graphic illustration of the best and the worst of the Pro Bowl as we have come to know it over 32 games.
Amid the AFC’s 59-41 victory over the NFC, Newton was a symbol of why the annual NFL all-star game has been both an enduring entertainment event here for the faithful and also why its loss, if it comes to that, will be little mourned by its detractors.
The man who wore jersey No. 1 was alternately the toast and the roast of the Aloha Stadium crowd, inspiring both aahs and boos from a sun-splashed gathering of 48,423. The intensity and frequency of the boos being remarkable for this usually festive event.
"It was an … experience," Newton would say, searching for the right word afterward.
His selection to the game as a replacement for the New York Giants’ Eli Manning, who is in next weekend’s Super Bowl, was widely cheered. The thought being that the man who had the best rookie season of any quarterback in league history and was just scratching his potential would add a fresh face and a bit of panache to an event that has sometimes lacked for them.
If Manning and Tom Brady couldn’t get here, well, there were few people most fans would have more fervently wished for than Newton.
It was, after all, an opportunity to see up close the 6-foot, 5-inch 248-pounder who looks like a tight end but runs as if a running back and hurls passes like a howitzer.
Even some of his first-time NFC teammates, receivers especially, were intrigued at the opportunity to see the much-heralded Superman and No 1 draft pick of 2011 for themselves.
And with a seemingly effortless flick of his right wrist Newton was as advertised in just his second series on the field. With one 55-yard touchdown pass to Carolina teammate Steve Smith that left his paw-like right hand in a lightning bolt and dropped into Smith’s waiting hands as if by GPS, Newton was worth the price of admission for its wonder.
It was an eye-opening example of why people come to all-star games.
But Newton’s Law of Gravity wasn’t always as kind. For what went up into the Halawa skies more often did not come down to its intended target. Newton completed just nine of 27 passes and suffered three interceptions while passing for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
Over-throwing or throwing behind receivers in a game where there has been scant practice time with new targets and a different offensive system was one thing. But half-heartedly flinging away passes under a benign rush was something else and typified why this game draws so much derision.
Taking the game’s only sack with hardly a feeble attempt to escape did not win points but did get the ear holes on his helmet to ringing. Probably not since his last trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala., has this Auburn great been so bathed in boos.
"New (receivers), whole new balls, you get the good with the bad, no excuses," Newton said. "I’m not going to linger (on the boos). I learned a lot."
"Take a good look," wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said, nodding at Newton a couple feet away in the NFC locker room. "He’s the future of this league."
Whether the future of the Pro Bowl brings Newton and the game back to Honolulu again might be something else, however.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
