Quote:I guess every single coach I had growing up must have totally misinformed me about what constitutes good sportsmanship. 

 

Because - Handling defeat with grace was always part of the lesson.

 

Controlling one's emotions is part of that. If your presser after a loss is grossly disproportionate to one after a win, you aren't doing that. ^

When have you ever had to answer a barrage of media questions less than an hour after you lost a game in front of millions worldwide?

 

It isn't as if Cam Newton did not display good sportsmanship to Manning after the game.  They met and shook hands midfield and Cam congratulated him.

 

But your closing line leads me back to a question I posed earlier that none of you have addressed.

 

At the end of the game, there was a poignant shot of a player that looked like Josh Norman crying after the game.

 

Whomever that player was, does his crying after the game represent poor sportsmanship?  Does holding his face and head in his hands and sobbing represent flawed character?

 

Do the tears represent "uncontrolled emotion?"  What about the victorious Broncos?  Was their unbridled joy at winning the game "uncontrolled emotion," and therefore poor sportsmanship and flawed character?

 

Are some displays of uncontrolled emotion more acceptable than others? 

 

What if Newton actually felt like going on an expletive laden tirade during the press conference where he not only threatens bodily injury to his teammates that kept screwing up, but also to obnoxious members of the media asking stupid questions, but didn't?  Do his terse replies still represent "uncontrolled emotion?"

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