CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Cam Newton took the snap in the shotgun, then, like he’d been shot from a cannon, launched his 6-foot-5, 240-pound frame into the air from the 3-yard line and sailed parallel to the ground into the end zone.
The Carolina Panthers’ then-rookie quarterback quickly untangled himself from the pile of humanity and went to one knee and into a mock “air guitar" celebration of his first NFL rushing touchdown.
The flag came out. Unsportsmanlike conduct (celebration rules were different back then).
Penalty aside, that moment sent a message that then-left tackle Jordan Gross will never forget.