Quiet cool or exuberant charisma: Choosing Newton or Manning a matter of style

Gregg Patton breaks down the stylistic contrast on offer between the Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton and Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning in Super Bowl 50.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, left, and Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, right. (Jeff Chiu and Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP)

Since it is the Super Bowl, even those who may not have watched a football game all year will have to make a choice.

Will the Carolina Panthers or the Denver Broncos be their favourite for a day?

For the millions of people who do not own a blue Carolina cap or an orange Denver shirt, the decision likely will come down to a popularity contest between the two best known players on each side. That means the two quarterbacks, the Broncos’ Peyton Manning and the Panthers’ Cam Newton.

The choice could not be more distinct. Manning and Newton are near polar opposites, from the way they play the game to the way they carry themselves.

It is older versus younger. It is tradition versus innovation. It is restraint and moderation versus exuberance and brashness.

See more: Super Bowl 50 – The National's preview coverage and analysis

It is sentimentality for the veteran superstar who may be playing his final game versus excitement for the new superstar reaching his first Super Bowl.

Other than that, Manning and Newton are exactly alike. Two former No 1-draft picks and leaders of their teams, carrying the weight of expectations on their shoulders.

Manning is 39, and the owner of the two most significant passing records in NFL history: most touchdown passes and most total yards. However, age and injuries from neck to feet have caught up to him, and by mid-season the ailments and his sub-par performance had cost him his starting job.

A serendipitous turn of events at season’s end enabled him to recapture his position for the play-offs. Two well-managed, if less than brilliant, games in the post-season by Manning helped the defence-orientated Broncos reach the Super Bowl.

While Manning tumbled, leading to speculation that he will retire after the Super Bowl, Newton, 26, excelled as he redefined the quarterback position.

If Manning is a traditional NFL pocket passer who hates to run, Newton is far from that. He is dangerous in all ways. He stands in the pocket and throws. He rolls out and throws. He runs. Nobody in the game had thrown for 35 touchdown passes and rushed for 10 more until Newton did it this season.

He also led all quarterbacks with 636 yards on the ground.

And, oh by the way, the Panthers were an NFL-best 15-1 in the regular season, and Newton is a big favourite for the league’s Most Valuable Player award.

Their personalities are equally divergent.

Manning's folksy Southern drawl and self-deprecating humour have become famous in everything from dozens of television commercials to the Saturday Night Live comedy show that he has hosted. If he has offended anyone or made enemies, it is a well-kept secret.

Even a story published during the season that suggested Manning may have used banned Human Growth Hormone in his 2011 rehabilitation from neck surgery has gained little traction.

Manning has vehemently denied it, and no one wanted to believe it anyway.

Newton’s rising popularity is based on his supreme confidence and a smile that will not quit, even when it should. He promotes himself as Superman, and his celebratory dances. known as “Dabbing”, have made multitudes laugh, and opponents and their fans fume.

Either you love his infectious grin and over-the-top optimism or you hate it, writing it off as disrespect and immaturity.

But not all opponents hate it.

Last week Denver linebacker Von Miller said he thought Newton’s celebrations were “great” and good for a younger generation of fans who seem much more receptive to grand shows of emotion on the field, displays that old-school fans see as boastful and unsportsmanlike.

“That,” Miller said, “is the future of the sport.”

And that may be the tipping point for casual fans.

Never mind how the players get it done on the field, the choice is between the old guy with the “aw shucks” charm or the new kid dancing in the end zone.

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