Cam Newton Will Not, CANNOT, Stop Dumping on Drake Maye for Some Bizarre Reason

Imagine for a second, you're like like any other kid in America with aspirations of being an athlete. You have a local hero you idolize, and he plays the same position you want to play. You watch him, and you try your best to emulate him. 

Now imagine you're not like most kids. You're that 0.0001% who have enough talent and drive to actually make your dreams a reality. To the point you actually pay tribute to that guy you used to pretend you were, whether you were screwing around in the back yard with your brothers, or leading your high school team:

Giphy Images.

Now that we're done pretending, let's look at Drake Maye. The only athlete in America who ever grew up to do all these things, only to have his boyhood athletic idol take steaming dumps all over his accomplishments for some bizarre, inexplicable, and sadistic reasons known only to Cam Newton. This is how Newton has passed the time this Super Bowl Week:

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Which is just a continuation of this weirdness from November, which began with Newton claiming to like Maye, but calling his success "Fool's Gold":

Or the fact Maye had the audacity to say that, like virtually everyone else in America, he doesn't know what show Newton appears on:

And by now it's gotten to the point where Maye is, to paraphrase Will Smith, keeping Newton's "name out his damn mouth":

Look, by no means am I suggesting that just because teenage Drake Maye might have had a Cam Newton Fathead on his wall or ran around doing play-by-play in his head "Newton back to pass! The rush is on! He escapes the pocket!" etc, etc, that Newton owes him any loyalty. 

But this sounds like it goes way beyond just objective, dispassionate criticism by Newton. This feels personal somehow. Like maybe things went tits up so bad for Newton in New England that he resents Maye turning things around so quickly here. Perhaps he doesn't appreciate the fact that at age 23, Maye has already played circles around Newton in his peak, MVP season:

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Whatever it is, that's Newton's cross to bear. It took him five seasons to make his one and only Super Bowl. And until the heat death of the universe, that game will always be remembered for this moment:

They say you should never meet your heroes. What they should say is that if you do meet your heroes, just be prepared for them to act like petty, resentful creeps who are jealous of your success and try to tear you down because of it. And the only thing you can do is prove them wrong by winning what they never could. A well-lived life will always be the best revenge.