Good read if you can stop talking about pedophiles and speculating on another mans sexuality.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A football sits under the Christmas tree at Michael Arellano's home.
Nothing else.
Just a football.
It's not wrapped. It's not even new.
But it might be the best present Michael will get this year, maybe ever, and it wasn't even for Christmas.
Michael, 11, got the football from Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newtonafter Newton threw a touchdown pass in a Nov. 22 victory over the Washington Redskins.
"I wanted to cry," Michael said in a recent visit to Bank of America Stadium to share his experience. "Cam, he's my hero."
Tom Brady, who has 38.
Newton's teammates have gotten into the act. Porter Waleski, a 7-year-old from Charlotte, got a football from wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. after a touchdown catch against Atlanta two weeks ago.
Her grandfather, Rusty Porter, was just as thrilled as she was.
"It's like they're sharing their triumphs with us," he said. "If you give it to the kid, that's like giving it to all of us. It's a beautiful thing."
Jaden Battle, an 11-year-old from Raleigh, North Carolina, got a football from Newton during a preseason game against New England. He might have summed up best what the program means to kids.
"It feels like I won the lottery," he said. "There's not a chance that you get a ball from Cam."
Julius Pepperssnatched the ball from Newton after the touchdown and tossed it toward the sideline, forcing Newton to chase after the ball. That directed Newton, who normally picks out a kid near the middle of the end-zone wall, toward Colin.
Colin, whose father died of a heart condition a month earlier, was there with his two grandfathers. Newton had no idea of the pain Colin or his family had experienced.
All he saw was the smile.
As Laura Toler said in explaining the odd circumstances in which her grandson got the ball, "It was a God wink."
Jennifer Baker, Colin's mom, watched the moment on television. She said she could only imagine what Colin's dad would have said.
"I can just see the smile on his face," she said. "He would have been so excited for Colin. Colin and he watched the games together on Sundays before he passed. Football was something very special between them. The reason Colin liked the Panthers was because of his dad."
Newton's giveaway program isn't always well-received. A few opposing players have made it more difficult for him to get the football, particularly when Newton scores on the road.
To them it's almost like a slap in the face. To the kids it's a lifetime memory.
"It feels like I won the lottery," Jaden Battle said upon receiving his Newton football. Courtesy of Christi Battle
"Well, that's just haters," said Michael's uncle, Bismarck Herrera. "He makes the kids happy. Look at him right now. He's excited, happy. Priceless. I hope Cam keeps doing that no matter what. It's very important. Kids love that. Kids just love that."
Parents love it, too.
Jaden's mom, Christi, had gone to the concession stand when her son got the ball. She almost came to tears recalling how she missed the moment that her son can't stop talking about.
"I don't know how anybody can criticize him for doing that," she said of Newton giving footballs to children. "I hear people say he's cocky. But he's a good guy."
Rusty Porter pointed to his granddaughter's smile when asked about those who might be offended by the giveaway program.
"I don't know what you could criticize about giving a touchdown ball to a little kid like that," he said.
Some of the kids have their footballs proudly displayed in a glass case in their room. Some have taken them to school to show to their friends.
Some, like Michael Arellano, have slept with it.
"I couldn't let it go," he said.
Pictures of Michael's expression when Newton gave him the ball were of pure joy.
"He was screaming and yelling," his uncle said. "He couldn't believe he got the ball. And then everyone began texting us saying, 'We saw Michael on the TV.' They texted me the picture when he was like, crying.
"He was like, 'Did I make the face?' I was, 'Yeah, you made the face.' He was like, 'Whoa! I can't believe I made that face.'"
Michael got a second surprise a few weeks later. He was downtown when Newton came gliding by on his hover board, going from the stadium to his uptown apartment.
"He was like, 'Cam! Cam! Cam!'" Newton said. "I talked to him. He was like, 'I'm one of those kids you gave a ball to.'
"I'm a child at heart, so I said, 'Nah, really?'"
Newton was skeptical. Then Michael pulled up a picture on his cellphone of him getting the ball.
"Lo and behold, there he goes," Newton said with a smile just as big as the one Michael had at the game. "He's screaming, and I'm handing him the ball. That's what it's all about, using your influence in a positive way.
"We took another picture then, but it was just great to see how just the fans and the connections with the players can take a life of its own."
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A football sits under the Christmas tree at Michael Arellano's home.
Nothing else.
Just a football.
It's not wrapped. It's not even new.
But it might be the best present Michael will get this year, maybe ever, and it wasn't even for Christmas.
Michael, 11, got the football from Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newtonafter Newton threw a touchdown pass in a Nov. 22 victory over the Washington Redskins.
"I wanted to cry," Michael said in a recent visit to Bank of America Stadium to share his experience. "Cam, he's my hero."
Tom Brady, who has 38.
Newton's teammates have gotten into the act. Porter Waleski, a 7-year-old from Charlotte, got a football from wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. after a touchdown catch against Atlanta two weeks ago.
Her grandfather, Rusty Porter, was just as thrilled as she was.
"It's like they're sharing their triumphs with us," he said. "If you give it to the kid, that's like giving it to all of us. It's a beautiful thing."
Jaden Battle, an 11-year-old from Raleigh, North Carolina, got a football from Newton during a preseason game against New England. He might have summed up best what the program means to kids.
"It feels like I won the lottery," he said. "There's not a chance that you get a ball from Cam."
Julius Pepperssnatched the ball from Newton after the touchdown and tossed it toward the sideline, forcing Newton to chase after the ball. That directed Newton, who normally picks out a kid near the middle of the end-zone wall, toward Colin.
Colin, whose father died of a heart condition a month earlier, was there with his two grandfathers. Newton had no idea of the pain Colin or his family had experienced.
All he saw was the smile.
As Laura Toler said in explaining the odd circumstances in which her grandson got the ball, "It was a God wink."
Jennifer Baker, Colin's mom, watched the moment on television. She said she could only imagine what Colin's dad would have said.
"I can just see the smile on his face," she said. "He would have been so excited for Colin. Colin and he watched the games together on Sundays before he passed. Football was something very special between them. The reason Colin liked the Panthers was because of his dad."
Newton's giveaway program isn't always well-received. A few opposing players have made it more difficult for him to get the football, particularly when Newton scores on the road.
To them it's almost like a slap in the face. To the kids it's a lifetime memory.
"It feels like I won the lottery," Jaden Battle said upon receiving his Newton football. Courtesy of Christi Battle
"Well, that's just haters," said Michael's uncle, Bismarck Herrera. "He makes the kids happy. Look at him right now. He's excited, happy. Priceless. I hope Cam keeps doing that no matter what. It's very important. Kids love that. Kids just love that."
Parents love it, too.
Jaden's mom, Christi, had gone to the concession stand when her son got the ball. She almost came to tears recalling how she missed the moment that her son can't stop talking about.
"I don't know how anybody can criticize him for doing that," she said of Newton giving footballs to children. "I hear people say he's cocky. But he's a good guy."
Rusty Porter pointed to his granddaughter's smile when asked about those who might be offended by the giveaway program.
"I don't know what you could criticize about giving a touchdown ball to a little kid like that," he said.
Some of the kids have their footballs proudly displayed in a glass case in their room. Some have taken them to school to show to their friends.
Some, like Michael Arellano, have slept with it.
"I couldn't let it go," he said.
Pictures of Michael's expression when Newton gave him the ball were of pure joy.
"He was screaming and yelling," his uncle said. "He couldn't believe he got the ball. And then everyone began texting us saying, 'We saw Michael on the TV.' They texted me the picture when he was like, crying.
"He was like, 'Did I make the face?' I was, 'Yeah, you made the face.' He was like, 'Whoa! I can't believe I made that face.'"
Michael got a second surprise a few weeks later. He was downtown when Newton came gliding by on his hover board, going from the stadium to his uptown apartment.
"He was like, 'Cam! Cam! Cam!'" Newton said. "I talked to him. He was like, 'I'm one of those kids you gave a ball to.'
"I'm a child at heart, so I said, 'Nah, really?'"
Newton was skeptical. Then Michael pulled up a picture on his cellphone of him getting the ball.
"Lo and behold, there he goes," Newton said with a smile just as big as the one Michael had at the game. "He's screaming, and I'm handing him the ball. That's what it's all about, using your influence in a positive way.
"We took another picture then, but it was just great to see how just the fans and the connections with the players can take a life of its own."
