Cam Newton walked into the media area at Wofford Friday, sat down and grinned.That smile, Newton’s purple Charlotte Hornets hat and what he said in the next 20 minutes were the most noticeable parts of his press conference. But his stroll before all that was more important.”I had a person ask me if this was the best shape I’ve ever been in my life. I don’t want to say that, but this is probably the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Newton said. “That’s saying a lot. Waking up and being able to run and not limp, and an obvious limp, too.”That’s how Newton showed up to Spartanburg last July. Four months removed from ankle surgery, he was about to labor his way through training camp. Even though he claimed everything was fine, something wasn’t right. He wasn’t right.A roller-coaster few months followed, from broken ribs to Newton crawling out of the bed of his pickup truck after an accident in the shadow of Bank of America Stadium. That’s why he continues to wear the bracelet doctors gave him when he was rushed to the hospital. “It started out all yellow, but now it’s like a yellowish-white. The paint is running off of there. It says ‘Fall Risk’. It’s for highly sedated patients. When they give you the medicine that makes you dizzy, it reminds the nurse when she comes in, and you want to use the restroom or do those kind of things, fall risk tells them, for obvious reasons,” Newton said.”I don’t wear it for a fashion sense. I wear it as a reminder that so many people worry about the things we just talked about. The negatives of ‘He’s gonna do this. Oh man, it’s too hot outside. Oh God, I’m gonna get sunburn,’ and not just appreciating that the sun is out.”Newton certainly appreciated this offseason, which didn’t sit well with everyone. First a $100-million contract. Then, knockerball, Australia and flag football. Every week, it seemed, Newton was doing something active. And every week, criticism followed.”Walking down the street you could get hit by a car, you know what I’m saying?” Newton said.”‘Cam playing flag football. Oh my God, he can do something!’ ‘Oh my, look at him pulverize people! Cam’s driving fast, slow down! He’s driving again!’ You know it’s always something, but that’s just the life we live.”Newton will still get criticized for nearly everything he does both on and off the field. At least he understands it’s part of the gig, even if many often don’t understand the life he leads because of it.”If it was raining, then people would have that talk, but I’m the type of person, especially with the things I went through the past few years, that I make the most and appreciate the many blessings that I have on any day. Because, like my father always told me, ‘One day you can be on top of the world, and the next, the world can be on top of you.'”[vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html]