Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers are headed to the NFC championship game for the third straight year after defeating the Carolina Panthers Sunday, but the quarterback took some time to mock his adversary when he struck Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton's Superman pose in the end zone after scoring a touchdown in San Francisco's eventual 23-10 win in North Carolina.
Kaepernick ran the ball in for a four-yard score to give the 49ers a 20-10 lead in the third quarter of the game and pretended to pull his jersey apart from the middle of his chest--mocking the celebration that Newton usually does when he scores a touchdown.
Kaepernick then pretended to button it back up and kissed his biceps in his trademark celebration. Kaepernick said after the game that he didn't mean any ill-will by mimicking the celebration and told ESPN that it was just "a little shout out," and said "I think you know the answer" when he was asked who the shout out was for.
Newton, who went 16-for-25 for 267 yards with a touchdowns and an interception, discussed Kaepernick's actions after the game.
"It's not the first nor the last time somebody does that," Newton said in his postgame presser, according to ESPN.
Kaepernick--who was selected 36th overall in the 2011 NFL draft and was taken 35 spots after Newton went No.1 overall--won his fourth playoff game and went 15-for-28 for 196 yards with a passing touchdown and the rushing score.
Kaepernick, 26, told reporters that being selected in the second round and so far from Newton gives him motivation, and he told ESPN following the team's triumph that he will "never forget it."
Vernon Davis, who had a touchdown in the game, said he didn't blame Kaepernick for the celebration.
"I don't fault him for that," Davis said via ESPN. "Look, I can't judge him. We can't judge him. He was just excited. I'm sure he and Cam are good friends. I'm sure they're close. He didn't mean any harm at all."
The 49ers head to Seattle to take on the Seahawks for the NFC Championship on Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on Feb. 2 hanging in the balance.
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