Page 91 - OVATION Magazine (Issue 1)
P. 91
Nnorth carolina is known for its sports—heated college-basketball rivalries,
NASCAR, Durham Bulls baseball—and,
at least traditionally, for its tobacco.These
seemingly incongruous traits of theTar Heel State intersected a few years back, when the University of North Carolina legend and Charlotte Hornets chairman Michael Jordan met Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and gifted him a cigar.There was only one problem:At the time, Newton had never smoked a cigar. “Since then, I’ve looked from top to bottom at cigars, the cigar industry, and who smokes them, and he’s at the top,” Newton says.“One of the things on my bucket list is to smoke a cigar with Mi- chael Jordan.”
Fast-forward to 2019, and Newton— now a full-fledged cigar connoisseur—has the perfect place to host the occasion. Earlier this year, he and his brother, former NFL player Cecil Newton Jr., opened a cigar bar, lounge, and restaurant in their hometown of Atlanta. Dubbed Fellaship— more on that later—the venue debuted in time for the city’s hosting of Super Bowl
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