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Someone must've told Cam Newton that the NFL decided to replace the Color Rush game this week with animal prints, because that's the only way to explain the pair of cleats that Newton is wearing for Thursday Night Football.

When the Panthers quarterback took the field for warmups in Charlotte, he was wearing the cleats you see below.

That sound you hear is PETA having a heart attack over the fox tails on Newton's cleats. Apparently, Newton is a huge fan of fox tails. According to TMZ, the Panthers quarterback has spent more than $12,000 on fox tail apparel over the past year.

That $12,000 clearly includes the matching pants that go with his new cleats.

Here's the full explanation for why Newton wears a fox tail, and not something like a rabbit's foot.

Anyway, Newton wasn't the only player with decorative cleats on Thursday.

Panthers defensive end Mario Addison showed up to the game in some equally awesome Super Mario cleats.

The Saints-Panthers game kicks off at 8:25 p.m. ET and will be televised on both NBC and the NFL Network. If you're not near a TV, you can also stream the game on Twitter. If you want to know more about the matchup, here's a preview of the game from CBSSports.com NFL writer Ryan Wilson.