Watched some playoff football last weekend with three neighbor friends. All are long-time NFL fans. None are from Charlotte. But in that room, you'd likely have found at least one fan you recognize.
The Observer's Amy Baldwin writes today about three transplants to Charlotte who are Arizona Cardinals fans. Their football loyalties have been tested, split and, yes, changed by their new home. If you've been here any length of time, you know the phenomenon.
At our gathering last weekend, we had a lifelong Giants fan from upstate New York. Moved to Charlotte about a decade ago. Became interested in the Panthers, oddly, at their lowest point - the 1-15 season in 2001. Now he's a Panthers fan first, fully converted to a new football faith.
Next to him was a Steelers fan from Baltimore. He likes the Panthers, too, now that he's in Charlotte, but it's a tiered arrangement. Team 1 and Team 1A. If the Panthers play the Steelers, there's no question that new loyalty steps aside for old.
Behind him was a Packers fan from Wisconsin. He doesn't care much about the Panthers. Don't imagine he ever will.
We know you have deep questions about this. If the Giants fan could leave the Giants, was he really a true Giants fan? (He was, he says.) Is a Team 1/Team 1A arrangement really possible, or is a 1A loyalty actually more of a just-friends thing? We'd like your thoughts.
And - our question of the day: What kind of Panthers fan are you? Native, converted, Team 1/Team 1A, or not at all? Tell us which, and tell us how it came to be.
The Cardinals are talking up the Panthers - and embracing the role of underdog, writes Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic.
Former Observer writer Pat Yasinskas, now with ESPN.com, offers his five keys to the game for Carolina.
From USA Today: Matt Millen - worst front office man in the NFL, best football broadcaster on TV?
SI's Ross Tucker looks at the battles on the line in the four games this weekend.
The Associated Press looks at the "two" Arizona defenses.
Posts
Not a Panthers Fan; started watching NFL football before 1995....
ReplyDeleteCharlotte native and Panthers fan from the beginning of the franchise. Was at the old Scoreboard sports bar on Independence Blvd. when the announcement came down that we had won the franchise. Went to Clemson to see first season games, now excited about going to playoff game this Saturday! Go Panthers!
ReplyDeleteNative, I'm 40 years of age, and during my tenture here in the Carolina's growing up, I did'nt cheer for an NFL football team, until 1995 when Owner Jerry Richardson decide too bring the fan's of the Carolina's a team. My family cheer for the team nearest too us which was the Redskin's but I felt loyal too stay at home. I love our Carolina team's and especially those Panther's and the Tarheel.
ReplyDeleteI have been a Panthers fan since day 1. I have lived here most of my life (30 of 35 years) and was thrilled when we finally had a local team to pull for. I understand Charlotte is only growing at the rate it has been, is because there are a lot of transplants moving in from other parts of the country, specifically NY. I love it when I hear stories about former Giants fans who now love the Panthers! I also understand how hard it is to be displaced, though. I lived in Houston for 2 years in the late 90's and I wasn't about to become an Oilers fan!
ReplyDeleteNative...couldn't have cared less about football or the NFL before the Panthers came to town. Well, that and the fact that my husband actually explained the game and answered my questions. Now, I'm a Panther fan through and through. Even during the bad years, I've been a fan. I get mad but I always support them. Go Panthers!
ReplyDeleteGrew up in NC as a Steelers fan. Always jealous of other areas that had their own team to root for, so in 1995 when we were awarded the franchise, I instantly became a Panthers fan. The Steelers are my favorite AFC though.
ReplyDeleteThe day I moved here from Pittsburgh I got a Panthers sweatshirt....and cheered them on for 13 years, but the Steelers are still my #1.
ReplyDeleteI am a PANTHER FAN!!!!! I do not like any another team and will never pull for another team unless it can help my PANTHERS!!! GO PANTHERS!!! Wait until my generation gets to have all of the PSL seats.
ReplyDeleteHAIL TO THE REDSKINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy mother and father were life long Redskins fans and raised me that way, but when the NFL announced that it would be adding two teams I decided to follow which ever team ended up in the NFC.
ReplyDeleteI have been a fan of the Carolina Panthers ever since Jerry Richardson was awarded the franchise.
Born in NY. Moved to Charlotte at 5 yrs old. Parents were from the South but liked the skins. I was about 14 when the Panthers came in to the league. Have loved the Panthers ever since. Was never old enough to develop a liking for any other team.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Panthers lose, I don't watch sportscenter until the next weekend because I hate seeing highlites of the loss.
It's amazing to see how many more "fans" the Panthers have when they are winning and the team makes the playoffs. Why is Bank of America stadium empty when the weather is bad or the Panthers are having a losing season? Where are all you so-called fans then? Real fans support their team every game, every season!
ReplyDeleteConverted. Not that it was hard. Moved here from Michigan. My first NFL season in Charlotte we went 1-15...so did the Lions... Over the past few years it has been so much fun living in a city with a team that actually wins a few games that it was not difficult at all to completely declare myself a Panthers fan first & foremost!
ReplyDeleteI was a team 1/1A fan for a while. I started watching the Raiders when Bo Jackson signed with them. So when the Panthetrs came to town, I had two teams. My friends (Cowboys and Dolphin fans) said I couldn't have two teams, but who are they to say that? Eventually I had to become a full Panther. Al Davis made it an easy decision!
ReplyDeleteBorn and raised in North Carolina; became a Steeler's Fan in 1976 when I was 10 years old and still a diehard Steeler's Fan.
ReplyDeleteI have a Team 1/1A arrangement, but the Panthers are team #1 since they arrived in the Carolinas the same year I did. I grew up in San Diego, but the Chargers are just my AFC team.
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm hoping for a Chargers/Panthers Super Bowl... but if that happens, I'll be looking for a 34-31 Panther victory.
Neither Native or Converted..was originally from NY but could care less about football.. then moved here in high school and still knew nothing about football even though the Panthers were already established ( I am currently 24)until college was when I really learned and became a full on Panthers Fan!
ReplyDeleteI've been a Vikings fan snce '74. When you live and die and cry for a team, it's hard to let them go just because you moved to a city with an NFL franchise. I equate it to a marriage. You meet someone and you grow together through up and downs. You support them through good and bad times. Then all of a sudden, an attractive neightbor moves across the street. Do you leave the one that you love? Some would say yes... I guess that's why the divorce rate is so high.
ReplyDeleteNative North Carolinian, and Panther Fan since October of 1993....This just in...Not everyone in the Carolinas is from up north. GO PANTHERS!!!!!
ReplyDeleteParents were born and raised in Buffalo, NY. Me, I was born and raised in Charlotte. So by default (and this is important because the Panthers didnt exist then) I was the biggest Bills fan you'll find down here for 12 years...but the day we got the franchise my money and loyalty has been with Carolina (13 years now). However, I've still got a Panthers sticker and Bills sticker on my truck...thats allowed right...GO PANTHERS!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite team is whomever is playing the Panthers. I could not care less.
ReplyDeleteIm none of the above. I'm a lifelong panthers fan!!
ReplyDeleteBecame a Panthers fan when they first came into the league. Live in California. I'm a huge Panthers fan. Have all the 96 playoff games on VHS. Used to be a Rams fan until ownership took them to St.Louis. I was a loyal fan and did not care if they stunk. When they left to St.Louis, the NFL adopted the Jags and Panthers as new teams. I picked the Panthers.
ReplyDeleteI came to Charlotte from the Caribbean in 1994 so I never had a chance to form an allegiance to any other team. I was a die-hard Hornets (now Bobcats) and Panthers fan and will always be! I look forward to seeing that Superbowl trophy come home to the Queen City! Go Panthers!
ReplyDeleteI am a "Panthers first nobody second fan", and I think we will see a lot more Panthers fans like me when the younger generation becomes adults. Seems like everybody in NC older than 25 already had a team before the Panthers started. But the generation growing up with Smith, Delhomme, and Peppers will have a loyalty you usually find in the Northeast.
ReplyDeleteI too started watching football before 1995. I am a native North Carolinian now living in Baltimore. Oddly enough my team before the Panthers was the Saints. I saw an NFL film about their defense back in the 90s and fell in love with Sam Mills and company. But since 1995 it's been Panthers all the way even during the 1-15 season.
Native. Was a San Francisco fan back when Rice and Montana were doing their thing. Once the Panthers came to town that was it. Panthers ever since. Went to the first Panther regular season game ever at the Ga Dome.
ReplyDeleteI live in South Carolina, transplanted from Tennessee. I bought my Panthers PSL the minute they became available and I've been a Panthers fan all the way. But before I was a Panthers fan, I was an NFL fan--with the Falcons my rooting team, though they were bad, and the Saints my second choice, though they were bad. I still watch all the NFL games and I always choose a team to pull for--unless the Panthers are involved, in which case there is not a choice to be made.
ReplyDeleteNorth Carolina native over 40; most of my Family and Friends are still 49'ers, Steeler's, Giants and Cowboys fans which were their original teams.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte native, Panthers fan and PSL holder since the beginning. Grew up a Steelers fan, but I don't consider myself a 1/1A fan. Someone from my family is at every game, and I'm encouraged with the growing fan base.
ReplyDeleteMoved to Charlotte in 1990. Happily adopted the Panthers immediately after they came into existence. My former team? I prefer the witless protection plan on that info..
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THE PANTHERS & HAVE FROM THE BEGINNING.
ReplyDeleteI AM READY FOR A SUPERBOWL WINNER. WILL BE PARTYING SATURDAY NITE WITH MY FRIENDS AND SUPPORTING THEM 100%.......GO PANTHERS!!!!!!!
Born and raised in Charlotte - never watched or cared about football until we got the Panthers. My parents have had PSL's since the beginning. I sat through every home game last season, sometimes in the pouring rain, just to support my team. GO PANTHERS!
ReplyDeleteConverted. I grew up in Bob Griese's hometown and learned to watch football watching Don Shula coach him with the Dolphins. Later, lived in Miami for 11 years watching Shula and Marino. Finally moved to Charlotte the year the Panthers were announced and started as a Team1/Team1A until Shula and finally Marino were forced out. At that point, I became a convert. There will always be some affection for the Dolphins, but my primary loyalty is to the Panthers now.
ReplyDeleteTried to maintain a Team 1/Team 1A arrangement for years. Born and raised in Philly and a lifelong Eagles fan. Part of the 700 level crazies at The Vet. Was there to see the Iggles beat Dallas to go to Supe 15.
ReplyDeleteMoved to Charlotte in 1990 and went "all-in" with the Panthers as soon as team was announced. Hand carried my PSL deposit to the Panthers office on the first day applications were being taken. Been a diehard since Day 1.
Finally had to confront the two team demons at the NFC Championship Game in 2004 ... Iggles-Panthers in Philly. The agony and the ecstasy. Couldn't win, couldn't lose.
Realized quickly after the Panthers win that the "right" team had won. The changeover was complete. Haven't looked back since. Go Panthers !!!
Born in Winston-Salem, was a 49ers fan when Carolina entered the League... Didn't become a full time Panthers fan until 2002, and I have followed them ever since. In fact I moved to Seattle in 1999, and was there in 2005 including being at the Stadium and in downtown Seattle during/after the NFC Championship game. (Which was a blast let me tell you). I am back in NC and plan to be in Charlotte Saturday night !!!
ReplyDeleteGo Panthers !!
Lived in Charlotte since '95 (as long as the Panthers have played) but Eagles fan for almost 35 years; will never support another team, including the Panthers.
ReplyDeleteMoved from Buffalo. I like the Panthers players, but get frustrated with the fans. They are too fair weather. If they are doing poorly they give their tickets away to other teams' fans. You would never see that in Buffalo. Support them win or lose. Glad to see the players doing well though.
ReplyDeleteBorn and raised in Charlotte and still live here 48yrs old, was raised a Redskin fan by my dad, but once Panthers were announced I became a fan, saw games in Clemson and remember going to my 1st game between Panthers and Redskins and boy was that weird, but when it came down to crunch time it was PANTHERS all the way!!
ReplyDeleteNative. Thank goodness for the Panthers, prior to their arrival we had to watch the Redskins every Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in South Dakota and moved to Minneapolis about 4 years ago and have been a Panthers fan since day 1 even though I live in the heart of Vikings country. 3 of the last 4 times the cats have played up here I've either been threatened or gotten into verbal confrontations because I come in wearing my colors and don't back down from the purple fans. I get a hard time at work during the football season too because of it, especially when the Vikes win, but now that the cats have gotten farther in the playoffs being a Panthers fan is oh so sweet!
ReplyDeleteBorn in Charlotte, Moved to Tampa when I was eight. Not really a Bucs fan. when I was young was a redskins fan (Like most NC before Panthers) But ever since the Panthers started I have been a loyal fan through and through. GO PANTHERS!!! Come to our town and WIN!!!
ReplyDeleteTeam 1/1A. Glad to see I'm not alone. From Indiana so I am Colts fan. Lived in Charlotte for 11+ years but quickly transitioned to Panthers fan. I'm a homer so I cheer for "Carolina" rather than the Panthers. If the Panthers left town, I'd care less about them. I don't understand those born and raised here but still love the DALLAS Cowboys. Its like cheering for China in the Olympics.
ReplyDeleteAfter growing up as somewhat of a football dilettante (rooting variously for the Jets, Dolphins, and Seahawks without any real commitment), I moved to Charlotte in 1996, just in time for their first playoff season. The excitement of a new team, their great success, and the first regular-season game I ever saw live (Panthers over Ravens) hooked me, and I've been a die-hard Panthers fan ever since. I live in Atlanta now, but still root for the Panthers (and try to make it to the Panthers-Falcons game here every year).
ReplyDeleteBorn and raised in Baltimore. When slime ball Irsay snuck out of town in 1984 that ended a lifelong love affair with the horseshoes. For 11 long years I had no NFL team. Then thanks to former Colt Jerry Richardson I was born again, this time as a Panther fan (the very first one I am sure here in Las Vegas) and have been loyal to them since. Go Cats see ya in Tampa.
ReplyDeleteBorn and raised in Pittsburgh, I've lived in Charlotte almost 6 years now. The Steelers are my AFC team, Panthers are my NFC team. Besides hating the growl towel or any other rip-off of the great Terrible Towel, I cheer as hard for my new home as I do for my old. If my two teams meet in the Big Game this year, I feel myself leaning South. I'd be happy either way, but the time has come for Crown Town to get a super bowl ring of its own.
ReplyDeleteI first started watching the panthers when i was in fourth grade. That year the panthers went to the super bowl and i havent missed a panthers game since.
ReplyDeleteLifelong NC native, but before we had a team, I was a Saints fan (I really liked New Orleans when I visited as a teenager). After the 2000 season when Siefert cut Beuerlein for Jeff Lewis (!?!), I got so mad that that I swore I wouldn't be a Panthers fan again as long as Siefert was in the organization, and spent that year as a Saints fan again. Thankfully after that, the Panthers fired Siefert and the Saints dumped all my favorite players over the next two years, and I'm a Panther fan for good now.
ReplyDelete-BullCityDog
Native. Born in Texas, but moved to SC when I was 5. My Dad was a huge Dallas Cowboys fan and so was I until Jerry Jones fired Tom Landry. Dad swore them off forever, and since I was only 12 years old, I followed my old man's lead.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a team at that point. It was tough, especially because the Cowboys were winning Super Bowls soon thereafter. I had been born too late to enjoy the Dallas' success of the '70s, cheered for them just when they started to stink in the mid-'80s, swore them off and then they started to win again.
That's why the Panthers mean so much to me. In October '93 when the NFL announced it was coming to Charlotte, I was so elated to have a team again.
THANK YOU MR. RICHARDSON! GET WELL SOON!
Was 10 when the good news came in, so does that count as Native? I will cheer for the Panthers until the day I die. If I had to move from Charlotte? Well, we'll just hope that the day never comes... GO PANTHERS!
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog :)