FanPost

Why I'm a fan of the Carolina Panthers

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

I grew up in New Jersey and neither one of my parents cared much about sports. My Dad would rather spend his weekends underneath the hood of a car, and we have many great memories 'wrenching' together. From an early age, I was addicted to sports. My Dad's side of the family was never really into it. His Dad was a minister and did many missionary trips down to South Carolina. I was 5 when he passed away, so I was never able to go with him. My Mom's Dad was an avid Mets and Giants fan (we were from Jersey, so there's no Mets/Jets, Giants/Yankees allegiance). I loved listening and watching the games with him. I had baseball and football cards that I collected with all my favorite players. For my 6th birthday, I wanted a football uniform. Out of all the sports, this was my absolute favorite to watch. I received a Jets uniform, and against the will of my Grandfather, that became my team.

When I was 7, I met my best friend in school, and even though he wasn't much into sports, his Dad was. He was a Jets and a Yankees fan. If I wasn't playing with my WWE action figures with my friend, I was watching sports with his Dad. Yankees, Jets, and the Devils. My football team allegiance waffled as I grew older. In the early 90's I was a Jets, Cowboys, Dolphins, and Eagles fan by the time I was 9. As a kid, I went with who was winning, who was on TV, and which team would be the least made fun of at school. In 1995, I was 10 and this new team came into the league, The Carolina Panthers. I loved the colors, the mascot, and that they were from the Carolinas. My affinity to my Dad's Dad doing missionary work in South Carolina Sparked this. This was coupled with my Best Friend's parents owned a vacation home in South Carolina, and his Dad started rooting for the Panthers in addition to the Jets.

I didn't get to see many games in 1995, but when they went to the NFC Championship game in 1996, I was hooked. I had found MY team. In the trash was all my old Cowboy, Eagles and Jets gear and for Christmas, I wanted anything Panthers I could get my hands on. In 2012, my Dad was relocated, so we moved to AZ. This didn't stop my Panthers craze. I went to the Cardinals game where they clinched the NFC South that year and went to every game they played in AZ. I even went to a game in Tampa Bay in 2005, which they were blown out, but finished the season 11-5. In 2014, I was in San Francisco for that hard fought battle. I saw Cam's first NFL game, too.

When I bought my first house, I immediatly got NFL Sunday Ticket, so I never missed a game. My career took me to Pittsburgh, PA, where I'm surrounded by Steeler fans but nothing will convince me to change my allegiance. Not a 1-15 season, not location, nothing. This is MY team.

I've been hooked since I was 10, have a man cave dedicated to the team, 6+ jerseys, numerous amounts of apparel, and bleed black and blue. The one thing I'm disappointed to say is I've just never been to a game at BofA. It's on the bucket list. Maybe when the kids get older...

Keep Pounding.

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