Carolina Huddle

by Ira Cronin

As much as I hate to admit it, the Panthers are a team that just can’t do anything the easy way.  That being said, it’s good the Cardiac Cats are back.  Yes, I wish they were the Blow ‘em out Cats, or the Make It Look Easy Cats, but those just wouldn’t be our Carolina Panthers.

As I recall it was the Super Bowl team of 2003 that first coined that dreaded phrase, Cardiac Cats.  They beat Jacksonville in the opener on a game winning catch from Jake Delhomme to Ricky Proehl.  They had to go to overtime to beat Tampa on the road in week two, after an un-likely point after was blocked by Kris Jenkins.  They would play five overtime games in all, including that miraculous double overtime playoff win at St. Louis.  Their largest margin of victory was a 20 point win at home against Atlanta, but other than that, most the games were close and hard fought to the bitter end.  The Panthers were blown out by the Titans at home that year.  Bottom line is, they were a team that couldn’t do anything to easy way either, but look where the finished.  Three points shy of overtime in the Super Bowl.

So that’s where we are at with this year’s team, and I don’t think that’s anything to get down about.  I actually had a viewer call my e-mail during the game today, I would guess sometime in the late 3rd, or early 4th quarter while Aaron Rogers was looking like the second coming of Brett Favre, and actually leave me a message bemoaning the Panthers defensive players AND coaching staff.  I think fans this year simply have to get onboard with the idea that this team is simply a team that will fight to the end, and not give up when the chips are down.  They are the Cardiac Cats, and as much as I hate to admit that, it may not be a bad thing after all.  Just look at where the last version of the Cardiac Cats took the Panthers and their fans.

Carolina Panthers