The Feeling of Sustained Success

[Mr. Scot]

Voth: This is what sustained success feels like

 

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"I go around in Charlotte, and fans are like, ‘Man, I'm getting ready for the game!' I’m hearing that everywhere," the Panthers cornerback says. "It’s ridiculous. I can’t even go to the gas station without getting honked at.

"It's becoming a football town."

 

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We're a football-mad country, so most cities with NFL teams are football towns just by osmosis. That the Panthers are the hottest sports topic in Charlotte isn't anything new. The degree of popularity is.

"It's tremendous to go out to dinner, take your family out and everybody recognizes (you)," says fullback Mike Tolbert. "To see the type of enthusiasm that this city has right now, the buzz that's going around, it's amazing. It's something that you can't describe."

 

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To many who were around during the only time the Panthers have played into February, this is even better than that. These Panthers haven't yet matched the 2003 Super Bowl run, but basic math proves the present is bigger.

"The city's been growing, so with that, the fan base has grown," says receiver Brenton Bersin, a Charlotte native and fan of the franchise for its entire 21 seasons. "There's always been die-hard fans, but now it's coming from outside Charlotte.

"There's fans all over the country now, even around the world."

He's right. There's certainly no record of an English soccer team sending jerseys to Jake Delhomme and company 12 years ago.

 

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"Every kid you see around town is wearing nothing but Panthers and that wasn't always the case when we first got here," says tight end Greg Olsen, who in 2011 was traded to a team that won just two games its previous season. "But you have to create that, it doesn't just happen because you have an NFL franchise. You have to give people something to be proud of, something to embrace.

"I think this season has shown the city just how special and what it means to have a highly competitive NFL franchise. Hopefully, we've proven we're not just a flash in the pan, we're an annual threat."

It appears that way, especially since the Panthers have the league's soon-to-be MVP at the game's most important position. And Cam Newton is just 26, at least 10 years younger than the other three quarterbacks who will play in conference championship games this weekend.

 

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For Charlotte, the Panthers and even Newton, the trip may be just beginning.

"I'm in a position where just as much love as you get, you get hatred. Obviously, I hear what people say, the letters that they write," Newton says. "My big thing was trying to make the biggest impact on people that would give me a chance and Charlotte has always welcomed me with open arms.

"It's something that puts a smile on my face. It puts a smile on my heart as well as my family's just to know I can always call Charlotte home and will always call Charlotte home."

 

Consider:

This team that previously had never won the Division title twice in a row has now won it three times in a row, and is well positioned to win more.

The Panthers have an MVP level quarterback and the best defensive player in the league signed to long-term contracts.

Team leadership is stable, has been drafting well and has had success in free agency despite cap issues (which are now greatly minimized).

Not bad. 

Not bad at all.

 

Going to, and winning, this year's Super Bowl would be the highest achievement this franchise has ever accomplished.  I have no idea whether or not we will do it, but I firmly believe that we can, and fans like me are not the only ones saying that.

I'm certainly not ready to predict more 15-1 seasons or a Patriot level dominance, but when you put all the above factors (and more) together, there's plenty of reason to believe that this fun ride we're having might just keep going for a while.

[MCCNASTY]

It's going to be a helluva ride!!!  Already has!

[Mr. Scot]

Black & Blue Review ‏@BlackBlueReview 9m9 minutes ago

More tv news cameras are here to shoot panthers in snow than at any point this week or season.

[Hammerin'Cameron34]

Unbelievable 

[jackson113]

I remember in 2010, I was debating wether or not to be seen in public in Panthers gear. Feast or famine, still represented though.

[YourMomsLover]

One day I will have a long sustained orgasm. This helps 

[FootballMaestro]

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For Charlotte, the Panthers and even Newton, the trip may be just beginning.

"I'm in a position where just as much love as you get, you get hatred. Obviously, I hear what people say, the letters that they write," Newton says. "My big thing was trying to make the biggest impact on people that would give me a chance and Charlotte has always welcomed me with open arms.

"It's something that puts a smile on my face. It puts a smile on my heart as well as my family's just to know I can always call Charlotte home and will always call Charlotte home."

 

Bam! Pow! Boom!

I know Charlotte fans must love that!?

[manu4t]

54 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

This team that previously had never won the Division title twice in a row has now won it three times in a row, and is well positioned to win more

No team but CAR has won two in a row, much less three in our division.  This really goes to your point about our success bring sustained both here and division wide in an unprecedented manner.  It also shows what a great turnaround we have had under Gettleman, not to mention how rapidly the turnaround has come.

[Mr. Scot]

4 minutes ago, manu4t said:

No team but CAR has won two in a row, much less three in our division.  This really goes to your point about our success bring sustained both here and division wide in an unprecedented manner.  It also shows what a great turnaround we have had under Gettleman, not to mention how rapidly the turnaround has come.

And here's the thing for me: Rapid turnaround is not that unusual in the NFL.  Lots of teams do it.

Rapid turnaround followed by sustained success is far less common.

You can make a team better in a relatively short time, but keeping them better is a far bigger challenge.  Even here, Marty Hurney managed to build a quick winner, but he couldn't maintain it.

Gettleman is planning beyond just this season.  He's putting in the work to try to make sure this team is a perennial contender, not just a flash in the pan.

I really wanna see that happen.

[AviationMX]

how about the comparison of the Panthers and Cards??

one is young and has drafted well and the other is...old. I doubt we see the Cards in the playoffs in the coming years.

[shaqattaq]

5 hours ago, jackson113 said:

I remember in 2010, I was debating wether or not to be seen in public in Panthers gear. Feast or famine, still represented though.

I'm in Wilmington, and it was hard to fine gear. You had to go to specialty shops to find anything, and then it was in the back corner. Now it's everywhere! Almost everything I got for Christmas was some sort of Panthers paraphernalia. 

[ctrcat]

The greatest dynasty of the salary cap era in its infancy.  Yippee ki-yay mother f'ckers.

[bleys]

My sister ran into Trai Turner at Pinkys..  

She's been a pretty decent fan in past years, but it's surprised me how familiar she has become with the team. 

 

[sharkkiller]

7 hours ago, MCCNASTY said:

It's going to be a helluva ride!!!  Already has!

that pic in your sig looks like the loneliest tailgate ever.