With No More Financial or Emotional Ties to This Team...

[Proudiddy]

If they are still pulling for the team, they are fans.  While i dont know if there is a right or wrong in this discussion (so long as everyone talking are all fans of the Panthers), my feeling is at some point fans have to show they arent going to put up with mediocrity.  This is 21 years now of the same old poo.  How do you go 21 years, reach 5 NFCCG  (off the top of my head), reach 2 superbowls, and NEVER have back to back winning seasons?  Indifference, contentment, and entitlement. 

After so many times of seeing it, even lifelong fans reach a threshold of exhaustion.  It weighs on you mentally and emotionally.   If someone is leaving our fanbase to cheer for another team,  then fug them, i dont want them, and they never were fans in the first place.  But people who have been longtime PSL owners and/or have spent their lives following our team and buying their merchandise deciding they arent going to give money away anymore until the FO makes an actual fuging effort to win year in and year out, i have no problems with.

As a fan, when you arent happy with the product, you have two options: 1) go to the game and protest, i.e. bag on head, boo, signage demanding people be fired or 2) let your wallet do the talking.

 

Thanks to the culture in the stadium, and to a degree throughout our fanbase (all the "theyre professionals they can do no wrong" crowd), any form of voicing a dissenting opinion or anything other than accepting the status quo is met with aggression and efforts to silence them.  So, if you go to the stadium, yell the whole game, stand up and boo, hold up signs people dont like, your ass is getting kicked out.  So your only other option is to quit spending money until they change poo and make an effort to be successful, or go to the stadium and get kicked out or be miserable for 3 hours while we do the same old poo that we do every other year (if we're lucky).

[Hotsauce]

14 minutes ago, UNCrules2187 said:

 

Replace Dolphins fan with Panthers fan, voila

Lol, nailed it

[jasonluckydog]

I will always be a fan just no longer a hardcore fan that SB  loss felt like the death of a relative.  like a 2nd cousin passing away, I won't let a sport do that to me again

[Anybodyhome]

Who said anything remotely resembling, "Yeah, fug this team, I'll go be a Jacksonville fan..."?

I simply stated that it's nice to watch a game without getting pissed because they lose or having to rant and rave when they win. I can simply watch the games as a fan of the game, doesn't matter which team it is.... well... to a point. 

I'm 60 years old. I owned season tickets to the Raiders for a good portion of their tenure in LA and I owned Panthers PSLs for 20 years. I still have a place in my heart for the Raiders and I'll always have a place for the Panthers as well. And considering the wife is still a true Carolina fanatic, I'll watch the games with her. 

[PandaPancake]

I cut off the game about 11 minutes into the first quarter. The wife said, maybe I should do this with Giants games. I can only watch so many mistakes before it gets old.

[rhyslloyd]

I will always be a fan just no longer a hardcore fan that SB  loss felt like the death of a relative.  like a 2nd cousin passing away, I won't let a sport do that to me again

Agreed about the Super Bowl. I still haven't came back from that, and I don't want to have that much emotionally invested just to lose it all again. I wasn't nearly as excited for this season as I have been previous seasons, and I truly think the players haven't recovered, either. That's why we see what we're seeing on the field.


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[SOJA]

1 hour ago, Hotsauce said:

Yeah I'm in the same boat as OP. 

Im not planning to see anymore live games this year, giving up my PSL tickets (to other panther fans). Not traveling to any other away games (last year went to 3). 

I also have no more expectations of the team. Yes I want them to play well, but will not let emotions take the joy out of watching these guys play. 

I actually fell asleep in the 3rd qtr last night and woke up to watch the last few mins of the 4th qtr. After the game, went to bed and slept like a baby. 

 

oh don't worry man we know you'll be cheering for the Falcons soon enough

[Soul Rebel]

Fair weathered fans are whats wrong with sports in the Carolinas.  I understand if you have a family and paying for 3 or 4 PSLs and season tickets, on top of concessions, gear, travel time, etc. is too much.  It's the fans that are jumping ship 5 games into a rough starting 2016 after 3 straight NFC South titles and a SB loss 8 months ago.  

We lost to Denver in Denver by a Gano missed FG

We lost to Minnesota who is possibly the best team in the NFL after a horrible blocking penalty that could've cushioned our lead to 17-2 and in full control.  We could've still lost, but we were definitely had the upper hand early.

We lost to Atlanta who is one of the top-5 teams in the NFL. I don't think they are as good as they are, but they are still 4-1 and just beat Denver in Denver, something we couldn't do.

The Bucs game is awful and no way we should've lost at home. If Graham Gano can bang through that earlier FG and our back-up QB doesn't underthrow Olsen in the endzone, and then throw an INT in the endzone, we're winning this game.

It's not like we're getting blown out by Cleveland or Jacksonville here.  

Relax. Step off the ledge. It's going to be okay.  

Actually, if you come on here and disown your fandom to the Panthers, F it, jump off the ledge.... we're probably better off without your support.  

Keep. Pounding.

[Mistuh Jones]

I may be pissed about a few things but in no way shape or form am I closing up shop for the year. That's weak. This isn't even a bad stretch for lifelong panther fans in the long scheme of things. FOH

[SCP]

Lmao at this thread. I swear to god we have the weakest ass fan base in sports. However, after seeing the crowd last night it seems like a better class of fan is buying the OPs tickets because Panthers fans stayed and stayed loud until the end which blew my mind.


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[csx]

Ive been a fan since day one. I will continue to be one regardless of record. Thats just what being a fan is about. 

[CatMan72]

If you don't feel the pain then you can't truly feel the joy of a season like last year and I wouldn't trade that for anything. 

It's all about keeping things in perspective... I'm a PSL owner and I pay to support my local team because without PSL owners we wouldn't have one. I want to see my team win every game, but my financial support goes much deeper than that. I don't look at it as a waste of money if we're not winning, if you set yourself up with that frame of mind then as a sports fan you're in for a lot of disappointment and probably shouldn't have spent the money in the first place. 

My emotional investment is the same as my financial investment, I'll continue to support this team win or lose because what it represents to our community. 

#KeepPounding

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, Mvp2014 said:

They can be fans without dumping a huge investment in the team.  It would be worse if they sold the tix to away fans.

I'm thinking of doing this just to piss off the people in my section. In the long term I'm doing the Panthers fanbase a favor. 

[SOJA]

We have the reigning MVP and a top three defensive player in the league, oh and we're coming off a Superbowl appearance. 

It's times like these I appreciate fanbases like Cleveland. You think we have it bad? When was the last time Cleveland had any semblance of hope? 

If you quit being a fan now, that's great- I'm happy you made that decision- but good riddance. I'd much rather have a smaller fanbase of devote fans than a big one full of whining bandwagoners who have a meltdown everytime things aren't going perfectly.