A thought concerning our fandom

[SaltAndPepper]

Since Tepper bought the team, there has been six losing seasons. The general temperature of the fanbase has now gone from impatient to apathetic. It's no secret that a lot of us here at the huddle are turning off the game, posting less, etc. 

Similar to how Snyder lost a significant portion of the fan-base to the Panthers, Eagles, and other organizations as his reign of tyranny continued, could we see a palpatable loss like that in just fans from Tepper? Could Panthers fans who were originally Redskin Refugees go back to the Commanders (or whatever their name may be in the future)? Could the health of the Panthers slowly be going Comatose? 

[mc52beast]

It’s possible if Tepper doesn’t turn things around quickly. I think firing Reich was more about him knowing the fanbase is at a breaking point and not so much that he really wanted to fire Frank.

[TheCandyMan]

I'm a Panthers fan in spite of David Tepper.  It's hard for me to turn my back on a team I've been a fan of since the start, but Tepper has killed my passion.  The way he runs this organization, FC, and the debacles out of the stadium like the Rock Hill project I'm just done with him and his wife.

Edited November 27, 2023 by TheCandyMan

[GEM]

I will not bleed black and blue knowing that he is the owner. I have seen enough. I could have been all in with a Charlotte guy coach and tough team that no one would like to play.

[heel31ok]

1 hour ago, mc52beast said:

It’s possible if Tepper doesn’t turn things around quickly. I think firing Reich was more about him knowing the fanbase is at a breaking point and not so much that he really wanted to fire Frank.

yeah no red flags there...

[t96]

Every fanbase has a ton of fairweather fans and if the team sucks they won't be interested or will turn their fandom elsewhere. But those fans will come back if the team is good again. Look at the Hurricanes -- win the Cup and have several great years, great fanbase. 10 years of missing the playoffs and the fanbase seemed extinct. Now sustained success with 5 straight playoff appearances and a few deep runs and the fanbase is bigger than ever. I don't think we'll see a significant impact in the sense of current fans leaving for another team outside of those fairweather fans who will come back. But what we will see is less young fans being developed which will impact the fanbase 10-20, etc. years from now.

[Cpt slay a ho]

I’ll just be a neutral nfl fan then, being a diehard was easier when even when we sucked we had smitty, peppers, cmc, cam, etc to root for, even during some bad seasons there was hopium

but this guy tepper has given the fans no hope that this franchise is on the right path, I mean zero hope, I’d never switch teams but it’s an embarrassment even mentioning being a panthers fan currently 

[usmcpanthers]

I tell people, dont ever question my loyalty, imma panthers fan.....always gets a laugh, they are like damn lol.

[Montsta]

49 minutes ago, t96 said:

Every fanbase has a ton of fairweather fans and if the team sucks they won't be interested or will turn their fandom elsewhere. But those fans will come back if the team is good again. Look at the Hurricanes -- win the Cup and have several great years, great fanbase. 10 years of missing the playoffs and the fanbase seemed extinct. Now sustained success with 5 straight playoff appearances and a few deep runs and the fanbase is bigger than ever. I don't think we'll see a significant impact in the sense of current fans leaving for another team outside of those fairweather fans who will come back. But what we will see is less young fans being developed which will impact the fanbase 10-20, etc. years from now.

Fair weather fan is a bit of a misnomer though. I’ve been a fan of this team through some remarkably shitty seasons. Sports fandom should be like a marriage in that it is a two way street. As fans we have managed to judge each other by how big of fans we are, how often we go to games, how much menu we spend on merchandise, etc. 

 

Reality is though, that the apathetic nature of the team has led me to realize that there are a lot of other ways I can use my  time that bring me a lot more enjoyment than this poo show. I still love the Panthers and can never see myself rooting for another team with any measurable level of heart or enthusiasm, but if your spouse is doing absolutely nothing to contribute to the marriage, it’s hard to fault yourself for looking for love in other places. 

[Brooklyn 3.0]

I can't imagine ever stopping rooting for the team, mainly because my only other options are the Jets and Giants lol.

[t96]

20 minutes ago, Montsta said:

Fair weather fan is a bit of a misnomer though. I’ve been a fan of this team through some remarkably shitty seasons. Sports fandom should be like a marriage in that it is a two way street. As fans we have managed to judge each other by how big of fans we are, how often we go to games, how much menu we spend on merchandise, etc. 

 

Reality is though, that the apathetic nature of the team has led me to realize that there are a lot of other ways I can use my  time that bring me a lot more enjoyment than this poo show. I still love the Panthers and can never see myself rooting for another team with any measurable level of heart or enthusiasm, but if your spouse is doing absolutely nothing to contribute to the marriage, it’s hard to fault yourself for looking for love in other places. 

I don't disagree nor was my post saying otherwise. Plenty of legit die hard fans will be turned off of the team when they are this bad for this long of a period of time with absolutely nothing to be excited about. I'm a die hard Panthers fan but I've also chosen to do other things than watch this team a few times the last couple years. In years past I would know the full 53 man roster out of camp and every single transaction that happened, now I have no clue who some of our starters are (that guard who we cut a week or 2 ago, had no clue who he was until he was released lol). Level of interest may be affected to varying degrees but fans like us will keep coming back. I mean seriously how many regular posters on the huddle won't watch week 1 next year and have some level of excitement about a new coach? Even with how bad we've been under Tepper. If it quickly turns to poo interest will waver yet again but we'll come back. The fairweather fans, which is really a significant portion of any team's fanbase, will only really watch when the team is known to be good. They won't be tuning in week 1 next year. And that's fine, I don't blame them.

This is entertainment after all, and most people are just entertained by winning and exciting plays, which is fair. Many here, like myself, are more into football as a sport and being there to follow and see the full development long term of a team. We didn't win it all in 2015 unfortunately but I can tell you right now I enjoyed that run so much more than many of the fairweather fans. Being a long term fan and seeing the development of the franchise from the first SB, Jake imploding, Clausen to Rivera/Cam coming in 2011 then Luke, following along with TD and his 3 acl tears and rooting for him all the way to come back made the culmination of all that and success of 2015 so much more fun to watch than if I had not followed closely at all and just started watching the wins pile up that year. I would bet you agree. And neither of us are gonna jump ship and switch to another team just because we stop following the Panthers as closely as we used to

[Waldo]

I expect the PSLs to start defaulting next season and a lot more non-renewals in 25. 

The fairweather fans left back in 2019 with a sprinkling of player followers here and there since. I guess on the bright side I still know Jets fans that keep talking about next year so there should remain some kind of fan base moving forward. Not enough to fill an empty stadium or keep opposing teams from renting it for cheap every home game but something. 

[ickmule]

5 hours ago, SaltAndPepper said:

Could Panthers fans who were originally Redskin Refugees go back to the Commanders (or whatever their name may be in the future)?

I know I am.  There is plenty more hope there.   

[LinvilleGorge]

Let's be honest and pat all of ourselves on the back for a minute. If you have enough care left in you to come here to discuss this team in anyway as a fan, you're as fuging diehard as fans come. All the fairweather fans jumped off of this ship years ago.