We joke about how the NFL has a script for the season. But maybe it's not a joke?

[Gapanthersfan]

18 minutes ago, fanpanther said:

I say it all the time its not the number of calls or penalty yards its the calls that are called at the perfect time that directly effect the game.  I would love someone unbiased to just watch nfl games and keep track of calls that directly impact games and keep that as a stat and see how it shakes out across the league i would think certain teams woild benefit alot more than others. 

If you can stall out 2 drives on team A, and keep a stalled drive alive for team B, team B will win the vast majority of the time. 

[kungfoodude]

9 hours ago, Waldo said:

There always has been collusion, as long as I have been a fan. It sure looks like they tweaked outcomes too. Good luck proving it. As much as I despise a lot of the ownership I'm still not sure what would happen if it was forced to change.

It's not even really nearly as nefarious as people make it out. These teams are a financial investment. They are just protecting their investments. 

Do they fug the fans and players in the end? Of course. Same way corporations always fug the employees and clients long before they ever consider fuging shareholders.

[KillerKat]

I can guarantee you the NFL is going to give Rodgers the Manning treatment this year before he retires.

[HaricotVert]

worst ad campaign idea ever

 

[CPcavedweller]

On 6/24/2025 at 11:52 AM, HaricotVert said:

If after the whole Colin Kaepernick thing you don’t believe that the NFL colludes then I don’t know what tell you

If it were now, he would be re-signed because of what he could bring to a team. Deshuan Watson was signed to $250 million guaranteed.

Kaepernick's problem was that he just wasn't that good. Good enough to win, but not better than any other QB teams could go get, and win with. 

[CPcavedweller]

1 hour ago, KillerKat said:

I can guarantee you the NFL is going to give Rodgers the Manning treatment this year before he retires.

Rodgers isn't a golden boy like Manning was. Manning was "The Golden Boy" of his era despite the dominance by Brady and Belichek.

[panthersphan]

On 6/24/2025 at 1:23 PM, Proudiddy said:

Witnessing and FEELING the NFL bend us over and grab our ankles in Super Bowl 50 in real-time…  that was the turning point for me.  I have not viewed the NFL, or pro sports for that matter, the same, ever since.  Look at the NBA.  You’re talking about astronomical odds for the #1 pick on the teams in the back-end of it.  The Mavericks mysteriously and inexplicably out of nowhere trade their franchise players - one of the biggest stars in the league, and an international superstar…  and of all places, to the LA Lakers, with LeBron.  They get back an oft-injured Anthony Davis.  Their team, including Davis, end up getting injured to the point they barely have enough healthy players to play games as the year goes on.  Their GM takes a ton of heat and never really offers a reasonable, not plausible explanation as to why they did the trade in the first place.  He also states that they never took any calls from any other teams, they never fielded any other offers for Luka, and they didn’t even take the offer elsewhere to see what other teams offered.  Absolutely no due diligence.  Now ask yourself, why would a team do that?  Not just in sports, why would any business do such a thing?  Not maximizing your return?  Not doing due diligence?  Fast forward a couple months…  the GM has been lambasted, ridiculed, and belittled the entire time since.  The lottery comes around, and the Mavs, who were just in the NBA Finals the year before, barely miss the playoffs due to all of their injuries.  Davis, Kyrie Irving, etc., all their best players were injured.  They had the smallest mathematical chance at getting the #1 pick.  Guess who got the #1 pick?

The Mavericks.  So this plays out like the NBA asked the Mavs to do them a solid.  One of their blue-blood, prestigious, big market franchises needed a bump with LeBron getting older.  LA throws together a garbage package, sending them an aging star and some garbage picks for one of the biggest stars and historically one of the most incredible offensive players in NBA history, and the NBA ensures the Mavs will beat powerball odds and get the #1 pick, when it just so happens that Cooper Flagg, projected to be a generational talent, is coming out in the draft.  You scratch our back, we’ll scratch yours.

Also, who got the #2 pick?  The Spurs.  A year after obtaining the #1 pick to acquire another touted generational talent in Wembanyama, after a 20+ year run as one of the most successful NBA dynasties in history.  They suddenly have their first bad year, get the #1 pick ahead of us, the Hornets (after wallowing in mediocrity for decades), and get Wemby, and now get the #2 pick the following year.  
 

There was talk here earlier in the offseason about things lining up for us to go to the Super Bowl this year, and at the time, I half jokingly said I could see it, as the patsy for Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson’s redemption arc.  Again, after all of the poo that happened in Super Bowl 50, then watching the refs stand by idly over the next two years while week after week our opponents took cheap shot after illegal cheap shot on our once-in-a-lifetime talent in Cam Newton…  that poo took a lot of the heart out of it for me.  I’ve said for years, if big money involved, corruption is inherent.  There’s no way around it.  I’ve accepted that every professional sport is influenced by the money.  And storylines bring big money.  It has become purely entertainment with a small pinch of competition.  At least the WWE tells you exactly what they are, and thus, you can enjoy it for what it is.  The NFL and NBA specifically, specialize in crushing the hearts of fans who believe it’s still real and untainted.  fug Goodell and Silver.

Give this man a standing ovation

[JPPT1974]

1 hour ago, panthersphan said:

Give this man a standing ovation

Beyond a standing ovation. With all that work. As storylines do bring in big cash! And hopefully ratings for TV/media!

[Waldo]

15 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

It's not even really nearly as nefarious as people make it out. These teams are a financial investment. They are just protecting their investments. 

Do they fug the fans and players in the end? Of course. Same way corporations always fug the employees and clients long before they ever consider fuging shareholders.

I think they look at it as investment first too which is why it makes sense. It's nefarious if your not fiscally invested and spend money and time on it. That's why people are still cheering on Luigi...

I still think it would take a few big scandals to change much. See how long Snyder was around and what he was up to the entire time. 

[Gapanthersfan]

Profit sharing among owners.

More ‘desirable’ matchups garner more viewership, leads to more revenue generated and more profit for everyone invested. Y’all don’t think there will ever be a Titans vs Panthers SB, do you? lol, yeah right. Tampa vs Jacksonville? Now that’s funny. 

Now, do I think there is ‘the man’ who overlords over all of this? Nah, but bias, even among refs, owners and media can, will, does, and always exist when there is $$ involved. 

Refs are people too. Probably football fans, and as such, probably have a favorite team and a favorite player ( why would a non-fan ever become a ref). There is no way officiating will be completely impartial when this is the case. Might be an interesting idea (not in a stalker ish way) to see where each ref grew up/lives, then you could see their likely allegiance. What if 2 refs officiated the same game and they both grew up in say SF, Dallas, Philly or New York? Impartial officiating. Nah.  
 

Would you be? Panthers need a FG to advance in the playoffs, it’s third and long with 45 sec left in the game… obvious hold on your Your team’s center? You calling that? Don’t lie, you know you wouldn’t. 

[TD alt]

On 6/25/2025 at 9:20 AM, PanthersATL said:

Small Market? That would be Green Bay

Market smaller than Charlotte? Then you're talking Kansas City, Baltimore, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh...

Folks need to stop using "small market" when referring to the Panthers. It's not true when referring just to Charlotte.  It's definitely not true when combining Charlotte with additional coverage areas like Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville or Greensboro/High Point/Winston Salem

 

23 hours ago, Gapanthersfan said:

I was more referring to the actual following each team has. The above teams except for maybe NO have MASSIVE followings. You can go to any sports bar anywhere in the country on a Sunday and there will be all of the above teams’ jerseys represented. 

Yes, the Panthers occupy a large geographical area, but the number of people that actually care about the franchise or can name more than 5 prior players is still very small.

South Carolina is largely Clemson/SEC country and it’s not even close. There is a Panthers contingency, but it has to compete.

Like it or not, Panthers are still not all that relevant in the NFL. We’re a 30 year old team based in a transplant state that loses more often than not, has never had back to back winning seasons, no SB victories and is stuck squarely in college football country. It’s tough to grow our brand until more consistent winning goes our way. Most fans of sports teams are Luke warm bandwagoners. No one jumps on a broken down bandwagon. It’s not hopeless but until we start seeing consistent success it won’t change. 

I did a little research. I think that it's hard to say that we're a traditionally "small-market" team anymore. Technicalities aside, our fan base is certainly not as popular as some others (lots of fans from different fan bases can probably argue that though), but the Panthers do have a solid and committed following if you look at things like home attendance and---fascinatingly---social media digital presence (e.g., back in 2023 there were three million followers of the Panthers on Twitter, ranking them #5). It's just hard to get exact, up-to-date numbers because much of the relevant information is not forthcoming, but suffice it to say that winning changes things, even if temporarily. Even if the fan base is smaller, it certainly seems to make a lot of noise. We just need to win.

On an off note, Tet McMillan has fairly strong rookie jersey sales. Between him, Bryce and Legette, maybe the fan base will grow a little.