4 interesting articles from 1993

[DaveThePanther2008]

I was reading about Dallas whooping the heat on cnnsi, saw another S.I. cover, that lead me to all covers and then I notice it listed articles. So I searched the Panthers and then i searched the latter part of 1993. I found these 4 articles talking about the teams that were in the running for a NFL franchise.

So here is a blast from the past. I found them fun to read now that we know the outcome.

The 1st Article SI is really hating on Carolina.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1138664/index.htm

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1138545/index.htm

J.R. really kicked their ass on his presentation. They had already selected us it was the other 4 cities fighting for a spot.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1137882/index.htm

Cool to see the front cover was Alonzo Mourning and Bill Russell.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1137883/index.htm

Isn't it ironic the three cities that HAD a franchise at one time were the ones that missed out.

Baltimore Colts and St. Louis Cardinals in NFL and the Memphis Showboats in the USFL.

[D34Williams]

Hilariously, Richardson is selling what he calls seat licenses to people we call suckers. A seat license—48,500 have been sold, some for as much as $5,400—entitles the holder to purchase a season ticket. The better the seat, the more expensive the license. It is not clear if Richardson is required by North Carolina state law to carry a license to steal. Nor is it clear why, exactly, a license is necessary to buy a seat at a football game, especially when you consider that the NFL already has a seven-day waiting period between games.

Usher: May I see your license and registration?

That's pretty funny. Before PSL's were what they are now. Is it safe to say Jerry was the one who started the whole PSL thing? Sounds like it from how this guy is taking it.

Thanks for the post, interesting.

[davos]

Here's to fried chicken and seat licencing!

[malik]

that one guy really hated NC. Im sure he lived here long enough to know how much it sucks.

I was really suprised to see it called the no fun league even back then wow.

[DaveThePanther2008]

Yes there were more but I only posted a few.

Here is the search page.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/result/article/index.htm?query=carolina%20panthers&searchType=mag_article&allClause=&exactClause=&notClause=&orClause=&startDt=1993-08-01&endDt=1993-12-31&shootId=&sortBy=date&currentPage=1&npp=10&start=1

[Cyberjag]

That's pretty funny. Before PSL's were what they are now. Is it safe to say Jerry was the one who started the whole PSL thing? Sounds like it from how this guy is taking it.

Thanks for the post, interesting.

Yes, Mike McCormack and Jerry Richardson pretty much brought the idea into the mainstream of professional sports.

[jbland]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/9971/index.htm

I miss being a good football team. This picture just made me depressed.

[The_Cannon]

I'm glad we got the franchise by sheer name virtue alone. The other three cities had horrible names...The Memphis Hound Dogs? Really?

[Cat'sGrowl]

I'm glad we got the franchise by sheer name virtue alone. The other three cities had horrible names...The Memphis Hound Dogs? Really?

I actually didn't think the Hound Dogs was bad...you know...cause it's Memphis...Elvis is from there...Elvis sings you ain't nothin but a hound dog...Thought it was clever and I like names that have some meaning behind them.

St. Louis Stallions and Baltimore Cobras are just sheer awful though.

[cdandi1]

That's pretty funny. Before PSL's were what they are now. Is it safe to say Jerry was the one who started the whole PSL thing? Sounds like it from how this guy is taking it.

Thanks for the post, interesting.

Actually the Cowboys were the first to introduce PSL's to the NFL, on a small scale, back in the 80's. The Panthers though are credited for being the first team to ever finance their entire stadium based on PSL's. The panthers are also in textbooks as the grandfather of PSL's in the NFL. Now most teams have some form of PSL's...(except the saints..a ticket office representative spoke to our class and said they had a section of 50 PSL's as a test group, and they never sold and failed miserably..haha)

Anyway, I know that there are only 3 teams in the NFL that have privatly owned stadiums..and I know the Panthers are the only one with a privatly funded AND owned stadium..which is a testament to its fans...fwiw

[tarheelpride]

.....Wasn't it a team called the Charlotte Cobras at one time? It might have just been a video game team though.

I think that was an arena football team

[Razzy]

That's pretty funny. Before PSL's were what they are now. Is it safe to say Jerry was the one who started the whole PSL thing? Sounds like it from how this guy is taking it.

Thanks for the post, interesting.

Jerry pretty did come up with PSL's I think. From the outside perspective of a non-PSL owner, the PSL program is pretty much a business program meant to keep tickets occupied. Most teams adopted similar programs in the 90's or early 2000's though. Most NFL teams basically take it for granted that butts will be in the seats come Sunday.

[DevilCat]

I think that was an arena football team

The NFL wanted the Charlotte franchise to be called the "Rhinos" or "Cobras"...colors were to be Purple and Gold.

[Razzy]

I'm fine with the Panthers. The name doesn't make the team, what originally attracted me to this team in early 2003 was their character and spirit. It makes more sense than the Rhinos or Cobras, since Carolina was at once home to American Panthers. Hell, when I went to highschool we didn't have a mascot our first year, since it had just been built. The students voted to name us the "wolfpack" and our colors would be black, grey, white, and silver. The school board voted that off and instead we became the "longhorns" and our colors were maroon, white, and silver. Supposedly our area of Southern California has a history of ranching longhorn cattle, but I have never seen one in my life. I would've rather been the wolfpack.