Seltzer

I'm ready to bust through the concrete walls at BOA... what a fugging legend!!

Hell yes he is!! This can all blow up like some much has the last few years. But absolutely nothing in this world can dampen my excitement to be at BOA next week with my boys who were too young to experience Cam live before. At the end of the day, sports is about moments as much as anything. I cannot think of a better moment than when Cam comes out of the tunnel vs WFT & Rivera.

Anybody who thinks otherwise is trying to read something into that interview that just isn't there...

GTFOH with that today... For one day only we enjoy this before the cool slap of reality hits us in the face

Both sports and life without hope lose their meaning. I have no idea how this will play out in terms of winning or losing, but just like you, I was ready to tune out not b/c I don't love the team, but b/c there no hope and I was getting tired of getting my soul crushed every week. My 10-year old son has never seen Cam get introduced and/or play live. Along with the accompanying excitement he brings to the stadium. Sitting at BOA watching a nonexistent offense surrounded by enough opposing fans that it feels like an away game has been horrific. Just like Tepper, I want to see back-to-back winning seasons and a SB win. But for right now, I will take this and nothing else. I too am surprised by just how excited I am... hope can do wonders for the human soul.

Today is a day to be happy. I don't know if this can really turn the season around, and it doesn't erase the gross mismanagement of the QB position over the last few years (which if we're being honest goes all the way back to 2016 and Rivera playing Cam hurt), but for today... It offers hope and nostalgia, 2 of the strongest human emotions there are... and I'm here for it

It can't be worse than where we are at with Darnold. I need a reason to keep going to games, and this is it. If nothing else, my 10 year old will get the see the magic Cam once brought when he is introduced. I don't have unrealistic expectations, but in a season that has devolved as bad as this one, it's at least a dose of hope and nostalgia...

Disagree on that. Henderson was definitely worth a 3rd. Darnold was dumb, and Rhule has no one to blame but himself... Rhule said too many things about Teddy for that relationship to last more than last year, which predicated us getting into the QB derby where we lost big-time. Watson was obviously the 1st choice, that fell through, then Stafford chose the Rams. Rhule got desperate and rather than wait until the draft to see where the chips fell, they hitched their wagon to what they (wrongly) perceived was one of the only remaining viable options at starting QB. People vastly overestimate the hit rate on 3rd rounders... getting a top 10 pick after 1 year for a 3rd is smart business. The 2nd rounder for Darnold isn't even that bad from a draft compensation standpoint, it was just a massive failure of hubris to believe this coaching staff could correct 3+ years of bad film

Never will happen and makes absolutely no sense. Canes games are game right now b/c the Canes are good. There is no inherent "betterness" of that market Dumb argument for moving the Panthers from the largest market in the Carolinas. The team is not going to move to a smaller market in the same state.

Those are people who are looking to sell them on their own instead/before they give up on them... if you contact the Panthers directly there are many PSLs for sale... that is a result of people forfeiting them and them defaulting back to the Panthers which keeps them off the secondary market. Just as an anecdote, the Panthers contacted me about PSLs for sell on both sides of me in Section 540. The team asked for $3000 per seating license as recent as 5 years ago to my knowledge. They are now trying hard to get rid of them at $1200 per seat. That is a direct result of the supply jumping up big time

This will be the 4th consecutive season of no playoffs, and the 6th since we won the division. The entire Tepper Era has been a disaster thus far if we're being honest... We have went from a SB contender to literally having the worst QB and passing offense in the league

Based on what I see with my own eyes and the constant calls/emails from the Panthers about buying more PSLs, that list of suckers is much shorter than it used to be. The number of suckers to sell them to has dropped precipitously over the last few years. Tepper can not be blind to this fact. The Panthers had sold-out every game from 2002-2018. They quietly stopped referencing it in 2019, and Covid only made it worse.

That's the thing. PSL owners are dropping them and forfeiting their investment in droves. I'm a long way from saying or even thinking the team will be moved. But this has to be on Tepper's radar. A team without cheering fans is a problem regardless of the financials. Panthers fans have supported this team through thick and thin. I no longer believe based on what I'm seeing as a long term PSL owners that that level of support still exists, and the clock is ticking before true apathy sets in

Everything you said is correct. But what is going to be done in the interim? This team isn't close to becoming a contender IMHO. I wish I could say differently. PSL owners are dropping and have been dropping for several years. Bad teams and Covid have only accelerated the process. The team has quietly stopped reporting on consecutive sellouts bc the games aren't sold out... The TV revenues pay for the team. That's not in doubt. What is in doubt is whether an engaged fanbase, which has supported this team since Day 1 with PSLs, is going to continue in an environment that is constantly sucking the Fandom out of us

I certainty understand your sentiment. And the free market part of me understands why PSL owners sell their tickets. But while that is good for them individually, the aggregate effect is collectively awful for the team and the fanbase. I certainty don't have the authority or for that matter the answer to this problem. I'm just there at BOA and I know how bad the problem has become

I'm starting to honestly become concerned that is the trajectory this team is on. I didn't go to games back in 2001, but the stadium environment has become the worst I've seen in 16 years. It's not just the poor performance of the team, although that certainly plays a big part. And it didn't happen overnight. Many things since 2006 have taken the shine off of attending live. HD TV viewing, the expense and time of attending a game, fantasy football, Covid, etc. have all led to less crowd engagement and "butts in the seats." Other people have rightly referenced TV revenues and the fact that live attendance certainly doesn't make or break a team financially when the TV contracts are so big. But a piss poor stadium environment looks bad, and you're right, Tepper could ultimately blame the Panthers fans and just walk away. I'm just saying it's not on us as fans, we have done our part, and we don't feel like the owner cares at all. Ultimately, everyone is right that I alone really have no influence over the NFL machine. It is still cathartic nonetheless to vent to the only group of people that may understand. In the end, all I can reiterate is that the current stadium experience is awful and unsustainable if the desired result is an engaged fanbase.

I just wonder how embarrassed Tepper will be when the stadium really is empty of fans except for the opposite team. May be he needs more visceral embarrassment than even how poorly the team is playing. If that's the case, like I said, there are literally thousands of PSL owners ready to give him his wish.

I'm not disputing that winning is the ultimate cure for what ails this franchise. But without a proven LT or QB, we are still a long ways away from winning. And it's becoming a vicious cycle... the team sucks, fairweather fans sell, the experience sucks for the most loyal fans. Like you said it has been 4+ years of this... I don't think Tepper has earned the right or latitude with fans to expect them to keep supporting this sinking ship cart blanche until they start winning. Thousands of PSL owners have already walked away... there are a lot more of us on the precipice. Just saying winning will cure all is quaint at this point. And I mean that with no disrespect. Winning is this ephemeral thing that this team simply can't capture and doesn't seem to be even close if we're being honest. Something has to be done in the interim.

I understand free markets perfectly well. And Tepper can stick to that mantra, but he will have no fanbase left that actually is interesting in paying to watch the team live. He has to decide what is worth more to him long-term. Obviously, there will be pissed off people who won't be able to profit. But revoking PSL's has been done and it should be done if he cares about the most loyal fans. There have been thousands of PSL owners who have simply walked away. I know b/c I'm there. Tepper also has to know what a huge problem this is. I don't care about the feelings of PSL owners who simply view this as an investment. If Tepper really has no more concern for this team beyond that, he should sell the team. If he does actually care about bringing a championship to the Carolinas and developing a culture worth a damn, he has to do something. Not doing something is straight up malfeasance, and it is destroying the most loyal part of the fanbase.

I'm usually an optimist, but this feels like 2009 where we realized we had no QB and no hope... I feel like we have at least another year in QB purgatory, and it's depressing as hell. And there is no guarantee there is a Cam Newton waiting beyond the horizon. Like I said, I can't snap my fingers and change the direction of this franchise, but I can't keep subjecting myself to the torture of watching this S-show live when the stadium is overran by the opposing team. It's just an awful feeling all the way around, and it's not where I thought we would be at this point. And it seems like it is going to get worse again before there's any hope of getting better.

It was probably 40-45% Patriots fans and the rest Panthers fans. We literally had nothing to cheer for in the 2nd half. Towards the end of the game it was definitely 75% Patriots fans, same as it was against the Eagles. It's depressing to even write it, and it sure as fug sucked in person.

He better come out after the season with an update on the grand plan and what he is going to do to earn the continued support of the fans. The team has progressively gotten worse under Tepper. I don't see a sustainable long-term plan... wasn't that the point??

This is my biggest request as a 16 season (and unfortunately counting) PSL holder. Tepper needs to address this as soon as the season is over. I hate the losing, full stop, but nothing has made me question my commitment to this team more than the stadium being taken over by opposing fans. I'm tired of experiencing it, I'm tired of trying to bring my son into Panthers fandom with all of it, and I'm tired for all the loyal Panthers fans who have tried to stick by the team. Another wasted season is bad enough... if I am going to have to suffer through this BS excuse for an offense, the least I can ask is to endure the humiliation amongst actual Panthers fans without having to have other fans gloat while I waste another day and several hundred dollars on what is proving to be a futile endeavor. It's just adding a layer of embarrassment and humiliation that I can't continue to ignore... Tepper is worth $14B+. If he cares about this fan base, he will do something as soon as humanly possible, finances be damned. I understand winning is the best thing for the fanbase, but in lieu of that (since "developing sustained success" evidently is a 5 year-plus plan), I need something from Tepper that lets me and the other loyal fans know he cares. It's not even the money, although the financial commitment is significant. I'm tired of pouring my heart and soul into supporting the team live when it seems like no one cares. I'm not a blowhard who says I'm not going to watch (b/c I will), but I can't continue to waste my time and money and Sundays with my son on this nonsense. I'm not spoiled enough to believe I deserve a win as a fan, but I do deserve a better stadium experience. If Tepper can't provide that, he should sell the team to someone who can. I'd rather have a half full stadium of Panthers fans than a 3/4 full stadium with 40+% opposing teams fans. And that is honestly the case at this point. It's absolutely out of control and is more demoralizing to me than anything else. I can continue to be patient on this master plan, but not with the current disregard for PSL owners who want to support the team. Tepper should cancel the PSL's for owners who sell their tickets consistently and buy them out. It may be a short-term loss, but he should be worried about the current trajectory of the Panthers most loyal fans towards apathy. It simply cannot continue like this if the Panthers want the support from the most committed fans. End rant, but I know there are thousands of other PSL owners like me that have had enough of the BS.

Just got parked... this is so demoralizing to see so many Patriots jerseys in uptown... I don't what can be done, but it is BS that the fans that cared enough to buy the PSLs to finance this stadium have to be subjected to this on a constant basis. PSL holders who constantly sell their tickets should forfeit them

I live near Scott Fowler and can 100% confirm he is absolutely the clown he comes across to be. I use to coach against him and he was shady and always wanting and thinking the refs should help him out since he was a "local celebrity"... Anyway, the only thing positive I can say if his boys are good, respectful young men (I'm assuming due to the mother)