Why did you become a Panther fan?

[bigskypanthersguy]

Much like a certain ex-player, I'm a ball of hate who can't be contained by his smallish form and pretty much chose the furthest team from me in high school.  They wore my favorite colors, they played defense, and they beat the goddamn America's Team Cowboys in the playoffs in their second year.  That alone in and of itself...

 

 

[h0llywood]

My 1995 pop Warner team was the Panthers. It stayed with me ever since I was a young warthog.

[R0CKnR0LLA]

just to piss off saints fans

 

 

[csx]

My home state got an NFL team.

[Kyle82]

Was always a college football lover but only liked the NFL casually until the Panthers came into existence.

In '95 we had chemical salesmen at work who would literally hand out stacks of a Panther tix to each 'home' game at Clemson. My first game was the Kerry Collins come from behind win against the Falcons and I was hooked.

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[Zithers]

when i was 5 i thought panthers were super cool animals. and then a football team named after them was formed.

 

pretty simple.

 

funny since i grew up in atlanta (being raised by a steeler fan - who i am partial to) and then i spent a decade in tampa... now i'm in san francisco.

 

nothing but hate for the panthers wherever i live :(

[party_animal]

Dan Marino retired.

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[CarolinaSamurai]

3rd generation charlotte native. My dads family and he always loved football it was always around during holiday gatherings. Dads fav teams before panthers was KC and Seattle, when the panthers got announced my dad was stoked. I was 11 at the time didnt care much but went to the inaugrial game and the first stadium game. I guess all that football over the years finnally paid off because I was hooked. Cardiac Cats 4 life

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[NYPantherFan]

This franchise saved my life. I was 6 and probably on my way to becoming one of those loser Bills fans here in Western NY (although I have pictures of me as a toddler in Giants clothing). Luckily, my aunt was living in Raleigh, NC at the time when they started marketing the Panthers and bought me a bunch of Panthers items for my birthday. Ever since, I've been a fan.

 

It was tough growing up in NY as a Panther fan, as you could NEVER find any Panthers stuff. I finally found a Kerry Collins jersey hanging in a JCPenny store. Still to this day its tough to find Panthers stuff here, even though the fan base has grown. 

[JBloc]

I learned my cousin was dating a professional football player named Dan Morgan in the summer of 2003.  I was in my college years and had never been fan of sports other than the teams I had played on in high school.  Skeptical of a family member dating a high profile athlete, I tuned into that years opening game to see what this guy was all about.  Panthers v. Jacksonville Jags with Rodney Pete at the helm.  I quickly lost interest in the game and began to focus on my 12 pack.  At one point in the game a friend commented, "Holy poo!  They just changed their QB!"  With my interest piqued, I went on to watch the comeback and became mesmerized by the hero that was Jake Delhomme that year.  I have been hooked on sports since that game.  The thrill of that comeback literally changed the course of my life into one of fandom.

[Keep Pounding]

My Dad is from Raleigh, although he grew up a Packers fan, he was excited his home state got a team.  They still are his second team, but as a young teen, i didn't really have a team, i liked a few teams, mainly the 49ers rivals, grew up hating them for some reason or the other.  So when they came out, i immediately became an instant fan.  I remember when we played the Packers in the Championship game, my Dad went for the Packers, I went for the Panthers, i wanted to see us play the Jags so bad in the Superbowl.

[Judo Thoreau]

My elementary school principal was a huge Redskins fan, this was in the early 90s, around the time of their SB win. He would brag about their success over morning announcements. Being young, impressionable, and stupid, I naturally became a fan.

This lasted until the day it was announced that Charlotte and the Carolinas would be getting a team. My mom eventually bought me a Panthers shirt, and I forever cast off my Washington fandom, retrospectively ending one of the most shameful and abhorrent periods of my life. The end.

[KJ89]

grew up in VA, family and everyone I knew was redskin or cowboy fan.

fug that and fug you, Smitty is cool and I like blue.

[Brothergrim427]

I was born the same year as the franchise and was raised with the team in NC I hate college football so there's no other team I follow and am completely devoted to this one team because it's been with me all my life that and I like I said cannot stand college ball