Can We Still Consider the Panthers a Small Market Franchise?

[Chimera]

No Carolina city really has much of a national reputation other than Charleston, which is only really known as a tourist spot.

The team has no Super Bowl championships or rich history.

Fandom is restricted to the Carolinas.

Our high "attendance" numbers are often driven by PSL's, and often in reality the stadium is half empty.

So a pretty resounding yes

 

You either have a strange definition of half, or a stranger definition of empty.

 

Or are you talking about non game days?

*cue picture of the stadium in the 4th quarter during a blowout

[dugbug]

When I wear my Panthers gear in Central Florida, people always ask me why I'm a Jaguars fan.

Until Carolina establishes a consistent winning tradition, it will remain a regional team with regional fans.

Everybody in central Florida knows the panthers uniforms. The panthers bucs games are often the only game on TV

[Ginnforpresident]

Everybody in central Florida knows the panthers uniforms. The panthers bucs games are often the only game on TV

naw, I have the same experience here in Central Florida. It sucks, but outside of the Carolinas, are colors are hardly recognized!

[Paintballr]

Everyone who has been to a game the past 15 years knows our "sell out streak" is false and a nice stat but, is only present because of PSLs

[Moorgan]

Charlotte is the fastest growing city in the United States, and at the rate it's growing it's not long off from the 1 million mark itself.

That combined with the hypothetical of us winning a Super Bowl with nationally recognized and highly marketable superstar players like Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly... yeah. The Panthers could easily see a Seahawks' like explosion in their fanbase (albeit bandwagoners) nationally, and an unprecedented unity in support back in the Carolinas and surrounding areas. Even though people hate bandwagoners, a good portion of bandwagoners end up becoming lifers.

That's really about all it would take. We just need to start winning. That's how culture and fanbases are made.

I agree with all of this. But why are so many people against band wagoners? Unless you were raised a Panther fan, at some point everyone is a new fan. New fans come from winning or regional growth.

We all think carolina will start winning and regional growth has been established. So certainly the trend is up. Having said that, would the Huddlers accept that fan growth or tell everyone to get off their lawn? Band wagoners come with growth. Just don't know why there is a negative perception of them. Is it because they haven't stuck it out with going 1-0 and losing the next 15 games a la 2001?

Again, unless you're raised as a fan, you're new at some point. And with only 20 years, that's 1 generation of fans.

[KB_fan]

I don't know where or when the hell it happened, but over the last year or so my fellow Montanans have been a lot more complimentary about Panther football than I've heard in years.  Just a couple weeks ago, during the draft, when we had one of our two parades in town, a float of guys cheered me on as I crossed the street from the bar across the station due to my Panther fandom.  Nice that we seem to be on an upswing though.

 

I think having players of the caliber and character of Cam, Luke, TD & Greg Olsen really helps the team.  I'm quite new the CLT area, and it was the quality of our players on and off the field that really began to capture my interest in the team and turn me into a fan over the past 2 - 3 seasons.

 

Prior to moving to CLT, I was 10 years in South Florida.  I don't think I ever watched a Dophins game in its entirety nor could I have named any player other than Marino.  So... I think CLT has something special.  If we win it could do a lot to expand our reputation and fan base.

[Car123]

http://www.tvb.org/media/file/Nielsen_2014-2015_DMA_Ranks.pdf

[CoastalCat]

I'm going to keep this short and on point. Can we still consider the Panthers a small market franchise? The Carolina's as a whole would count as the 5th largest state in the country, not to mention the huge fan support in Virginia and Tennessee. We always rank in the top 8-10 in NFL attendance. It's been ages since we haven't sold out a game. The media talks about us fairly regularly and our social media presence is HUGE. So, if we are still considered a small market team, how much longer will it last? Greensboro, Charlotte and Raleigh are three of the fastest going cities in the world. North Carolina's population is skyrocketing. 

 

So, what does #PantherNation have to say?

 

Population of North Carolina is skyrocketing, but with Giants fans (speaking of Charlotte specifically). These things take time. Their kids will have to jump ship from the family tradition growing up, and become Panthers fans. Some of that has happened with my generation. I'm 32, i.e. those of us who were young (12) when the franchise started. Most of our parents were fans of other teams (lots of Redskins fans in the fam). 

 

It's going to happen. But takes longer than 20 years so show up in a sports bar across the country and expect to regularly see a Panthers jersey.

[dugbug]

naw, I have the same experience here in Central Florida. It sucks, but outside of the Carolinas, are colors are hardly recognized!

I live in central Florida they are well aware. I've seen folks not recognize a bucs uniform so recall the northerners that are seasonal

[nctarheel0619]

No Carolina city really has much of a national reputation other than Charleston, which is only really known as a tourist spot.

The team has no Super Bowl championships or rich history.

Fandom is restricted to the Carolinas.

Our high "attendance" numbers are often driven by PSL's, and often in reality the stadium is half empty.

So a pretty resounding yes

Myrtle Beach too dude, for some odd reason I always see visit Myrtle Beach commercials in other cities I travel.  

[Delhommey]

Charlotte is the fastest growing city in the United States.

 

Charlotte's not even the fastest growing city in North Carolina. 

[carpanfan96]

Market size is driven by TV market and by those standards, yes it's a small market.

Raleigh had a larger TV market size up till a year or so ago and among NFL teams Charlotte is 21st.

[SCP]

Everyone who has been to a game the past 15 years knows our "sell out streak" is false and a nice stat but, is only present because of PSLs

 

I know I bitch a lot about our lack of home field advantage and some probably grow tired of it, but here is the deal.The sell out streak is laughable.  The stadium has been full like 3-4 times since I've moved back to Charlotte.  Three were for playoff games.  The only reason the Panthers can claim this streak is because of the PSLs like mentioned above and because of the literally THOUSANDS of opposing fans that flood our stadium on a weekly basis.  Since 2005 when I moved back to Charlotte, our stadium has been owned (By owned I mean 15% or higher of the 72K in attendance are opposing fan attendees) by fans of the: Browns, Bengals, Steelers, Ravens, Jets, Bills, Dolphins, Pats, Giants, 49ers, Seahawks, Colts, Vikings, Bears, Packers, Lions, Cowboys, Redskins, Eagles, Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos, Saints, and Falcons.  The only teams that have not owned our joint since I have been back are the Cards, Jags, Texans, Titans, Bucs, Chargers, and Rams.  I would venture to guess that teams like the Skins, Pats, Ravens, Steelers, and Giants approached 30-35% of the stadium attendance based on my vantage point in the upper deck.

 

The list above is from first hand experience.

 

Until we can consistently fill our stadium with Panther fans, we will be viewed as a small market franchise.

[ecu88]

I know I bitch a lot about our lack of home field advantage and some probably grow tired of it, but here is the deal.The sell out streak is laughable. The stadium has been full like 3-4 times since I've moved back to Charlotte. Three were for playoff games. The only reason the Panthers can claim this streak is because of the PSLs like mentioned above and because of the literally THOUSANDS of opposing fans that flood our stadium on a weekly basis. Since 2005 when I moved back to Charlotte, our stadium has been owned (By owned I mean 15% or higher of the 72K in attendance are opposing fan attendees) by fans of the: Browns, Bengals, Steelers, Ravens, Jets, Bills, Dolphins, Pats, Giants, 49ers, Seahawks, Colts, Vikings, Bears, Packers, Lions, Cowboys, Redskins, Eagles, Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos, Saints, and Falcons. The only teams that have not owned our joint since I have been back are the Cards, Jags, Texans, Titans, Bucs, Chargers, and Rams. I would venture to guess that teams like the Skins, Pats, Ravens, Steelers, and Giants approached 30-35% of the stadium attendance based on my vantage point in the upper deck.

The list above is from first hand experience.

Until we can consistently fill our stadium with Panther fans, we will be viewed as a small market franchise.

Hopefully I go to my fist game ever this year to ensure no reject fills the void with an opposing team fan.