If you weren't a Panthers fan....

[Harbingers]

Chiefs or Packers.

 

[jbland]

Da Bears. Parents and whole family are from Chicago. 

[Mr. Scot]

I think it's also interesting to wonder, if you weren't a Panthers fan, what would your opinion of the Panthers be?

[AggieLean]

Either a Falcons or Redskins fan. They’re the closest teams to Winston. 

I do like the Raiders, but only in Oakland. Now that they’re moving to Vegas, meh. Before Cam came, Mike Vick was my favorite player ever. I rooted for him against every team except the Panthers.

[cookinbrak]

I liked San Diego back when they had Fouts and Charlie Joyner.

[Khyber53]

I grew up in the '70s as an Atlanta Falcons fan and I was the only one I knew back then. Sure wasn't a lot to cheer for, and they rarely played on TV unless both Dallas and Washington had the late Sunday afternoon game. I remember just hoping they would get a wildcard playoff spot and how magical that word, wildcard, sounded. That was the only way the Falcons would ever reach the playoffs in the '80s. (I don't remember them ever making it in the '70s.)

I remember watching guys like Steve Bartowski and Jeff van Note play in their primes and see their abilities wasted. I remember how crushed I was when William Anderson blew out his knee and went from one of the most punishing young running backs in the league to just a footnote on a nowhere team.

When the Panthers came to be, it was an easy trade. This was my home state getting their own team and I had paid my dues rooting for the Falcons through what was basically 25 years of expansion team efforts. 

[panthers55]

Grew outside of Philly  and grew up an Eagles fan. Became a Panther fan in 1995. So Philly would and is my second team.

[LinvilleGorge]

Before the Panthers drafted Peppers making me a full fledged Panthers fan, I was really more of a fan of NFL football in general and individual players more so than teams. My favorite non-Panther will probably always be Brett Favre.

[CashNewton22]

Green Bay. I actually liked them before the Panthers as a kid but as I got older/the Panthers were on more I just became a Panthers fan. I still root for Green Bay when we aren’t playing them though.

[kungfoodude]

27 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I think it's also interesting to wonder, if you weren't a Panthers fan, what would your opinion of the Panthers be?

I think that would solely be framed through the lens of whatever fanbase I was attached. After all, our hatred of divisional or conference rivals comes from those experiences.

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, kungfoodude said:

I think that would solely be framed through the lens of whatever fanbase I was attached. After all, our hatred of divisional or conference rivals comes from those experiences.

Fair point.

Probably reasonable say a solid percentage of people cheering for another team would not have been big fans of Steve Smith.

[Still Brooklyn]

29 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I think it's also interesting to wonder, if you weren't a Panthers fan, what would your opinion of the Panthers be?

"Pretty good team from down in the south. Polarizing QB, usually a solid defense. No idea what city the stadium actually is in."

[kungfoodude]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Fair point.

Probably reasonable say a solid percentage of people cheering for another team would not have been big fans of Steve Smith.

Oh Steve is absolutely a guy that you love if he is on your team but absolutely despise if he is your opponent. 

[LinvilleGorge]

33 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I think it's also interesting to wonder, if you weren't a Panthers fan, what would your opinion of the Panthers be?

Probably hate them. Cam is a polarizing player. You love him if he’s on your team (unless you’re a mouth breathing idiot), you hate him if he’s not. TRhats just how it goes with really talented players with a lot of bravado who don’t mind talking and showing it off. I’d also get tired of constantly hearing how great Luke is.

Just being honest from an outside perspective.