Smitty on Sam Mills

[Captain Morgan]

[mc52beast]

When you talk about the  Panthers you have to talk about Mills. Wasn’t the biggest or the fastest guy on the field but you NEVER outworked him. He played every game like it was his last. 
 

If you never got to see him in a Panther uniform you definitely missed a great one.. and yes, Sam Mills is HOF worthy

[1of10Charnatives]

3 minutes ago, mc52beast said:

When you talk about the  Panthers you have to talk about Mills. Wasn’t the biggest or the fastest guy on the field but you NEVER outworked him. He played every game like it was his last. 
 

If you never got to see him in a Panther uniform you definitely missed a great one.. and yes, Sam Mills is HOF worthy

I remember watching the game where he made the interception for the first franchise win ever. I was way more of a basketball fan til the Panthers came along. I wasn’t even super excited to have a team, I just figured it was kinda neat, so I’d check it out. 

I didn’t know much about Mills, just that he looked awful small for a lb, but I remember thinking “Well he made the key play so that shows what I know about football.” I had no grasp of the significance of that moment for the franchise, but looking back now, how perfect is it that he made that play?

I don’t want to get into religion because there’s enough disagreement here without opening that can of worms, but Jesus famously said of Peter “upon this rock I will build my church.” To me Sam Mills will always be the rock upon which this franchise was built and that play was when he began to lay the foundation.

[pantherclaw]

The Great Ones are always missed. 

There aren't enough men like Sam out there. 

 

[ladypanther]

5 hours ago, pantherclaw said:

The Great Ones are always missed. 

There aren't enough men like Sam out there. 

 

7 hours ago, 1of10Charnatives said:

Sam Mills will always be the rock upon which this franchise was built and that play was when he began to lay the foundation.

How cool is it that in advance of a big honor for Smitty he honors Sam. One of the reasons that I like being a fan of this team is that it means something.  As Smitty said...Keep Pounding is not just a slogan. The Panthers are a young franchise but have a very rich heritage thanks to Sam. The heritage is not about football.  It is about life.  I hope every new Panther player is required to watch a video about Sam...so they understand what it means to be a Panther.

I had a brother in law who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer....his prognosis was grim but he was going to fight. I ordered Keep Pounding  bracelets for him and several family members and sent him the story of Sam and what it meant.  Danny (my bil) wore that every day..only taking it off when he had too (surgery).  It went back on immediately. He said it helped to encourage him during tough times. Like Sam, he lost his battle with cancer but like Sam...he was not defeated.

I am happy to be a Panther fan and happy to understand what it means.  To have Steve Smith explain to  the football world what is means is awesome.  I am glad he is a Panther too...welcome home Steve!!!