Real Talk - A New Approach in Being A Fan Currently

[Matthias]

As things stand right now, not only are we probably the worst team in the league, but we have been among the worse for years now.  Some teams are perennially at the top of the league year in year out.  We used to be decent to mid, and back to decent, with one really dominant year.  However now we are bringing up the rear. (With only one time where we could have made the playoffs in Darnold's last year if we would have won a winnable game against Tom Brady's Bucs)  All this said, we are the worst team in the league.  And rather we admit it or not, we have the worse QB in the league. (When we calculate Bryce's size in with his play)


Now as fans who are joined to this team, what seems like the only thing we can do is also the natural thing.  That is to be angry and call this team out, with a large majority of that anger going towards Tepper and the front office.  Also to call Bryce Young out.  Yet we know none of that will do anything worthwhile.  At the end of the day, Tepper still has his money to fall back on.  He's not sweating this when it really comes down to it.  The only ones wasting their energy is us fans.  If you're asking me what we should do, I will give two options.


Option 1 - Stop watching the Panthers and watch other teams and players. (I'm not saying became fans of other teams)  And if you can't watch other teams without wanting to watch the Panthers and see how they are doing, I say stop watching football altogether for this year.  By doing this, you will have more time to dedicate to other things.  Football is becoming more of a religion than it ever has been in the past.  With all the commercials, different ways to access all games with Sunday Ticket, outsourcing the games to other countries and the subscriptions they try to get you to sign up for (Peacock, Amazon Prime).  These folks want your worship!!!  I say don't give it!  Read a book, contemplate life choices, think about family, friends, and strangers.  In other words I would say, prioritize what you find that is important.


I speak on this from personal experience.  Last year after watching the second preseason game, I decided not to watch any of the games.  It was for my own personal reasons and not because I thought the Panthers were going to be a bad team.  Indeed last year had much intrigue going in.  Bryce's first year as QB, Frank Reich first year as head coach, etc.  Yet I decided to forgo all of football last year.  In that time I found other things to do and put some things in order.  It was a breath of fresh air after around 20 straight seasons being glued to my tv screen on Sundays and so forth. (Since that 03-04 run to the Superbowl)  In truth I felt so good about the decision not to watch football, I considered doing it again this year, with the added thought of possibly leaving football altogether.  Ultimately I decided to watch this year, eager to see how Bryce was developing.  Unfortunately as we've come to find out, he has actually regressed.



So again, if you can't watch other teams and players without thinking about what the Panthers are doing, consider not watching football at all.  There are people who used to watch football, but over time lost interest.  My interest in the NFL is as strong as it ever has been, however, we can still choose to a break from time to time, even "retire" from it altogether.  Nothing wrong with this at all.



Option 2 -  This is for the dynamic fan, and may go against every instinct a fan has being on a losing team.  Every inclination right now is to lash out on this team.  Put Bryce on blast, other players, and again those in the front office and Tepper.  However instead of doing what comes natural to our mind, which will result in nothing but bitterness and loss, what if instead while acknowledging we are the worst in every way, we encourage the team nonetheless.  Yes, say we suck, but continue to cheer the team on and see if they can improve.  So take Bryce for instance.  Yes, I believe as it stands right now, he is the worse starting QB in the league.  Worse than Daniel Jones. (Even if this is not verifiably true in any measurable way, just say it anyway.  Who's it hurting)  What if we simply say to ourselves, "Can the worse QB become the best QB?"  And with that thought, we encourage Bryce to become the best QB.  Say he is the worse to his face, but we are here for him to see if he can become the best.


Basically what I'm saying is, just lift Bryce and the team up.  If he throws an int, say "awww", but don't boo.  Instead, when he start his next drive, continue to cheer him on.  No longer let your thought be about beating the other team or looking respectable to them.  Instead, look for the team to beat themselves.  Can our 2nd Qtr play be better than our 1st Qtr?  Can our 3rd Qtr be better than our 2nd?  So on and so forth.  Can Canales help the worse QB become the best, by beating himself?  So this is the second and harder option.  Just lift Bryce and the team up profusely, with words and cheers of encouragement.


I'll end with this concerning the 2nd option.  If you decide to do it, know it is going to be tough.  Again it goes against the fan instinct, and human instinct.  However if we were to do this as a group and even encourage ourselves as fans while doing it, I believe something special will be produced.  Also if you decide to do option 2, you don't have to cheer for Dave Tepper.  Like I said, Tepper is GOOD!!!  In fact I tell you the truth, when Tepper first bought the Panthers, I always felt like he would eventually move the team to another city.  I mean this guy came from Pittsburg ownership. (5% stake)  He has a George Steinbrenner air about him, only he can't be that truly in the smaller market of Charlotte.  If the opportunity rises, I believe he will move the team.  I'm not a fan of the ownership class, though I don't have anything personally against him or any owner.  At the end of the day, Tepper is good good.  So if you rally toward the 2nd option, you don't have to cheer and lift Tepper up.  Just Bryce, Canales, and the team.  What do we have to lose in a show of love?

[SOJA]

This is a good post. I've never done option one in my life but am considering this year. 

I have tried option 2. I used to do it every year, but last year tt was fell apart for me. Truly don't believe I could do it if we are worse than last year 

 

 

but what the deal with saying tepper is good lmao 

[PootieNunu]

Dont tell other people how to fan, Bryce has no chance in hell in becoming the best QB ever in life, not that he really cares to do that anyway. 

Option 3 watch the Panthers and bitch about Bryce all you want, he earns millions to do a job that he cannot do. 

Its like being a heart surgeon but not having any hands. 

[mrcompletely11]

Wtf?

[hepcat]

The answer here is when you have free time, feel free to check in with the team. But my advice is focus on your families and loved ones. If you don’t have family or loved ones, work on finding the love you need. We never know when it will be the last time we talk to people we care about. This is simply a game at the end of the day and a silly thing to get emotional about. I realize that now as I have gotten older. It’s still a fun distraction to rag on this group of inept bozos but it’s a joke that I can share with some people I care about. That’s all that matters. 

[PappyMay]

I don’t blame Bryce. I blame Fitterer. I’m just sad about how bad the situation is. You see other teams rebuild in 2-3 years all the time so I try to be hopeful maybe with the new regime it can be us too.  I’m looking forward to watching top 25 NCAA games and looking at guys I think can help fix us.   
 

*now I just really also need my Tarheels not to get beat by Alabama and Auburn in basketball later this year or it will make going for the worst team in football In football kingdom even harder when I don’t even have basketball to fall back on. 

[Waldo]

Do whatever you want. It's all just entertainment to us and jobs to them.

Most of that mess doesn't deserve mercy. Until everyone proves otherwise

 

[CamWhoaaCam]

21 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

Wtf?

LMAO my exact thoughts.

 

 

[PNW_PantherMan]

[strato]

From the heart, can't fault it.

I can dig the don't watch or watch football 'elsewhere', but I can't play pretending sunshine and lollipops no matter how bad it is.

[Matthias]

4 hours ago, SOJA said:

This is a good post. I've never done option one in my life but am considering this year. 

I have tried option 2. I used to do it every year, but last year tt was fell apart for me. Truly don't believe I could do it if we are worse than last year 

 

 

but what the deal with saying tepper is good lmao 

Tepper is a billionaire.  So he's good either way.  If the team continues to disappoint, I believe eventually he will just move the team to a bigger city.  

 

Quote

From the heart, can't fault it.

I can dig the don't watch or watch football 'elsewhere', but I can't play pretending sunshine and lollipops no matter how bad it is.

We wouldn't be pretending, but changing the perspective.  Instead of desiring to beat the other team, we desire to beat ourselves.

Edited September 12, 2024 by Matthias

[strato]

29 minutes ago, Matthias said:

Tepper is a billionaire.  So he's good either way.  If the team continues to disappoint, I believe eventually he will just move the team to a bigger city.  

 

We wouldn't be pretending, but changing the perspective.  Instead of desiring to beat the other team, we desire to beat ourselves.

Bro, isn't that what pretending is? Or maybe, lying to yourself is a better description. But go for it.

[Matthias]

8 minutes ago, strato said:

Bro, isn't that what pretending is? Or maybe, lying to yourself is a better description. But go for it.

Look at it this way, let us ask ourselves why are we so upset by what we see from this team?  We had expectations that we would win 5-6 games, possibly more.  That was our hope.  Yet in the off season, we lost a lot of key players on defense, we changed coaching and offensive scheme with a second year QB at the head, and didn't improve much at all with receiving corps.  Our starters didn't play much at all in the preseason to get in game shape and work on the chemistry between new and young players.  Yet here we are, surprised we got our tails kicked playing against a division rival on the road.  Maybe we pretended that we would be respectable with all these changes, and that has driven our anger.

[Move the Panthers to Raleigh]

I’m just gonna be a “dormant” fan and come back when something interesting happens. This team is not worth putting mental effort into, and life is too short to spend hours on a day off watching horseshit