Jerry Richardson called me this morning! Not a joke

[hepcat]

I would have asked him if he plans to start spending on the team again next year by resigning key players and signing some FA's, or if he plans to keep going cheap planning to win a Superbowl 20 years from now (per his "comment")...when he's dead, the economy has recovered, and aliens have taken over Australia.

[Primetime 89]

This has now made my day.

[SCP]

JR has also stopped by Huddle Tailgates and asked opinions.

I can't believe he didn't fold up shop and move the team after stopping by a Huddle tailgate. 5 of you probably tried to feel him up. Madhatter probably crammed a buffalo turd down his throat. Panthro challenged him to a cornhole death match. And Scrum hitting him up for donations or else. All the while Zod is yelling at him to strike a pose with a tiger face. Grrrr Jerry, Grrrr!

[Proudiddy]

This week I sent a ranting email about the state of this franchise to [email protected]. The only response I received was an email asking for my phone number "in case they needed to contact me". This was on Monday and this morning I woke up to a phone call from Mr. Jerry Richardson himself (in Chicago for labor talks) concerning the email I had sent. Obviously I was pretty stunned but did manage to ask some of the questions I had put into the email about the franchise.

First I told him it was an honor to speak with him and I have always been and always will be a Panther fan. Throughout the conversation I realized that everything he was telling me was pretty much what we all believe already. He is cutting costs because of the labor issue and is completely thinking long term, he mentioned 20 or 30 years down the road, and from what I could get out of him he believed in going young and seeing what this team could do while at the same time not spending. I don't think he thought we would be this bad and was just hoping that we could manage with this team for this one season.

I also asked him about cutting salary but raising ticket prices. He responded by giving me information about the costs of utilities and running the stadium going up so he claims he had to. In response to the cutting salary he said we are the 11th lowest salary and to look at the Cowboys who have one of the highest but are still 1-3.

I told him that I was concerned about finally beginning to establish a real Panther fan base over these last 15 years and now running the risk of losing a lot of fans with people believing he does not care about this season or the team which he responded by saying "what do you think all those people will do when we start winning again?"

So basically I just heard it straight from the horses mouth the exact same thing most of us already knew.

I hate to do it, but for all the extra-sensationalists going around here talking about the team's future here in NC, did you get the feeling that all this is done with the franchise being here in NC for the long-term in mind?

[Happy Panther]

screw Australia...they had it coming

[Jbro]

I can't believe he didn't fold up shop and move the team after stopping by a Huddle tailgate. 5 of you probably tried to feel him up. Madhatter probably crammed a buffalo turd down his throat. Panthro challenged him to a cornhole death match. And Scrum hitting him up for donations or else. All the while Zod is yelling at him to strike a pose with a tiger face. Grrrr Jerry, Grrrr!

I asked him to hold my beer while I got my cell phone to take a pic.

[The Saltman]

I asked him to hold my beer while I got my cell phone to take a pic.

[Kingpatecu]

Did he ask you to mow his lawn?

No thats what we drafter Armanti for.

[X-Clown]

I tend to believe the OP, but why send this message to individuals....and then have Marty Hurney come out as your mouthpiece to the masses and try to claim that none of their moves have to do with cutting costs and the lockout, that they really believe that our young guys were going to put is in a position to win, etc.

[Carolina Mike]

Here is the Pic of when he got of the bus and talked to a "kid" I was only 20 at the time.

Here is so you will know I was at the game.

[Montsta]

Your team is crap and in complete shambles. Rather than call your head coach into your office and chew him out or have a meeting with players to try and tell them that it'll be ok long term, you call a random know-nothing fan (no disrespect intended OP) and give him your mission statement.

I no longer wonder why my favorite sports franchise is currently in the toilet.

[The Saltman]

Your team is crap and in complete shambles. Rather than call your head coach into your office and chew him out or have a meeting with players to try and tell them that it'll be ok long term, you call a random know-nothing fan (no disrespect intended OP) and give him your mission statement.

I no longer wonder why my favorite sports franchise is currently in the toilet.

how do you know this hasn't been done? Are you a carolina panther staff member?

[thefuzz]

Seems very probable to me.

I don't like what JR is doing, but I certainly understand his reasons.

Hurney and Fox on the other hand, I am absolutely disgusted with.

[Dorian Gray]

Not sure why the OP would make this up. He didn't make any sensational claims and everything said sounds like what JR would probably say. All he really did was validate what most people already knew anyway.

If it IS a hoax, you should've went a lot bigger. Go big or go home. "JR called me after an e-mail and told me he wanted to stab me in the throat with a fork! And I said, bring it old man! And he said I'm on my way now! What should I do?!"