Origin of the team's namesake

[JawnyBlaze]

I was deep into one of my daily Wiki-chaining sessions when I came across a list of cryptids and on this list was the "Appalachian Black Panther" so of course I had to click. The link was just to the Black Panther wiki article, not a specific Appalachian one, and it says the Southeast Panther is just a cougar with a color variation if it exists at all. I thought this was an interesting bit though:

Black cougars have been reported in Kentucky and in the Carolinas. There have also been reports of glossy black cougars from Kansas, Texas and eastern Nebraska.[citation needed] These have come to be known as the "North American black panther". Sightings are currently attributed to errors in species identification by non-experts, and by the memetic exaggeration of size.

Black panthers in the American Southeast feature prominently in Choctaw folklore where, along with the owl, they are often thought to symbolize Death.

I like this factoid :) There's your "obscure history that relates to our football team" for the day. Carolina Choctaw Death.

[BBQ&Beer]

I was deep into one of my daily Wiki-chaining sessions when I came across a list of cryptids and on this list was the "Appalachian Black Panther" so of course I had to click. The link was just to the Black Panther wiki article, not a specific Appalachian one, and it says the Southeast Panther is just a cougar with a color variation if it exists at all. I thought this was an interesting bit though:

I like this factoid :) There's your "obscure history that relates to our football team" for the day. Carolina Choctaw Death.

God knows the either Damn near give me a heart attack or cause me to risk alcohol poisoning.:(