Reflecting...1 Year Ago Today...

[TruCatzFan]

The 130 day NFL Lockout ended!! Thats right guys, it's already been a year. This time last year we were all celebrating the fact that we would even have a Football season at all. I can't help but sit here and remember how I felt, how we all felt when we finally got the news. We had no idea what was to come. We had just drafted the most highly criticized #1 Draft pick of all time, We had a brand new coaching staff... How would we ever be ready to even compete with a rookie QB/coaching staff without a full offseason to prepare. We were obviously at a great disadvantage.

We watched our rookie QB stink up the place all pre season long and many of us began questioning if we had made the right move, had we drafted the right player... Had our FO forsaken us again by hiring a bad coach, and far worse a bust who couldn't even complete the most simple of throws against 3rd and 4th string defenses, people who wouldnt even make final NFL rosters.

Then came week 1... Where our rookie QB showed the world how wrong they were about him, how wrong we all were about him. He went out there and threw for over 400 yds, an NFL record. NOBODY expected that... nobody had seen any reason to expect that from Cam Newton week 1 after how terrible his preseason went. Sure, we all believed in him, some of us blindly up until that point. This was the first of many records that he would break during his rookie Campaign. Still, some of us wondered if maybe he got lucky, after all... who would have thought that he'd light up an NFL defense in his first start. Perhaps the Cardinals did not properly prepare for what Cam did.

Week 2.... There was no way that he could repeat that performance against the defending Super Bowl Champs. That same sentiment echoed accross every sports web site and every sports show known to man... Week 2 came, and Cam showed the world how he really was The Real Deal. He threw for even more yards than he did in week 1, and against a formidable opponent. The craze was on, and the world was in awe. Cam Newton had already changed the NFL forever.

The year went on, the injuries piled up and we lost a lot of close games for a myriad of reasons. The excitement in Carolina was arguably almost back to 2008 levels, only this time we had ourselves a real QB. We learned a lot last year as fans, and these players learned even more. They went through trials and tribulations on and off the field and never layed down.

I'm sitting here looking back on last year and loving all of the highlights that replay over and over in my mind... I remember sitting on my couch many a Sundays drinking beer and excited to watch our team go out and play to just be pissed off after most games thinking... what if Mare had made that kick, what if Cam hadn't thrown that pick... what if.... I don't know why or how, but I feel like this year wont be anything like that on Sundays. I feel this weird feeling that something special is going on In Charlotte... That something Special will happen down at Wofford in the coming days. It's a feeling that I've never really ever had before. Strangley enough I'm not worried going into camp this year, I'm not worried about what we have or why we didn't address one of the postions that we neglected that have been talked about ad nauseum for months on this very site....... I feel a strange peace, almost knowing that we might just do what several of our players have already guarenteed... That this year might be the year that we win it all (just tonight Kalil guarenteed it)

What a difference a year makes. As I sit here writing this, we are 2 days away from our Panthers reporting to camp down in Wofford, 11 days from the HOF pre season game kickoff, and 17 days from our own Pre Season game kicking off... The sentiment this year is much better, The expectations much higher, the Swagger of our players much more daring... Ryan Kalil is known to be the quiet guy... He's literally the Center of our offense and he made a Super Bowl guarentee?? Either he's crazy or he's right... Time will tell, as it always does. One thing is for sure, NONE of us not even myself and I'm known around these parts to be one of if not the Biggest homer here could have really guessed that we'd be in this situation 1 year ago today....... not even me.

The coaching staff has made several moves in the offseason bolstering our roster, We drafted a guy named Keuchly that had all of the talking heads writing our boy Beason off on draft day. I don't agree with it, but it does say a lot about the young man coming in. We have added a lot of depth and A LOT of competition going into camp. Sure, we still have a few question marks...but I think that we are all on the Ron Rivera bandwagon after the statement he just recently made with the Jeff Otah trade. Our offense was #5 last season with a rookie QB that had no time to prepare, no offseason to gel with his team mates... Can you even begin to fathom what he will do with an even more extensive playbook? With a full offseason? With a year under their belts? It's going to be scary for opposing defenses every single week.

We don't really know what this season will bring to us, what this next year will bring to us, but looking back at what we have gone through as a fan family on this site, what we've all gone through in our own personal lives is a testament... We all are going through so much, our team is going through so much, hell even our nation is going through so much... Nobody knows the future, but I can tell you this for sure... there is no other fan base that I would rather be a part of, no team I would rather be a fan of, and no Nation that I would rather live in... This is The United States of America, home of the NFL, home of the brave... No matter what we will overcome any obstacle no matter how big or how small... I believe that our Team shares a similar sentiment, and that no matter what happens they will overcome it to reach their goal. No matter what we all go through in the next year, no matter what are team goes through in the next year, no matter how pissed i get at times with this site... I wouldn't want to spend it rooting for our Panthers with anyone but you guys...

So, It's been a year, and the next year starts now. Let's make some more memories, Let's get a "where were you when we won it all" thread for next year... There is no time better than the present, and while we have little to no control over this Team, let's stick behind them 100% no matter what. The culture in Carolina has changed in the past year alone. We have Ron Rivera to thank for that, and so many other players as well. I'm ready for this season to start yesterday... Are you? It sure would be great if in some way this tiny thread on the internet could inspire someone somewhere to dare to be great... Keep Pounding Huddle... Keep Pounding!

[Riverboat Ron]

I remember when Smitty removed his cleats from his locker and everyone was hoping we could trade him for a 2nd. It's crazy how much Rivera and Cam have changed the chemistry in that locker room by example.

[malik]

I remember when Smitty removed his cleats from his locker and everyone was hoping we could trade him for a 2nd. It's crazy how much Rivera and Cam have changed the chemistry in that locker room by example.

they're all gay though. No one believes in loyalty anymore? I was like when dudes were asking for smith to be traded. Was thinking was nothing sacred?

[CRA]

I remember people thinking Clausen should start last year while Cam sat....

[panthers55]

Most of us were not expecting us to win more than 6 games last year and while that played out, the biggest difference to me was that we were in just about every game in the fourth quarter. Unlike 2010 when you could just about pack it up in the third quarter knowing we were not going to rally, last year there was a sense that if the defense could hold them, we could win the game.

I expect this year we will score again early but the defense will be more stout and that we will win some of those games we lost late. We will be a force once again in the division and we will finally show the NFC East that we are for real. McDermott is going to show he was a good hire and the team is going to battle hard all year.

I will be at all the home games this year and expect to walk away from the stadium happy and talking crap for the first time in years. I expect the house to be rocking and opposing fans to be feeling what we have felt the past few seasons.

Will it all come true? It is still the off season and we are still undefeated so yeah this is the time for unfettered homerism.

[Wesmesss]

Reflecting....27 years ago on this day...Rock Hudson announced he had AIDS.

[DaCityKats]

I remember people thinking Clausen should start last year while Cam sat....

i remember like he could be worst.i also remember people saying you dont throw a rookie to the wolves and all this other bs.

[SCP]

tl;dr

[TruCatzFan]

I remember people thinking Clausen should start last year while Cam sat....

We would have been so fugged... I am really looking forward to this season more than any other. That hasn't changed from last year.

:-)

[Kakarot]

Man, I go back a year and some change when folks were in here talking about keeping Clausen and just getting a stop gap QB to try and help him out. Glad that didn't happen. We would've been stuck in between mediocrity and horrible. Now we have the opportunity to be great. I'm so glad we got Rivera and Cam to Charlotte. They've single handedly changed the culture and mentality around here.

[CardiacCats]

You're fuging crazy if you think I'm reading this.

[Rip Saw]

The 130 day NFL Lockout ended!! Thats right guys, it's already been a year. This time last year we were all celebrating the fact that we would even have a Football season at all. I can't help but sit here and remember how I felt, how we all felt when we finally got the news. We had no idea what was to come. We had just drafted the most highly criticized #1 Draft pick of all time, We had a brand new coaching staff... How would we ever be ready to even compete with a rookie QB/coaching staff without a full offseason to prepare. We were obviously at a great disadvantage.

We watched our rookie QB stink up the place all pre season long and many of us began questioning if we had made the right move, had we drafted the right player... Had our FO forsaken us again by hiring a bad coach, and far worse a bust who couldn't even complete the most simple of throws against 3rd and 4th string defenses, people who wouldnt even make final NFL rosters.

Then came week 1... Where our rookie QB showed the world how wrong they were about him, how wrong we all were about him. He went out there and threw for over 400 yds, an NFL record. NOBODY expected that... nobody had seen any reason to expect that from Cam Newton week 1 after how terrible his preseason went. Sure, we all believed in him, some of us blindly up until that point. This was the first of many records that he would break during his rookie Campaign. Still, some of us wondered if maybe he got lucky, after all... who would have thought that he'd light up an NFL defense in his first start. Perhaps the Cardinals did not properly prepare for what Cam did.

Week 2.... There was no way that he could repeat that performance against the defending Super Bowl Champs. That same sentiment echoed accross every sports web site and every sports show known to man... Week 2 came, and Cam showed the world how he really was The Real Deal. He threw for even more yards than he did in week 1, and against a formidable opponent. The craze was on, and the world was in awe. Cam Newton had already changed the NFL forever.

The year went on, the injuries piled up and we lost a lot of close games for a myriad of reasons. The excitement in Carolina was arguably almost back to 2008 levels, only this time we had ourselves a real QB. We learned a lot last year as fans, and these players learned even more. They went through trials and tribulations on and off the field and never layed down.

I'm sitting here looking back on last year and loving all of the highlights that replay over and over in my mind... I remember sitting on my couch many a Sundays drinking beer and excited to watch our team go out and play to just be pissed off after most games thinking... what if Mare had made that kick, what if Cam hadn't thrown that pick... what if.... I don't know why or how, but I feel like this year wont be anything like that on Sundays. I feel this weird feeling that something special is going on In Charlotte... That something Special will happen down at Wofford in the coming days. It's a feeling that I've never really ever had before. Strangley enough I'm not worried going into camp this year, I'm not worried about what we have or why we didn't address one of the postions that we neglected that have been talked about ad nauseum for months on this very site....... I feel a strange peace, almost knowing that we might just do what several of our players have already guarenteed... That this year might be the year that we win it all (just tonight Kalil guarenteed it)

What a difference a year makes. As I sit here writing this, we are 2 days away from our Panthers reporting to camp down in Wofford, 11 days from the HOF pre season game kickoff, and 17 days from our own Pre Season game kicking off... The sentiment this year is much better, The expectations much higher, the Swagger of our players much more daring... Ryan Kalil is known to be the quiet guy... He's literally the Center of our offense and he made a Super Bowl guarentee?? Either he's crazy or he's right... Time will tell, as it always does. One thing is for sure, NONE of us not even myself and I'm known around these parts to be one of if not the Biggest homer here could have really guessed that we'd be in this situation 1 year ago today....... not even me.

The coaching staff has made several moves in the offseason bolstering our roster, We drafted a guy named Keuchly that had all of the talking heads writing our boy Beason off on draft day. I don't agree with it, but it does say a lot about the young man coming in. We have added a lot of depth and A LOT of competition going into camp. Sure, we still have a few question marks...but I think that we are all on the Ron Rivera bandwagon after the statement he just recently made with the Jeff Otah trade. Our offense was #5 last season with a rookie QB that had no time to prepare, no offseason to gel with his team mates... Can you even begin to fathom what he will do with an even more extensive playbook? With a full offseason? With a year under their belts? It's going to be scary for opposing defenses every single week.

We don't really know what this season will bring to us, what this next year will bring to us, but looking back at what we have gone through as a fan family on this site, what we've all gone through in our own personal lives is a testament... We all are going through so much, our team is going through so much, hell even our nation is going through so much... Nobody knows the future, but I can tell you this for sure... there is no other fan base that I would rather be a part of, no team I would rather be a fan of, and no Nation that I would rather live in... This is The United States of America, home of the NFL, home of the brave... No matter what we will overcome any obstacle no matter how big or how small... I believe that our Team shares a similar sentiment, and that no matter what happens they will overcome it to reach their goal. No matter what we all go through in the next year, no matter what are team goes through in the next year, no matter how pissed i get at times with this site... I wouldn't want to spend it rooting for our Panthers with anyone but you guys...

So, It's been a year, and the next year starts now. Let's make some more memories, Let's get a "where were you when we won it all" thread for next year... There is no time better than the present, and while we have little to no control over this Team, let's stick behind them 100% no matter what. The culture in Carolina has changed in the past year alone. We have Ron Rivera to thank for that, and so many other players as well. I'm ready for this season to start yesterday... Are you? It sure would be great if in some way this tiny thread on the internet could inspire someone somewhere to dare to be great... Keep Pounding Huddle... Keep Pounding!

[davos]

start @0:58

[rico6]

That Cincinnati game pretty mucb showed me hope that this season wasnt gonna be a tank fest