#panthernation is on fire if you haven't heard and if you haven't heard you must be under a rock away from civilization. I just wanted to take a minute bc the "south is on lock" due to the weather to touch on all the "hype" surrounding our Carolina Panthers and #thedertings memory making experience.....
There are many out there that have no faith or confidence in our special little team and even after a killing yesterday I am still not sure some are convinced.....and then you have that bandwagon overflowing with panther supporters.....
It is really hard for me to determine, being right in the heart of panther nation, whether or not its this electric across the US or are we the only ones experiencing this history making event. It is truly amazing to me how in a crowd of 70,000+ people everyone manages to get along, give high fives and even talk a little smack to the "12th man" and cardinals fans over the last 2 weeks and everything still remain somewhat calm and incident free. We have come together for one purpose and everyone is still standing and the stadium remains.....in this crazy world we live in, it is an inspiring thing to witness how people can truly get along over something as simple as football, but then disheartening that people kill each other over senseless things.....
One of my favorite parts over the last 2 weeks (there are many favorite parts)....but this one is inspiring to me as well......as we drive south on 77, I look in each car just to see if we are heading in the same direction.....About 85% of cars we pass have on panthers gear, flags flying from the car windows, and many have the face of a white roaring cat as a sticker on the back of their car....there was one truck yesterday in Mooresville, Steelers stickers on the back of the truck BUT they had on their panther jerseys by the time we got next to them....we are TOGETHER as a TEAM for a few hours on Sundays.....WAR and INCIDENT FREE!!!
Then you have all the "special" people reporting on our panthers and how we really haven't deserved anything....I promise you if you were in that stadium yesterday or last weekend....we sure have deserved something! The only word that repeats in my head over the past 2 Sundays is ELECTRIFYING. The place has been full, the TDs and 3rd downs have been deafening (in a good way), the LIFE in Charlotte is like NO OTHER.....maybe its hard for me to speak of other teams because I have never had that experience, but in Charlotte and around the Carolinas we are ONE!!
There are those that are complaining about bandwagon fans and yes, there are some that will jump out of the wagon as soon as we lose...but there are some that have memories of this football team that started back in the 90s.....here are my early memories of the team that keeps pounding...
July 27, 1995....my 1st memory of the panthers...I think they played a preseason game at Clemson because they didn't have the stadium yet.....I remember this day in great detail, my youngest brother Walker was born the next day, my mother was pretty much in labor all day, I had a sleepover that night with Melissa Stewart, my little brothers rode the merry-go-round outside of 1st RX at Forrest Heights.... My memories are I got a brother and the panthers were playing football....
Then in 2003 when they won the 1st NFC Championship and went to the Super Bowl, sadly to lose......we were in Disney World a few days after & the winning coach and a player or 2 were the grand marshals for the Disney parade and I remmeber wishing it would have been the panthers.....I think I had my NFC Champions shirt on that day......
So for those that haven't been fortunate enough to be around the Carolinas for the past 21 years, you probably don't understand all the intensity that comes along with this recording breaking season....but for those of us that have always loved the panthers (even if thru the bad years we didnt cheer our loudest) we have earned this time to shine.....the panthers have earned the respect of others around the US....they have earned every win, even if some weren't the best wins and heart attacks were had in the 4th quarter....a win, is a win!!
A little recap of the past 2 playoff games from #thedertings.....
Last week I begged to go because we were playing the team from the state Brooks was born in.....and I do sense some true rivalry between the panthers and the seahawks just like the rivalry between the NC Dertings and the WA Dertings. My husband listened to me beg for days and surprised me with tickets a few days before......it was nothing short of memory making at its finest....when the panthers scored the 1st TD, I jumped so much and screamed so loud I almost peed in pants (you moms that have birthed babies can relate).....to the nail biting 4th quarter....it was a grand time!!!!!
And then there was yesterday (sorry this is dragging out, but this must be documented).....we were supposed to go to the beach this weekend to run a 5k and meet our new niece, but mother nature had other plans....when the beach was a no go, we started searching for tickets.....so we get there around 3ish yesterday. I chose to wear some knock off Ugg boots....I had worn them in the snow all weekend and knew I could fit several pairs of socks on with them so my feet wouldn't freeze. I noticed right as we were walking out the door the toe part was damp, so I grabbed another loose fitting pair of boots just in case they didnt dry by the time we got there. SO we park in our normal spot and set out for Newk's...again, our normal routine. I guess in my head I didnt plan on Charlotte being as snow and ice covered as Statesville so I wasn't thinking too much about my shoe choice.....but a couple blocks to dinner the dang sole came right off of my boot leaving me standing on the sidewalk covered in slushy snow soaking my sock......I kind of panicked because I knew if my feet were cold I would not make it through the game....Brooks said to hop on his back and we would go back to the car for the backup boots, so I did and we made it a little over a block before he was ready to drop me and my arms were going to fall off from holding on....we found a dry spot and I said just leave me here and run to the car. So he did and then I worried someone was going to rob me because you know all I truly had to offer was one good boot and one without a sole, but there was a port-a-potty right were I was standing so I got in it and locked myself in there till Brooks got back (see I told you this had to be documented and I stood on one foot just to clarify).....he came and saved the day with the new boots or so we thought....well, the new boots were the suede kind with a very thin sole (again, I picked these 2 pair of boots because I had on 3 pairs of socks and all my other boots would be too tight).....we start walking to dinner and before we get 1/2 way there my socks are soaking up more slush from the sidewalk because the new pair were just as bad as the 1st pair....I am literally about to cry....we order dinner, I take off my boots for my socks to dry while we are eating and Brooks searched for some store to buy some new shoes (any shoes at this point)....he finds a CVS a couple blocks away and leaves me eating alone without shoes on to run there and see what they have, if nothing else new socks....he comes back with some boot, memory foam slippers, with THANKFULLY a little thicker soles then the other 2 crappy pair I had.....we decided to walk back to the car to change out old socks for new ones and warm my feet.....by the time we got to the car and I got the 3 pairs off I could wring them out they were so wet....BUT thankfully the new socks and slippers made it through the game and I will always have a fancy pair of NFC Championship, CVS slippers to hold on to for memories!!!!
The game was history & memory making & we even got to enjoy a little concert by Little Big Town.....we sat one section over from my brother and Ni Ni and were able to sit with them the last 5 (amazing) minutes of the game.....
Well, this has taken way longer than I had anticipated, but I do feel the need to capture this little piece of NFL history that the Carolinas are a part of......#panthernation #letsgo #superbowlbound
Much Love.....Alysha
