I'm Glad the Carolina Panthers are Back

One of my favorite times of the year has arrived.

The Carolina Panthers are back on TV and radio.

This past Saturday night, as I painted a bathroom in my home, I alternated between watching the Panthers pre-season game on News Channel 7 and listening to the radio broadcast on WBT out of Charlotte, the flagship station of the Panthers network.

Household chores can be real drudgery, but for me, the work goes better when there's a good game to hear.

I've been a Panthers fan since the team first took the field in 1995. I've only attended one game, but I've listened to dozens of games on the radio and TV.

Growing up in the Raleigh-Durham area, most people seemed to be fans of the Washington Redskins or the Atlanta Falcons.

It's terrific to finally have a team with the name "Carolina" attached. Plus the family of Panthers owner Jerry Richardson used to be members of the same Spartanburg church as my family, and I'm glad their NFL gamble has succeeded.

I also appreciate Jerry's allegiance to Spartanburg by having his team's summer camp at Wofford College.

This past week, I decided to get some Panthers t-shirts, so I rode to the training camp. Panthers souvenirs were being sold from a huge trailer. Prices for t-shirts ranged from $20 for the basic tee, up to $80 for a jersey.

I picked out a couple of $20 shirts. I liked them so much, I decided I'd wear one of them during a trip Saturday. At home, I gave it a few spins in the dryer, carefully folded it and placed it in my shirt drawer.

That night, when I returned from work, my college daughter, as she often does, had raided my t-shirts.

What was she wearing? You guessed it... my new Carolina Panthers shirt I'd planned to wear on the trip.

I fussed, and she said, "I didn't know," which of course she didn't.

Like a real Panthers fan, I improvised and overcame. I wore the -other- shirt.

Saturday night's game had a lot of questions hanging over it. The Panthers didn't win much in 2007... could they win tonight? Would quarterback Jake Delhomme, returning from elbow surgery, be able to pick up where he'd left off? Would defensive end Julius Peppers regain his Pro Bowl form after a disappointing 2007? And what would the spirit of the team be like after receiver Steve Smith's training camp fight with Ken Lucas that left Lucas with a broken nose and Smith with a two-game regular season suspension?

Those things are hard to judge in a pre-season game. The regulars didn't play very long, but the Panthers starters turned two Colts turnovers into touchdowns before the game was three-and-a-half minutes long. Keep in mind the Colts were playing without QB Peyton Manning, who's still rehabing a knee.

The snap was muffed on a potential game-winning field goal attempt for the Panthers. Overtime. The Panthers missed a field goal, then finally hit the game winner. Carolina 23, Colts 20.

A great night for Panthers fans.

And I got a lot of painting done.