I still remember how I felt on February 7, 2016. I remember watching the Carolina Panthers fall further and further from their first-ever Super Bowl win. I remember sitting on the couch next to my dad, frustration and silent tears decorating our faces. The next day I got up, I put on my Jonathan Stewart jersey and I went to school.
Keep Pounding. That season, that game, marked a defining moment for our team. No matter what happened, we would keep pushing, keep moving forward, and keep our heads held high. The following season we would go 6-10 and then the season after that, 11-5. We lost players and gained others. We faced social and political strifes. But through it all, one thing resonated at our very core: Keep Pounding.
I grew up a Carolina Panthers fan. Being from Charlotte, I remember repping the black and blue since before I could talk. I remember being at a Super Bowl XXXVIII watch party, hearing my parents talk about the loss, and absolutely despise the Patriots from there on (even though I couldn't really grasp why).
The team first played in 1995, and were just a mere 4 years old when I was born; the youngest team in the NFL at the time. My dad would take my sisters and me to Fan Fest. I wore my Julius Peppers jersey proudly and donned the black and blue face paint with joy. In 2010, I started watching the games regularly with my dad, when he wasn't working them. I watched this team I revered lose 14 out of the 16 regular season games that they played. And then the next season, I watched them lose 10 out of those 16. I endured the taunts and jeers from peers about being a fan of this so-called "awful team." I slowly gained a collection of jersey's, adding Jonathan Stewart, Josh Norman, Greg Olsen, and Christian McCaffrey.
I couldn't tell you when I went to my first ever game, because honestly, every game, whether it was on my couch or in the stands, was about supporting my team. I began to memorize rosters and schedules. Stats were never my thing, but suddenly I was able to explain why Greg Olsen was the best tight end in the league.
The Carolina Panthers did much more than just give me something to watch on Sunday afternoons, but they gave me role models to look up. I watched the team serve our city with their whole hearts and give back to the community that had their backs. This team has inspired me to pursue a role in sports media, allowing me to experience directing, producing, and debating. I lost my voice from cheering them on, and I cried myself dry after hard losses. I even took my senior pictures at Bank of America Stadium!
The team motto, Keep Pounding, is a steady drumbeat in my heart and in my soul, pushing me and countless others to be more than ever thought we could be.
Some people think that if I move away from this team, I will become a fan of another, but no other team could ever take the place of the black and blue.
