100 Things Panthers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (100 Things...Fans Should Know) - Softcover

Fowler, Scott; Minter, Mike

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1600788246 ISBN 13: 9781600788246

Verlag: Triumph Books, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

The essential guide to North Carolina's NFL team Among the newer teams of the National Football League, the Carolina Panthers have had a rollercoaster history that is documented in entertaining detail in this celebratory guide for fans. The book covers all of the critical moments and important facts of the past and present-from the team's record-setting opening season to the anxious excitement of the 2003 season. Team facts, statistics, lore, and player profiles-including Julius Peppers, Sam Mills, and Cam Newton-are all part of this bundle of Panther pride. The book collects every essential piece of Panthers knowledge and trivia as well as must-do activities, and ranks them all, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist as readers progress on their way to fan superstardom.

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Scott Fowler is an award-winning sports columnist for the Charlotte Observer, where he has been on staff for nearly 20 years. He has authored or coauthored five books centered on sports in North Carolina, including What It Means to Be a Tar Heel. He lives in Denver, North Carolina. Mike Minter played his entire NFL career with the Panthers from 1997 to 2006 as a safety and remains the Panthers&; all-time leader in tackles and in interceptions returned for touchdowns. He is now the head football coach for Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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100 Things Panthers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die

By Scott Fowler

Triumph Books

Copyright © 2013 Scott Fowler
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-60078-824-6

Contents

Foreword by Mike Minter, 
Introduction, 
1. Sam Mills and "Keep Pounding", 
2. Steve Smith, 
3. Jerry Richardson, 
4. Super Bowl XXXVIII, 
5. Jake Delhomme, 
6. Muhsin Muhammad, 
7. Cam Newton, 
8. The Double OT Playoff Game vs. St. Louis, 
9. John Kasay, 
10. Go to a Panthers Home Game, 
11. Julius Peppers, 
12. Home Playoff Win over Dallas No. 1, 
13. Home Playoff Win over Dallas No. 2, 
14. John Fox, 
15. The First-Ever Win in 1995, 
16. Get Your Picture Taken with the Panthers Statues, 
17. Visit Panthers Training Camp in Spartanburg, 
18. Dom Capers, 
19. Ron Rivera, 
20. The 1996 Playoff Season, 
21. Steve Beuerlein and "the Draw", 
22. Talk to Someone Who Went to the Clemson "Home" Games, 
23. Wesley Walls, 
24. Kerry Collins, 
25. George Seifert, 
26. The Playoff Win at Philadelphia, 
27. Buy Your Favorite Player's Jersey, 
28. Jon Beason, 
29. Kevin Greene, 
30. Lamar Lathon, 
31. Eric Davis, 
32. Bill Polian, 
33. Panthers' Overtime History, 
34. DeAngelo Williams, 
35. Jonathan Stewart, 
36. Ryan Kalil, 
37. Jordan Gross, 
38. Kris Jenkins, 
39. Steve Smith's 218-Yard Game, 
40. Mike Minter, 
41. Mike Rucker, 
42. Follow the Panthers on Twitter, 
43. Dan Morgan and the Incredible 2001 Draft, 
44. Michael Bates, 
45. Luke Kuechly, 
46. The 1–15 Season, 
47. The Sean Gilbert Trade, 
48. Fred Lane's Rise and Tragic Fall, 
49. Shutting Out the Giants, 
50. The Arizona and Seattle Playoff Losses, 
51. Go to a Road Game Against a Divisional Rival, 
52. Panthers in Prime Time, 
53. Mark Carrier, 
54. Chad Cota's Interception, 
55. Rae Carruth, 
56. Catman: The Trick and the Truck, 
57. The Original 10, 
58. Rod "He Hate Me" Smart, 
59. Go to the Panthers' Free Days, 
60. Charles Johnson, 
61. Greg Hardy, 
62. Trying to Trade for Peyton Manning, 
63. Marty Hurney, 
64. Tailgate Before a Panthers Game, 
65. Really Weird Losses, 
66. The Richardson Brothers and Danny Morrison, 
67. Cam Newton's 72-yard TD Run, 
68. Coin Flips, 
69. The First Win at San Francisco, 
70. Ricky Proehl, 
71. Mike McCormack, 
72. Visit the Mills and McCormack Statues, 
73. Thomas Davis, 
74. Greg Olsen, 
75. Brad Hoover, 
76. Stephen Davis, 
77. DeShaun Foster, 
78. The Reggie White Experiment, 
79. Tshimanga Biakabutuka, 
80. Hang Out with Sir Purr, 
81. Mark Fields, 
82. Curtis Whitley, 
83. Obscure Panther Quarterbacks, 
84. Jeff Lewis, 
85. Brentson Buckner, 
86. Chris Gamble, 
87. Enemies of the State, 
88. The 2001 New England Game, 
89. The 32-Point Win That Felt Like a Loss, 
90. The Wrestler and the Bachelor, 
91. Todd Sauerbrun and the Punters, 
92. Try to Get a Touchdown Ball from Cam, 
93. Keyshawn and Shockey, 
94. Richie Brockel and the Best Trick Play Ever, 
95. The Fan Who Guaranteed a Butt-Kicking, 
96. Anthony Johnson, 
97. Watch the Panthers' Commercials, 
98. Dave Gettleman, 
99. The Panthers' 2013 Free-Agent Class, 
100. The Panthers' 2013 Draft Class, 
Sources, 

CHAPTER 1

Sam Mills and "Keep Pounding"

When you think of the best the Carolina Panthers have been able to offer their fans in their first two decades of existence, one man and one motto come to mind first.

The man is Sam Mills.

The motto is "Keep Pounding" — a phrase Mills first used in 2004 in a speech to the team before a big home playoff win against Dallas. "Keep Pounding" has been widely adopted as the team's theme. The words are now sewn inside the collar in every one of the Panthers' jerseys.

Mills was many things to the Panthers: first, a Pro Bowl linebacker, who will always be the first player ever honored with his own statue outside of the team's home stadium. Then a valued assistant coach. Then a cancer victim who fought the disease valiantly, continuing to coach even as the disease wracked his body. And always a gentleman — a symbol of dignity and class who every Panthers player would do well to emulate. His No. 51 is the only Panthers jersey to have ever been retired.

Mills died of colon cancer in 2005, at age 45. But by then he had already established a legacy with the Panthers, even though he didn't get to Charlotte until the final decade of his life.

Mills and the Panthers first linked up in early 1995. Mills was 35, a time by which most NFL players have already been forced into retirement. But he had been the ultimate late bloomer, and Panthers head coach Dom Capers and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio wanted Mills to anchor their 3-4 defense at inside linebacker.

Mills didn't make the NFL at all until he was 27 years old. The first of his parents' 11 children to earn a college degree, he was a good player at Division III Montclair State in New Jersey — but not good enough to get drafted. With no pro prospects, his first job out of college was as a woodworking and photography teacher at a New Jersey high school. He made $13,600 a year.

But that didn't last long, because Mills made the old USFL at an open tryout in 1982 and became a standout in that short-lived league for the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars. His prowess there earned him a spot with the New Orleans Saints (Jim Mora coached both teams), where Mills was a great linebacker for many years on a lot of average Saints teams.

Mills was only 5'9". Panthers coach Ron Rivera was also an NFL linebacker — although not as renowned as Mills — in Chicago, and respected Mills' work from afar. "They called him the field general," said Rivera, who also knew of the constant teasing Mills endured for his lack of height. "That or the field mouse."

But Mills was incredibly good at getting to the right place on the field. He was like a Peyton Manning on defense, diagnosing plays before they were ever run. And man, could he ever hit. Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor once said of Mills, "Just once, I'd like to get a hit like he does. It has to be better than sex."

Mills liked to make fun of himself. He wore gold-rimmed glasses everywhere except on the field. He had a squat build and had lost almost all of his hair by the time he got to Charlotte. He sometimes referred to himself as a player who was "short, balding, and can't see very well."

Mills was an unrestricted free agent when the Panthers came into existence, in 1995. Carolina offered him a two-year, $2.8 million contract. New Orleans then matched the offer, but Mills was disappointed that it took Carolina's money to make the Saints ante up. As he told me once in an interview, "After all that I'd done playing in New Orleans, it kind of bothered me that they were only going to pay me the money because they had to pay it and not because they wanted to pay it. To me, it's almost like inviting somebody to your party or to some special event because your mom says you've got to invite them. If I found out I was invited to an event because somebody forced you to invite me, I'd rather not be invited at all."

So Mills took Carolina's offer instead. He and his wife, Melanie, brought their three children...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Triumph Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1600788246
• ISBN 13: 9781600788246
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 304
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
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