Panthers By Dustin Ramey

Back round The Carolina Panthers are a professional football team representing the Carolinas. The Panthers are members of the Southern division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team plays their games at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, which also serves as the team headquarters. The Panthers are one of the few teams in the NFL to own their own stadium, legally registered as Panthers Stadium, LLC; the team itself is legally registered as Panthers Football, LLC and is worth approximately USD 1 billion according to Forbes.

Team history On December 15, 1987, Jerry Richardson announced his bid for an NFL expansion franchise in the Carolinas. On October 23, 1993, the NFL owners unanimously selected the Carolinas as the 29th NFL franchise The Panthers began play in the 1995 NFL season. Led by head coach Dom Capers, the team finished the season with a 7–9 record. The Panthers beat the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round before losing the NFC Championship Game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. The Panthers managed only a 7-9 finish in 1997 and slipped to 4-12 in 1998, leading to the firing of Capers as head coach The Panthers hired former San Francisco 49ers coach George Seifert to replace Capers in 2001, winning their first game but losing their last 15. The Panthers fired Seifert after the season. His replacement John Fox.

Stadium In their first year of play, the Panthers played at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina as the Panthers stadium was still under construction. Ericsson Stadium, now called Bank of America Stadium, opened in summer 1996 Six bronze panther statues flank the stadium's three main entrances - according to the Panthers, they are the largest statues ever commissioned in the United States. The names of the team's original PSL owners are engraved on the base of each panther statue. The two people in the Panthers Hall of Honor, team executive Mike McCormack and linebacker Sam Mills, are both honored with life-sized bronze statues outside the stadium.

Muhsin Muhammad "Moose" as he is affectionately known by adoring Panthers' fans, has been one of the most productive Panthers. In 2008 Muhammad became the 29th player in NFL history to reach 10,000 career receiving yards.

Mike Minter Mike Minter- a Nebraska alum, was a great asset to the Panthers both on and off the field. Minter retired in 2007 after nine seasons, with team records for game starts (141) and consecutive starts (94), as well as for fumble recoveries and interceptions resulting in touchdowns.

Sam Mills Others had more talent, most had more size, but no one had more heart than No. 51. During the first three years of the Panthers' existence, he was the heart and soul of the team

Steve Smith Smith has become one of the league's most dangerous weapons, a game-breaker that has caused many defensive coordinators to lose sleep. If Smith can steer clear of off-the-field problems, he will find his bust in Canton, Ohio one day.

Sir purr Sir purr has to be the worst mascot ever And has a stupid side kick called mini-meow

logo 1995 to 2011. 2012 to now

Uniforms

records Statistic Wins Losses Ties Win% regular season 132 156 .458 the Panthers have played nearly three hundred games in a total of 18 seasons beat the Cowboys 29–10 at Bank of America Stadium against the St. Louis Rams in the Divisional playoff game; the team won 29–23 Statistic Wins Losses Ties Win% regular season 132 156 .458 post-season 6 4 ---- .600 All-time 138 160 .461

Culture Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com observed that while there is "a bit of a wine-and-cheese atmosphere at Panthers games Charlotte lives and dies with the Panthers because there aren't a lot of other options in the sports world They noted that while visiting fans often outnumber Panthers fans at home games, this is partially because many of Charlotte's residents are "transplants... from NYC, Philly, and Atlanta".

Rivalries The Panthers have developed a number of rivalries during their time in the NFL the Atlanta Falcons the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the San Francisco 49ers the Arizona Cardinals Dallas Cowboys

Training camp and practice facility The Panthers have three open-air practice fields next to Bank of America stadium As a result, the fields are visible from skyscrapers as well as from a four-story condominium located across the street In the event of bad weather, the team relocates their practices to an indoor sports facility about 10 miles from the stadium; the team itself does not own an indoor facility. The team has hosted training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina since 1995.

Radio and television Carolina Panthers games are broadcast through flagship station WBT (1110 AM) and through the Carolina Panthers Radio Network The team's radio network gives pre-game coverage, in-game commentary of games, and post-game wrap-ups as well as Panther Talk Panther Talk is hosted by the Panthers broadcasting team of Mick Mixon, Jim Szoke, and Eugene Robinson and features head coach Ron Rivera as well as a player guest

Ownership and administration Jerry Richardson is the owner and founder of the Carolina Panthers. Richardson and his family own about 48% of the team, with the remaining 52% owned by a group of 14 partners. Richardson paid 206 million dollars for the team in 1993; according to Forbes the Panthers are worth approximately 1 billion dollars as of 2012. They ranked the Carolina Panthers as the sixteenth-most valuable NFL team and the twenty-third most valuable sports team in the world.

Hall of Honor

Current staff

Research sites http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Panthers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Carolina_Panthers_seasons http://bleacherreport.com/articles/179031-the-10-greatest-carolina-panthers-of-all-time