Carolina Panthers: After a Few AM Beers, I Found Something To Cheer About

I was excited as I drove down the 405 South to Hermosa Beach for the 10 a.m. showing of the Panthers/Bucs game (Yep, 10 a.m. It’s the left coast folks, there’s no sleep in the Sunshine State). Really, what was not to be excited about?

Jimmy Clausen (I wouldn’t say that’s his best picture on the Panthers website by the way) was getting the start, and I was going to get to watch the old Notre Dame alum direct his offense over a hot breakfast panini and a cold light beer. (It might be breakfast, but it’s still a bar).

So everything got off to a great start. There was the kickoff, then some things happened, and the Panthers figured they would be a philanthropic organization and donate the lead to Tampa Bay right off the bat.

But that’s OK, there is plenty of time to get that seven spot back.

I was watching the game with a couple friends who are Carolina fans, and I must say that even with one “W” in the win column, Panthers fans are still as true as a Carolina sky.

But after the Bucs first touchdown, my buddy Sullivan did ask if it was time to switch from light beer to the hard liquor yet. It was barely past 10 a.m., but I feared he might have had a point.

Against our better judgment we stuck with the light stuff and settled in for what would be a decently entertaining game. There were ups and downs, good plays as well as pretty horrible plays, but all in all a couple things stuck out for me, and I’ll share them with you here.

Carolina is still searching for a team identity, but they aren’t struggling as mightily as I would have expected against a resurgent Tampa Bay squad.

Granted they did turn it over in their first possession resulting in a Bucs lead but eventually they seemed to settle down into a nice ryth…

Oh wait, LeGarrette Blount, the Tampa Bay rookie running back, with 12:23 left in the second quarter just executed an amazing diving touchdown. I can’t believe he held on to the ball.

That TD was a LeGarrette punch right to the Panthers face without actually physically punching, very unlike Blount but a better result and no fines. Not to be outdone, a career practice squad player out of Richmond, VA, Josh Vaughan rumbled in a bit later for a Carolina score.

Now that’s the kind of thing you like to see. This guy, Vaughan, was signed as an undrafted rookie by Tampa Bay, then cut and signed to Jacksonville’s practice squad, then cut and signed to Carolina’s practice squad, then cut and signed to the Colts practice squad, then cut and signed to the Bills practice squad, then cut and back to the Panthers where he is scoring touchdowns against his original team.

This is the type of story people need to hear more about. This kid racked up more frequent flier miles than actual carries, yet he is undeterred.

Let’s not focus so much on the guy who punches people out in football games due to a temper he can’t control, and let’s focus more on the guy who is busting his hump to make something of himself in a field where success certainly does not come easily.

Sure Vaughan may not have the god given talent or the right hook of Blount, but he does have the drive and I hope to see this guy on the field more often.

Another fine point in this game is that the ageless Steve Smith came up with a great catch with 6:11 left in the third. The man is older than Brett Favre’s great-grandfather and yet still continues to impress.

As a disclaimer, I’d like to say that I do not know how old Brett Favre’s great-grandfather actually would be, but seeing as how Brett Favre himself is older than Steve Smith, I would venture a guess that I am wrong in what I stated above.

But even though the dude is old for a football player he’s like a fine wine, and the guy can still produce decent fantasy points.

Sullivan coined a great phrase during one of the television commercials when we were all frantically checking our phones for fantasy football updates.

Upon seeing his score he exclaimed, “Fantasy football is like Vegas for me. If it can go poorly it will.” I argue that fantasy football is also like being a Panthers fan for him.

The silver lining, however, is that one more loss gets Carolina a step closer to a No. 1 draft pick. Now if the Bills can build on their surprising win and climb out of the cellar, it will leave only a select few to duke it out for college football's finest.

Another positive is that I received a tweet (yes a tweet) during the game from Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy, about Carolina. This is a positive for two reasons.

The first being that an ESPN writer, who is not paid specifically to follow Carolina, is choosing to not only watch Panthers games but weighing in on them as well. And B) He pointed out something that may have gone overlooked by most fans: Mike Goodson.

The second-year RB out of Texas A&M. Yes, he fumbled the ball on his fourth carry, but he also broke the 100-yard mark. Do you know how many times Carolina’s other running backs have done that this season? Exactly zero.

Goodson and Vaughan will make a fine running back tandem in the years to come. Add Clausen in the mix as an up-and-coming franchise quarterback throwing to the ageless Steve Smith, who will be out there running patterns with his walker, and I’d say the Panthers have a bright future.

If fans of Carolina can stick with their team this long, then they can certainly wait it out a couple more years now that the foundation is being laid and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Now if that isn’t enough to keep you in your seats on Sunday, then I will leave you with my favorite quote of the day.

When asked about how often the Panthers sell out their stadium one of my friends replied, “At least the Panthers [losing] ways were the best thing that happened to the Charlotte bar scene.”

He may have a point, but after seeing these young guys play today, I would suspect the Sunday Charlotte bar scene will be thriving, even more so, in a couple years, but only because those patrons were unable to get into the sold out Bank of America stadium.