In 1984 I was 3 years old and would be over at someone's house being babysit by a neighbor. I would sit in front of the Television and would be drawn into this sport called football. For whatever reason I was then drawn to the color Green and it just so happens that over the years it became clear to me that I was a New York Jets fan. Sure it could have been the Eagles or Packers and I could have seen "My team" win a Superbowl or at least make it to one but I chose the Jets and stuck with them through thick and thin.
During the next eleven years it was rare to find a Jets game on television living on the west coast but I still caught the highlights on weekly wrap up shows and such. 85 wins, 105 losses, 3 playoff appearances and only one playoff win left me wondering why my team didn't seem to be going anywhere. Much of the Jets success from the mid 80's I can't remember now. As I recall the day was at Mervyn's where there was a display of the two new NFL expansion teams with apparel. Hats and shirts, etc. I lay eyes upon both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers logos. I was immediately drawn to the Panthers logo and thought it looked really unique and cool. Maybe I'll follow another team as well as the Jets I thought to myself. So I bought a Carolina Panthers hat many months before the team had even formed completely let alone played an official NFL game.
This photo was taken in March of 1994 over a year before Carolina would play it's first game in the Hall of Fame Game where they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars on July 29th 1995.
The 1995 NFL season was great. Not only did I pick a team that would go on to break the record for number of wins for an Expansion team (7-9), I lucked out and the Carolina Panthers fell into the NFC West division alongside the San Francisco 49ers. So this meant I would get to see at least 2 televised Carolina games a year when they would face the 49ers. One of my biggest mark out moments of my entire life occured on November 5th, 1995. Upstart Carolina traveled to 3Com Park to face the defending super bowl champion San Francisco 49ers. Carolina pulled the miracle upset forcing five turnovers and Tim McKyer's 96 yard interception return sealed the deal. For a 14 year old kid it was AMAZING to say the least. So first ever Expansion team to beat the previous years' Superbowl champion, as well as first to have a 4 game winning streak. (Ironically Carolina's first regular season franchise win was against the New York Jets)
The New York Jets would go 1-15 in 1995 their worst record in the history of the franchise and in retrospect this may have been the moment when I did begin to lean a lot heavier on my love for the Panthers than for the Jets.
So for the next 6 years I would sport Carolina Hats at School and it became my "gimmick". I haven't kept count of how many Panther hats I have bought over the years but If I had to guess I'd say at least over Thirty. That's not an exageration either. Funny one night downtown at Panama's Bar and Grill just a few years ago I saw an old High School collegue for the first time in years and his greeting was "wait...turn around. yep, still wearing the panther hat." Hah.
I can say I have much more Panther Apparel than I do Jets. (I.E. 5 Carolina Jerseys to 2 Jets) I got back into the Jets during the Vinny Testaverde resurrection in 2000 and was a huge Pennington fan the entire time he was with the organization. (One of the jerseys is his however I may try finding someone who can have the Jersey re-screen printed to say Holmes)
Other sports I'm not a fan of teams, just players. If this justifies me liking more than one team in the NFL is debatable. At least the franchises are in different conferences. Some may ask who I go for when Carolina plays the Jets which has occured on a handful of occasions over the last 15 years. Honestly a lot of the games have occured when both teams have been really bad at the same time and the games are rough to watch when it comes to exciting entertainment. I usually watch them without going for either and just for both teams to come out of it injury free. As for if it came down to my Dream Superbowl I can't answer that question unless that situation were to arise.
So in conclusion I am a passionate fan for both New York and Carolina. The standard reasoning for being a fan of teams in the NFL or any sport for that matter does not apply to me. As I said in the beginning I am an exeption. You may reside from that area or you have a relative/friend that has played for that team. My love and desire was conceived from Colors and Logos... And that is the sports nation known as Duffy J.
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