Superstitious Panthers may be onto something
The Story
Pro athletes are famous for their superstitions and unconventional practice routines. The Panthers are no exceptions, especially as they prepare for their playoff game against Seattle Saturday.
The Quirks
– Seattle’s CenturyLink Field is notoriously loud. So to prepare, the Panthers piped in crowd noise as they practiced at Bank of America Stadium Tuesday (normally they use their practice field, but they wanted the true game experience).
Getting lots of questions about piped-in crowd noise. Yes, Panthers are using it, beginning today. Will it help? Can’t hurt.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) January 6, 2015
– Cornerback James Dockery breaks the team huddle before each practice with Win on me, win on three. One, two, three, win. “Ever since I started doing that we got on this streak and people get superstitious. I’m the official team break downer,” he said.
– Josh Norman, also a cornerback, watches a warrior movie before every game. His go-to movie for big games is 300. He watched it before the Atlanta game. Last week: Gladiator.
– Linebacker Thomas Davis always has to give the final pregame speech, he won’t step on the three giant Panthers logos on the locker-room carpet and he insists all four of his children attend the game; “because we usually seem to win when I do that,” his wife said.
– Coach Rivera has a few superstitions he holds onto.
This week, he made sure members of the media sat in their usual seats, just to keep the “mojo” alive.
– Ever notice how Cam is always chewing gum during the game? First, it’s practical: He says it keeps his mouth from going dry so he can call plays. But, he’s also found that if the game’s hot, you don’t spit out the gum. If it’s not, the gum is gone.
I will say this about Cam Newton, however: The man is seriously committed to his gum. — Will Antonin (@Will_Antonin) January 4, 2015
The next Madden should have cam Newton chewing gum
— ⚾Cameron Smith⚾ (@Cam_Got_Handz5) January 4, 2015
Can Newton chews gum during football games, I chew gum when I drink. I’m pretty much Cam Newton. — Weatherman Ders (@WeatherManDers) January 4, 2015
Cam Newton needs to do an Orbitz gum commercial #pearlywhites
— nielsen36 (@nielsen36) January 4, 2015
C5’s Take
Our only superstition is to drink beer and eat chips during the game. I guess we’ll sacrifice and keep the streak alive Saturday.
Photos: Jeff Siner / Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published January 7, 2015 at 1:01 AM with the headline "Superstitious Panthers may be onto something."