16 tailgating photos from Sunday’s Carolina Panthers win. Were you seen?
With the Panthers pouncing and pounding on every opponent this season, Sunday was the perfect time to capture the roaring riot that supports the Carolina NFL team so fervently, especially since the Panthers went on beat Washington 44-16.
Third Ward was surging with activity all morning. Traffic was at a standstill, so I took a stroll around Bank of America Stadium to soak up and capture some team spirit.
This is a look at an hour of tailgating with Panther nation from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Were you seen?
Most of the year, this stadium sits relatively quietly in Third Ward. That’s why when the Panthers play at home, seeing the sheer vastness of the crowds filing into the stadium is awe-inspiring.
Beer is the obvious tailgating drink of choice, and game day is the perfect excuse to imbibe outdoors. Bud Light already comes in Panthers colors.
When the Panthers are playing, even dogs are fans of the Cardiac Cats.
Some tailgating essentials include: grills, Panthers gear and games you can play with a beer in your hand. These guys came prepared with their liquid breakfasts and healthy throwing arms in case Cam Newton needs a backup who can throw underhand.
In a sea of Olsen, Kuechly and Newton jerseys, one expects the occasional Ginn Jr. or Benjamin in the mix, but a Tom Brady Patriots jersey sticks out. Let’s assume she just saw the team’s first two letters and made a bad guess as to which game they were attending today.
This season will be nothing if not memorable for Charlotte. Make sure to document accordingly with selfies, stadium landscape shots and portraits with the most extravagantly dressed fans you can coerce into posing with you. Maybe that fan should be you. Whip out those cat ears.
Just in case tailgaters need a mobile pep rally, a marching band and dancers made their way through the crowds around the stadium, getting people hungry for that next win.
What tailgating and watching the Panthers is really about, though, is coming together. Whether that means father-son bonding time, a date or making new friends who also love screaming, “LUUUUUKE!” as loud as you do, just passing through the crowds makes one realize how simply cool it is to live in Charlotte and be a Panthers fan with so many like-minded people swarming around you.
Photos: Rémy Thurston
This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 10:01 PM with the headline "16 tailgating photos from Sunday’s Carolina Panthers win. Were you seen?."