The first Carolina Panthers game I attended was in 1996, the team's first season in what we now call Bank of America Stadium (the team having played its inaugural season at Clemson University). My mom took me to what was also my first NFL game, vs. the 49ers, and the still-infant Panthers killed Steve Young & Co. 23-7 on their way to an undefeated-at-home season. I can honestly say that if this one game hadn't happened the way it did, I might never have gotten into football.
The then-NFC West rivalry between the Panthers and 49ers got ugly over the next few years, with the 49ers signing a disgruntled Kevin Greene and George Seifert sabotaging the Panthers as one of the worst head coaches in history as revenge. (OK, maybe not actually... but 1-15 is certainly something.)
Then the league realigned, and the Panthers went to the NFC South, and just like that, we stopped going to war against the first real rival of my nascent sports fanhood. And I actually missed it.
Which is part of the reason why I both agree and disagree with Bill Simmons' proposal to realign the NFL yet again in order to keep both conferences' West divisions from pissing off fans every year in the playoffs - the NFC being a worse offender than the AFC in the 32-team era. I'm totally for an 8- or 9-game threshold for a playoff spot. But...
I just love Simmons to death, but he has a tendency not to think things through before he puts them in a column, at least when it comes to football (still not his native territory). For starters, you can't move Carolina to a division where it's the only warm-weather team. (Miami - I know. I don't care.) It was over 90 degrees here on the first day of fall, for crying out loud. And, while his realignment may be more tight geographically, it kills several long-standing league rivalries.
Which brings me to my earlier point. It sucked to transition from hating the 49ers all year long to suddenly not playing them but once every few years. But newborns didn't even make it to kindergarten during the life of that rivalry. If it sucked for me, how much more would it suck for, say, Philly fans who only get to play Dallas once in a blue moon? Both NY teams in the same division, really? Oh, I get it. Simmons gets his childhood dream conference, with the Colts out of the Patriots' way and Carolina as cannon fodder.
And yes, historical rivalries matter. As much as some of us love football, the NFL's purpose is to entertain. And it's a hell of a lot more fun to beat the team and fans that you have to face twice a year, every year, and who compete with you for playoff slots. Familiarity breeds contempt, as they say. And contempt breeds ticket and jersey sales.
I respect him for spit-balling, though. Just... get your head out of your head, man.
No comments:
Post a Comment