ON A BITTER WINTER DAY IN 1994, the magazine offices of Charlotte’s Best received the return call we had hoped for, but didn’t expect would come. Lex , a young marketing intern for the Carolina Panthers, told us that Jerry Richardson was in route to the then-under construction stadium to fulfill our request for a cover shoot. We had named him “Man of the Year” and hoped that he would grace our cover. As our photographer set-up the shot amidst whipping winds high-up on the concrete-only upper deck, I met his Bentley pulling into the gravel parking area. We rode together on a golf cart to the upper deck, where he posed poignantly for the camera. Snap. Snap. As we rode back he revealed that he had the flu. And that the tie and hard hat was made custom for the shoot. I couldn’t help but think what an extraordinary effort this was for a city magazine shoot. For us. Then it became clear. Mr. Richard-son is no ordinary man. And he brings out the best in lives that he touches. What an extraordinary city we live in. It has been our pleasure to cover the Carolina Panthers for 20 years. Here are just a few of our FAVORITE MOMENTS.

FANS of the new Carolina Panther franchise were rewarded quickly (in NFL years) with a Jake Delhomme to Steve Smith pass attack that led to the 2003 Super Bowl. Next, things declined in NFL fashion. The likable and excitable Delhomme suffered injury, underwent Tommy-John surgery and in lingering drama on the field, never regained his passing abilities. In an overdue, tearful goodbye the team and fans suffered the very worst of being an NFL fan. A 1-15 season that showcased one awful QB after another, and seemed to last a decade, the worst team in the NFL—the Carolina Panthers, held the #1 draft pick. As fate would have it, Auburn’s dynamic, bowl-winning quarterback Cam Newton was on the table. Would we? We sure did. Out of the gate and out of the shotgun this gifted individual set NFL records winning “Rookie of the Year”and rallied our ailing fan base. Our surging Panthers regained their fight and pride and were winning games. Number one made Sundays in Carolina fun again. And of course, there’s more.

AS A YOUNG BOY GROWING UP IN THE EARLY ‘70S, in both sleep-ing and waking hours, my mind was ruled by heroes. Some Fictitious. Some Real. The Marvel and DC Superheroes inspired the imagination while Sunday’s warriors inspired our young lives. We stared at gigantic posters on our walls and ceiling of Mean Joe Greene, Roger Staubach, and of course, long before the white Bronco chase—O.J. Simpson. Despite the fact that Charlotte, NC—with a population of only 200,000 at the time—was barren of a home team to cheer for on Sun-day, we all found a favorite in the League. The NFL seemed worlds away from Carolina. And so we cheered for the gritty Steelers, hated on the game-robbing Raiders, and watched star-struck by the glitz and glamour of the Cowboys. Football was a season. The one that we looked forward to all year long. I started in 2nd Grade, sporting an attic-sale find helmet and rul-ing the roost on a Rama Road Park flag football team called the Chiefs. I hated the Chiefs of the NFL, but loved our squad. The next year I joined a new team named the Hornets (with Steelers colors—how cool). The name Hornets has been a Charlotte staple based on Civil War history where Cornwallis and his Carolina troops were described as a “veritable bunch of hornets” as they fought off larger regiments. A Charlotte Hornets semi-pro football team debuted in the ‘70s play-ing at Memorial Stadium in Midtown only to sell off their uniforms post-game half-way through their first season schedule to fans. It was a woeful end to this early effort that would serve as a warning to those who rang the bell of football in Charlotte for years to come. I asked my Dad if we would ever have an NFL team in Charlotte. I remember exactly where we were, what he said and the way that he said it. “Charlotte is not a big enough city—it’s going to be a long time until we have a football team. If we ever do.” It made sense. But who could have foreseen the growth of our Southern metropolis right then? Fast-forward to the early 90s. Bank Town is growing and a boost-erish spirit is taking hold. A young man named Mark Richardson, son of former Colts NFL player and restaurant magnate Jerry Richardson (Hardee’s, Denny’s and Quincy’s) opens The Island Bar and Grille, ad-jacent to hot-spot Whispers Night Club, behind Park Road Shopping Center. It was not uncommon to wait on then-CEO of NationsBank Hugh McColl during the day and share the dance floor next door with Grand Ma Ma (Larry Johnson), Muggsy Bogues and Kenny Gattison—all from the upstart Charlotte Hornets team that captured Charlotte’s imagination for pro sports fandom. Soon we saw NFL bumper stickers show up in numbers around town. The doubters far outnumbered the believers. And then...Char-lotte’s business elite carved out an ownership group that called NFL brass to the table. Would ours be the chosen city for this rare round of NFL expansion? Rumors circulated as to which city would make the

In 20 plus years of magazine publishing in Charlotte, NOTHING was more exciting than the arrival of the Carolina Panthers. When our team was on the rise, it’s all that anyone wanted to see. We delivered.

Approaching NFL greatness our Carolina Panthers graced covers of Sports Journal, our national publication twice. With extra pride we published these two issues.

cut. In a head-spinning development, it was a reali-ty—the Carolina Panthers would play in the NFL. The dream was, at long-last a reality. The ownership group had won the hearts and minds of NFL management, they began their aggressive quest for top-tier coaches, managers and players. Both Carolinas rumbled with excitement and fans suited up in black, blue and silver as the team took shape. Here on these two pages are a select few of the covers that document the cov-erage of four Charlotte publications over the last 20 years. They are:

THE APARTMENT PAGESA humble, two-color newsletter with a readership of over 110,000 Charlotteans, this cover coincided with the announce-ment of our NFL team.

CHARLOTTE’S BEST MAGAZINEAs our city grew, competing city magazines gave way to creative, enigmatic covers. One fierce panther scared a few newsstands into boycotting the edition above, while the massive sculptures which graced the edition right fired up readers who also enjoyed our interview with the sculptor.

SOUTHERN SPORTS JOURNALA most ambitious project, covering all pro and col-lege regional sports, SSJ hit newsstands nationwide and we were always ecstatic when our own Carolina Panthers commanded cover attention.

CHARLOTTE PROWLER MAGAZINEDesigned to go hard, go out into the trenches and cover Charlotte sports and events in a weekly dig-ital and monthly print edition combo our timing couldn’t have been better. The rise of the Panthers, the return of the Hornets, our Knights and Checkers in a fine new home with fans loving it all.

On BROAD SHOULDERsFrom the first time we watched Heisman Trophy Winner and National Championship winning QB Cam Newton step onto the field, we Panther fans knew that we were in for something special. We shouted loudly as he out-witted defenses earning first-down yardage and more with his legs. We cheered as he scramble and sometimes hit down field receivers like Steve Smith, Sr. and Brandon LaFell for long yardage or thrilling end zone strikes. And we listened as critics struggled to define this new NFL phenom. Would he be a fit long-term or were we kidding ourselves. With back-to-back NFC South titles, and swelling confidence, in 2015 we witnessed Cameron Newton become the game-winner, a captain capable of steering the most complex ship to port. We can only wait and watch as he leads. We are all on one amazing journey.

Our Carolina Panthers have become the very spirit of the city of Charlotte, the pride of the Carolinas and raised the expectations of each of us, every day. Sundays are powerful beginnings to each week that speak to us all.

Something historic, epic and more important than the game of football is happening here. Our cities and states are connected to the character that is being drawn up by letting everyone be a part of it. It’s ours. It is us.

How special it is that our team, management and the fans —all of us—have taken on the challenges off the field with the same tenacity that we ap-proach opponents on Sunday. This is what makes Carolina special. #keeppounding

THE BUCHANANSIts a total guess ,but probably some-where between 2000-3000 items

PROWLERAnd tell us please about a few of the extra-special items that you love the most? THE BUCHANANSOne of the most unique is the original ‘spotter board’ used by Bill Rosinski, the Voice of the Panthers, to broad-cast the very first Panther game. It was the Hall of Fame game in Canton, OH in 1995. Among other things, it lists Frank Reich as the starting QB and Kerry Collins was a 3rd stringer. We’ve got about 20 different footballs, signed by everyone from Jerry Richard-son to Fred Lane, a 3 foot tall signed Julius Peppers bobble head, and a pair of Cam Newton’s one of a kind Super-man cleats. ( Shhh!! Don’t tell him!) PROWLERWere their skeptics at first? Were either of you the “brake” on this or were you both the “gas”? THE BUCHANANSWe were both ‘all-in’ from the begin-ning! Right from the onset of the team, we began acquiring so much Panther paraphernalia, the stuff really needed a ‘home’. The garage just evolved from there, and our cars haven’t been allowed inside in over 14 years.

PROWLERAnd have any of the Panther players or coaches stopped by? THE BUCHANANSWe have an annual Chili Cook-off that we host at the Garage Mahal every year, and we were fortunate to have former Panther Mike Fox as one of the judges. He is the one and only Panther player who has seen it in person. We also hosted a book signing for the voice

ON THE PROWL | CAROLINA SUPER FANS

THEY MAY JUST BE THE BESt FAN COUPLEBEST IN THE NFL? HEAR US OUTBILL AND CINDY BUCHANAN recently stopped by the Prowler Magazine Pit-stop at the corner of Mint and More-head during Fan Fest and shared the story of their Panther Garage with us. The spacious and vivacious, taj-ma-Pan-thers-hal has been featured on ESPN.com and in Sporting News Magazine. We couldn’t wait to share some pics with our readers and have the Buchan-an’s tell the story of this football fan’s fantasy cave.

PROWLERAll great things have to start small. What was the first piece of memorabilia that went up in your garage? THE BUCHANANSIt was a silly little plastic shampoo bottle in the shape of a Panther football player. Haven’t seen another one since.

PROWLERAnd what was the last? THE BUCHANANSIt’s a tie between the new Panther themed custom painted spin bike that we got each other for our anniversary, and the shadow box we had made to hold the jersey Bill wore onstage when

he presented the Panther’s #1 draft pick in Chicago this past May. (He was ran-domly selected in a drawing of the PSL owners for an all expense paid VIP trip to Chicago. It was like Disney world for football fans! Loved it!) Every summer we do an ‘off-season upgrade’ and those were both just recently installed.

PROWLERTell us (if you can) roughly just how many pieces of fan memorabilia went into this, the most awesome of all Caro-lina Panther “fan caves”?

AndUnioin

CHAR LOT TE COU P LE CONT I N U ES B U I LD I NG GAR AGE MAHAL

PANTHER

PANTHER PASSIONThese folks aren’t fair weather. They aren’t hobbyists. They’re dyed-in-the-wool Panther blue bloods born of the same spark that brought the NFL to Charlotte. Their passion has transcended highs and lows and gave way to the groundswell of en-thusiasm and faith that makes this franchise real. #keeppounding.

of the Panthers, Bill Rosinski and had over 200 people in the Garage. I wish that more players and coaches could see it, especially when its full of rabid Pan-ther fans on game day. We want them to know that the Panthers have just as loyal fans as Pittsburgh or Green Bay.

PROWLERWhat was the early reaction from your neighbors, family and kids? THE BUCHANANSInitially, it was ‘oh that’s nice’, but no big deal. And now? We have friends and ‘friends of friends’ that call all the time and ask if they can bring by their - Dad - Friend - Coworker - Boss - to see the Garage. Its gotten to be kind of a local pilgrimage for football fans. Its really fun to watch a person’s reaction the first time they see it. Their jaw just drops.

PROWLERAre their plans to add something in the near future?

THE BUCHANANSWe are trying to figure out an expansion project. Maybe an attached car port that would accommodate more fans on game day, but cover our vehicles from the weather the rest of the week.

PROWLERWho would you be most honored to have a photo with in your garage? THE BUCHANANSIt would have to be Mr. Richardson. We would love for him to see what his vision to bring an NFL team here 20 years ago really means to us.

PROWLERAnd how in the world do you decide who to invite? THE BUCHANANSWe always say, ‘If you build it, they will come’. Our friends all know that they all have a standing invitation to come watch a Panther game. Cindy and I attend every Panther home game. We haven’t missed one since they came to

Charlotte. But for every away game, the Garage Mahal is open. There’s 5 TV’s and 3 bars, a fireplace, and lots of Panther fandom for anyone who wants to come over and watch the game. The neighbors are awesome! Everyone brings a contribution for the tailgate table, and we all cheer the Panthers.

PROWLERAny advice for envious fans out there who might begin their own fan cave?THE BUCHANANSBuild it out of love, not just to build it. Everything in our garage has its own story. When you put all that together, you have more than a great place to watch Panther football. You’ll have a ton of great memories.

Thank you so much for your time—we’re looking forward to a dominant Carolina Panther season. How can they lose with fans like Bill and Cindy Buchanan!?

KNOW OF A SUPER FAN THAT DESERVES TO BE FATURED HERE IN PROWLER MAGAZINE?Send pics or information to us at info@prowlermagazine.com. We’ll post good ones online atwww.ProwlerMagazine.com and our Facebook pages: Prowler Magazine and Prowler Pitstop.

PRE-SEASON CHARLOTTE, NC

Some things are just obvious, true correlations like great game plays and crowd cheers, genuinely helping people and positive reactions. Then there are other true correla-tions like Cam Newton and the number 1. In the 2011 NFL Draft, Cam was the round 1, number 1 pick. In 2011 on September 1, he was named the Caro-lina Panther’s starting quarterback. And Cam dons the jer-sey #1. But before Cam became a number 1 successful standout, he was 1 person among a number of people trying to find his way. Cameron Jerrell ”Cam” Newton was the second child of three children born to Cecil Newton, Sr. and Jackie Newton in Atlanta, Georgia on May 11, 1989. He grew up in the Atlanta suburb College Park. Cam and his older brother Cecil Newton, Jr. followed in their father’s footsteps. Cecil, Sr. was a linebacker from Savannah State University who formerly played for both the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills in the early 1980’s. Eager to prepare his young sons for a shot in the NFL, he put Cecil, Jr. and Cam through college-type drills before they became teens. By age 8, Cam stood close to 5’0” and weighed nearly 100 pounds. Cecil Jr. often invited Cam to play football with his friends, and being younger, Cam performed well in that large circle. Cam loved playing football alongside his brother and from this, learned much about the game.

“My brother is my biggest teammate. It was the lessons and plays we created as children in the back-yard that I learned the most from,” said Cam blithely. Soon enough, Cam began running in even bigger circles playing organized football, a game he pined to play and purposely prepared for prematurely. “I recall when I played as a child, I would get up early and suit-up hours before the game actually started,” said Cam. Being in a weight-based league, Cam often skipped meals in order to remain eligible. Also for Cam to remain eligible by both school academic and Newton Christian household standards, Cam’s parents made sure that their sons kept up with their school work. It also didn’t hurt that Cam had both a great smile and charisma, traits that translat-ed into a likeable personality that would become Cam’s trademark and boost his ascension. As Cam grew, so did his speed, agility, and strength. In 2003, he enrolled at Westlake High School, playing both basketball and football. As a freshman, Cam impressed then-football coach Dallas Allen with his spirit and athletic ability. Cam’s adroit arm, pocket presence, and slick football moves encouraged Allen to make a move. As the number 1 defines a beginning step, Allen bumped Cam from the freshman team to play varsity, a move that happened in year 1 of Cam’s high school career. Although playing varsity football as a freshman is an honor, Cam’s focus was on the game and the camarade-rie the opportunity fostered.

Cam newton has many highlights in his life to look back upon. his football achievements are those scripted in hollywood movies. His high school and collegiate careers are epic. His NFL rookie season was historic. His tenure as the QB of the Carolina Panthers has led to playoff wins and now, a franchise QB CONTRACT that puts the future of the NFC SOUTHí S MOST PHYSICAL AND DYNAMIIC NFL TEAM SQUARELY UPON HIS SHOULDERS. IS HE #1?

“Football is a game that I love at every level. As a fresh-man or varsity player, it wasn’t about me at a certain level, but it was about the team. If I’m working hard, then the guys around me and the guys still learning become their best by working hard,” said Cam. As a sophomore, when the team’s starting quarterback broke his finger, Cam got to start. In his first game, playing alongside his brother, Cam fumbled a snap from Cecil, Jr. late in the game that the other team recovered, costing the Westlake Lions a win. But the bigger picture for Cam is not so much the game score, but rather the lessons learned from the game outcome which foster continuous improve-ment. “It’s not about winning or losing to me - it’s about gaining experience and knowledge, as knowledge makes you pow-erful.” said Cam. By his junior year, Cam grew three inches, gained 15 pounds of muscle, weighing in at 205 pounds, and standing 6’3”. He ran for 638 yards with 9 touchdowns and threw for 2,500 yards with 23 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. As a senior weighing 230 pounds and standing 6’4”, Cam threw for 1,400 yards and ran for 1,000 yards. Cam was consid-ered one of the nation’s top quarterback prospects, and 40 plus scholarship offers rolled in. On September 7, 2006, in a press conference at Westlake High School, Cam verbally committed to the University of

Florida where he would play alongside fellow quarterback Tim Tebow. “Florida was the best fit for me at the time. I chose Florida because my talents fit the spread option offense better than any other out there,” said Cam. In 2007, as a college freshman, Cam was the back-up quarterback for Tebow. Cam played in 5 games and threw for 40 yards on 5-of-10 passing and ran the ball 16 times for 103 yards and 3 touchdowns. Cam’s 2008 sophomore year began with great promise, but promises can be broken when life happens. Cam played in the season opener versus Hawaii, but after spraining his ankle in the opener, he was red-shirted during what would be a National Championship season for Florida. To add insult to injury, other incidents happened throughout Cam’s sophomore school year that affected him having a promising football season. The unfortunate situations Cam encountered in Florida left his football career at a crossroads. “I went through so many stages mentally. I went through a miserable time as far as me being humbled. I went through a period where I was devastated and de-pressed. I didn’t know where my career was going and if I even wanted to play football anymore,” said Cam. But Cam soon found refuge in Brenham, Texas. In January 2009, he transferred to Blinn Junior College, far different from the city life he was used to experiencing in Florida. “At Blinn College, everyone was from Texas. During the

summer or on weekends, everyone would go home. I’d be the only one at the college, and it was a ghost town. That’s when I would think about what I really wanted to do with my life,” said Cam. As Cam had the talent to play football, and as the Buccaneers had a vacancy on their roster for a quarter-back, Cam’s career crossroads merged down the one road of revisiting football. “To me, life is a journey – not just about a specific destination. In life, crossroads are good. They make you stronger, better in life. Crossroads allow your character to grow and give time for you to become the best version of yourself,” said Cam. With his smile and charismatic personality, it didn’t take long for Cam to join the football team and win over his team-mates. Playing in 12 games, Cam led the Blinn Buccaneers to an 11-1 record and a 2009 NJCAA National Championship, completing 204 passes for 2,833 yards and 22 touchdowns with 5 interceptions. He rushed for 655 yards and 16 touch-downs. Well-deserved accolades followed. Cam was named a juco All-America honorable mention and was the most recruited juco quarterback in the country. As the number 1 highlights popularity, Cam was ranked as the #1 quarterback from either high school or junior college by Rivals.com, and was the only five-star recruit. Cam was happy to be heading back down the road of playing football, and both winning this National Championship and cherishing the team rapport attributed. “Winning the championship was meaningful to me as were all the moments with my teammates through practices and games. To this day, I cherish the friendships I gained at

Blinn College,” said Cam. In making his comeback, Cam was recruited by several colleges, and he eventually signed with the Auburn University Tigers. Cam was a success from the time he set foot onfield at Auburn in 2010. As the number 1 defines standout sports-manship, throughout the football season, Cam was the #1 guy to add stats to his accolades, all while staying humble. As the season progressed, Cam showed up and showed out, leading his team to victory game-after-game. Eventually media reports began to list Cam among the top five candi-dates to watch for as the candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Throughout his Junior year at Auburn, Cam started all 14 games, completing 185 of 280 passes for 2,854 yards and an SEC record 30 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. Cam became the 1st player in SEC history to accumulate 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in a season. On December 4, 2010, Cam led the Tigers to an SEC Championship, their first since 2004, by defeating South Carolina 56-17. This game set an SEC Championship Game record for most points scored and the largest margin of victory. Following the game, Cam was named MVP after scoring a career-best 6 touchdowns, 4 passing and 2 rushing. Cam was named the 2010 SEC Of-fensive Player of the Year and the 2010 AP Player of the Year. Cam was one of four finalists for the 2010 Heisman Trophy, which he won in a landslide victory.

{ To Be Continued NEXT ISSUE }