Panthers 2021 season opener countdown: 89 days to go

You know what time it is.

October 6, 2019. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in sunny Charlotte, I made my way into the 300 level of Bank of America Stadium. A friend of mine who lives in the Queen City is a huge Jaguars fan, and our beloved Panthers were hosting their cat cousins from Jacksonville. Naturally, it was a perfect game to attend with my friend, but there was an added bonus: four of the Carolina Panthers all time greats were being inducted into the Hall of Honor.

We watched the first half of a very back-and-forth affair. Kyle Allen dueled Gardner Minshew, DJ Moore tried to one-up DJ Chark. Christian McCaffrey was his usual pre-injury self (you may remember this game as the one where CMC scored a front flip touchdown). But the game paled in comparison to the excitement and emotion of the halftime festivities. Missing its biggest on-field star, the game felt like the opening act. The real show was still to come. I distinctly remember making the conscious decision to go to the restroom and the concession stand during the game instead of during halftime.

We watched and applauded as Panthers legends got their moment in the spotlight. I was young when Wesley Walls played for the team, but I still understood his impact during his playing days. We’ve been looking for a left tackle since Jordan Gross retired, so I paid him my respects as well. Jake Delhomme got rousing applause and will always be near and dear to the hearts of the Panthers faithful. Each of those players deserved to be in the Hall of Honor, and their names now sit forever at the top of Bank of America Stadium. But the biggest attraction this day was actually the smallest member of the group; and when he took to the podium, electricity filled the air.

After such a publicly ugly breakup, we had all doubted if this day would ever come. A short stint in Baltimore at the end of his career and a hatred of the then-general manager of the team meant that Steve Smith wanted nothing to do with the Panthers organization. After ownership and front office changes, we lucked out. The blood and guts had been cleaned up, and we all got to ice up one last time. What was already a deafening ovation turned into a cacophony of emotions when Steve Smith removed his jacket and shirt to reveal a Super Bowl edition of the home white number 89 jersey. If you have ever doubted what Smitty meant to this fan base, listen to the crowd’s reaction when he reveals his last surprise:

I fought back tears and screamed as loud as I ever have. I least I think I did; the roar of the Panthers faithful was so loud that any additions were engulfed immediately. This was a day that I’ll never forget, and that was because of that last reminder of the Rules and Regulations. 89, bottom line. Forever and always.