This weekend saw a paltry crowd attending the Panthers game in Carolina, amidst a rainy day and an overall gloomy season
Anyone who wanted an up-close and personal seat to an NFL game should have been in Charlotte this weekend for the Carolina Panthers game. There were plenty of open spots available on a rain-soaked Sunday that saw the home team defeat their division rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, 9-7.
While that score might have sounded like a real nail-biter, there weren’t that many nails to be bitten. Huge swaths of the stadium were empty by game time, despite tickets being heavily discounted.
Several photos were posted on social media, with fans joking about how sparse Bank of America Stadium was. It’s estimated that fewer than 15,000 fans were in the stands, in a venue that holds 74,867 at full capacity.
And it’s not just the inclement weather that scared potential ticket buyers off. It’s also the play of the Panthers (2-12), who seem destined to have the league’s worst record by season’s end.
Sadly for them, they won’t even reap the benefits of having the top pick in the NFL Draft. They traded that pick to move up for disappointing rookie quarterback Bryce Young.
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In hindsight? Everything that could go wrong in 2023 has done just that, and this weekend’s attendance should be a clear indication of that. The chess moves this team tried to pull in the offseason have backfired. Because of that? They now have a stadium filled with folks dressed up like empty seats – and Halloween was two months ago.
Despite a lost season, Young and the Carolina Cats will try to salvage what’s left of it when they host the Green Bay Packers (6-8) for a Christmas Eve match-up. We’ll see if their fans give the gift of actually showing up for the game, or if the Panthers get another lump of coal in their stocking for the holiday.
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