Happy New Year, everyone!
A few Panther notes as everyone makes their 2014 resolutions -- and also, I want to thank all of you for making this blog part of your day.
I also know a few of you probably missed Sunday's story about what happens to all those footballs Cam Newton hands to kids in the stands (the great Jeff Siner picture above comes from that story -- it's a pic of Newton and 15 of the kids he has handed footballs to over the years).
That story ended up getting around 2,500 "likes" on Facebook, which is more than I've ever gotten on a story before -- here's the link if you missed it. Now onto some other notes from a New Year's Day I am spending partly at Bank of America Stadium:
-- The three-minute sellout of the remaining 7,000 or so Panther playoff tickets on Wednesday morning wasn't a big surprise to me -- I had predicted on Twitter it would take five minutes. What does surprise me considerably is that Green Bay is having monumental trouble selling out its playoff game against San Francisco Sunday (and Cincinnati and Indianapolis are having trouble, too). You can still go to the Panther game, obviously, but only if you're willing to pay several times face value for tickets.
If you are thinking about buying Panther tickets on the secondary market for their 1:05 p.m. playoff game on Jan.12th, buy your tickets from a site that guarantees the tickets to be valid, like the NFL's Ticket Exchange or Stubhub.com. There will likely be hundreds of counterfeit tickets floating around for a game of this magnitude -- don't get caught with one of those. I have heard too many sad stories of people who have had that happen this year.
-- The Panthers will wear the uniform voted the best in NFL history (in an unofficial online poll in 2013) in their playoff game. The black-on-black combo (seen at the bottom of this blog) was most recently worn in Carolina's win against the New York Jets. The electric blue socks, remember, were Steve Smith's idea. I feel confident Smith will play on Jan.12 in the playoff game, but it's still unclear how effective he will be. The Panthers are holding him out of practice this week.
-- Panther coach Ron Rivera said that if he could make one New Year's resolution for his entire team, it would be to "stay focused." Not real creative, but very true.
I certainly think Panther defensive coordinator Sean McDermott is ready to be an NFL head coach, but for his sake I hope he doesn't wind up in Washington (he interviews for the Redskins job Saturday). I wouldn't wish working for Dan Snyder on anybody.
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8 comments:
Scott, it would be interesting to see the procedure of how (and to who) the 7,000 tickets were dispersed in 3 minutes. There must have been programmed computers getting into the system because very few people out there could get a response from the website or call-in number. No one has to sell tickets for face value. But, an organization that accepts tax money should be transparent and should give locals a shot at buying tickets...something tells me this process was not exactly geared toward allowing local Panther fans a fair shot at buying the announced 7,000 available tickets. This might be something the city council should look into, since they have "invested" heavily into the team.
As for secondary ticket market, fees on stub hub are much better than ticket exchange(NFL).
It would be a huge mistake for McDermott to go to Washington. The worst place to coach were it not for Cleveland and Dallas.
Am excited that they're wearing the black-on-black combo for this game. While I wish McDermott all the best, I'd love to have him back next year.
Scott, our respects to you, always read your notes, and stay informed. Good year for you
From Argentina we will be with you and our panthers, every game, every minute, every single play.
GO PANTHERS !!!
www.facebook.com/nopuedojuegan.lospanthers.aesahora
I'm with you on that one Scott, about McDermott shouldn't take the Redskins job because of Danny Boy (Snyder). Snyder is a complete @^%(*!6)* when it comes to working for him, and that's not just in the Redskins organization. He purchased Adventure World (now Six Flags) in Largo, Maryland from Cal Ripken a few years ago and it is now a dump of an amusement park, per se'. FA players used to like coming to the Redskins just to get paid, but now some wished they'd never joined the organization. Whatever coach hire will not have to type of control they'd hope to have because of Snyder's meddlesomeness, along with Bruce Allen, who hopes to gain more control now that Shanny's gone. I say Mac (McDermott) don't do it. You'll regret ever being a part of that organization. And just think I used to be a Redskins fan prior to 1988-89 before JR's vision. Snyder should have never stolen the team from John Kent Cooke.
NFL tickets are for sale to ANYONE. Be that local, or international. Many people, myself included, make money on ticket sales. I scalp as a side job. It is a free market, if you want tickets for a playoff game, buy season tickets. That way you are guaranteed. Otherwise you are subject to people like me and the prices we charge. It's not changing, Ticketmaster is not going to change the way they sell.
IhavePlenty:
Fine free market argument. Can you identify yourself and your company so officials can audit you to make sure you are not just selling for cash on the street, but keeping careful records to pay tax on. We need to make sure you are not avoiding paying taxes to the city/state so we can help recoup the tax money we have invested with the Panthers! My point is if the Panthers are asking individual taxpayers to help with funding, they should go overboard to make sure the average guy who wants to attend the game gets a decent shot at tickets. Doesn't this make sense?
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