Root for the Home Team

The Carolina Panthers were gracious enough to have us back to their training camp in Spartanburg. They changed their practice time this year so we were able to watch from the sidelines right after the show.

I'm a pretty casual football fan. I follow the Panthers pretty much the same way, and for the same reasons, I root for the Mets and any team from Syracuse.

My dad used to take us to see the Mets maybe once or twice a year. We always had great seats - I think the company he worked for had season tickets - and my sister and I always drove him crazy. You see, this was back in the late 70's and early 80's and Shea Stadium was the first place I ever saw Haagen Dazs. It was also the only place and my sister and I would basically eat our way through the games. Dad would try to get us to follow what was happening on the field, but I'm not sure he ever succeeded. I went to Syracuse University so for college sports, I'll always root for the Orangemen. My sports experience while in school was mostly limited to watching the Bob Costas wannabes record their play by play in the stands. Syracuse has a great sports broadcasting tradition, but it's pretty funny to see the students practicing during the games. A few years after college Slade and I moved back to Syracuse and we got football season tickets. That was fun because it was Donovan McNabb's last year and people were going crazy. We usually go to two Panthers games a season now. We've brought Lea - she likes to get her face painted - but will probably wait one more year for Benny. Actually, I may bring them both to training camp next year. They've got a great play area for the kids and it's never really crowded. If they only added Haagen Dazs I know it would be a big hit.