Week 19 And Beyond: The Day the Music Died

Brethren: It has taken me a full three weeks to write this. The absolute stomach-punching atrocity that formed a burning sadness and simultaneous anger in my heart on January 10th, 2009, has finally turned into a compact black hole I'll carry for a long time. But while compact, it's small and it doesn't consume my entire heart.

But for a while there, it absolutely did. After Jake's second interception in the first half and we were suddenly facing a two touchdown plus differential, my world started to fade quickly. We had an entire section of the bar in the East Village reserved and I can take at least 60% of the credit for turning us into an interminably miserable peoples. I was angry. We had worked hard to get to 12-4 dammit. And then it all slipped away as Jake played the worst game of his career and John Fox stubbornly didn't gameplan for the Cardinals' most potent offensive weapon.

A lot has happened since that night three weeks ago. Nearly all the defensive coaches are gone, most notably, the defensive coordinator Trgovac. He's been replaced by the Colts' D-Coordinator, Ron Meeks. Indy hasn't been renowned for the defensive side of the ball in recent years because of Pey-Pey's huge presence in your standard marketing campaigns, but statistically, this guy knows what he's doing. And he has a Super Bowl ring. This will still be a John Fox team, but Meeks brings an aggressiveness to the defense that we clearly lacked in that Arizona playoff game.

The Cardinals have moved on in dramatic fashion, and I've been rooting for them all the way. I always start rooting for the team that knocks mine out of the tournament, if only to say, "hey -- nobody could beat those guys that year -- how'd you expect us to?"

And of course, the most potentially bizarre situation is the elephant in the proverbial room right now: Defensive End Julius Peppers wanting out of Carolina. The Panthers jersey I own carries Peppers's #90 and name, he was the first piece of the John Fox era, he is the most ridiculous athlete to ever hit the Charlotte sports scene; and yet, if he truly wants out and he thinks he has to leave our organization to truly reach his potential, well then fuck that. Fucking Carolina grad. I can turn on him in a heartbeat.

But Pep, if this all works out and you stay on in the Kakkalak and dominate the way we know you can, we're cool. If not, you gots to get the fuck out.

As for me, I spent the rest of the night of Jan 10th getting as weird as possible. Lots of shots, lots of drinks, self-inflicting damage had to be done. I put on my onesie and didn't get out of bed until 5:30 PM the next day, eating only a small sandwich and some yogurt when I did. It was pathetically adorable and I couldn't have gotten over the pain of watching your team self-implode so dramatically when they could have been so great without this exercise in self-pity. Writing this blog every week about the Panthers certainly ups my ante as a fan -- I feel much more personally invested when I'm chronicling the emotional highs and lows of following this team. So when you get that involved, it only hurts that much more when the sudden and finite end swiftly kicks you in the ass.

But life goes on. Players will come, players will go; and we will rebuild a roster that will look different than the '08 version. Fans will turn on Jake the second he throws his first interception next season, but I hope Fox/Hurney don't. I think they should open up training camp for competition, but I suspect Jake would win that. He's Smitty's QB -- and next year, we'll just have to have a better defense and remember that we're a fucking running team that likes to take a chance every now and again downfield with Smitty. Stick to that identity and we should be force to be reckoned with again.

Life has gone on. Nacho and I will continue to check in with the Panthers as the off-season progresses and big news pops up, but we turn our attention to the improving Bobcats and the coming months of non-football sports. And it shall be good.

I missed the concept of the jump with this post, but perhaps Nacho will have some words down there.

(And yes, that picture up top is of Nacho and Brethren, dressed to the ts in our onesies that Mammy gave us for Christmas, drinking scotch. Like all good Southerners. Admit it: we're so hot right now.)

Nacho?
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Week 18: The Drinking Game

Nacho: After the smoke had cleared and the charred rubble had been picked through, the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Iggles emerged victorious in the Wild Card Weekend of the National Football League. The AFC also played games, but I'm gonna go ahead and assume you know about that.

So how do the SportsBrethren feel about this rematch of drunk proportions? As the New Zealanders say, It's Business Time.

I think it bodes well for the Cats that they barely eked out a victory at home against the Cards earlier this year. Up until the fourth quarter there wasn't one iota of certainty about how the game would play out. Boldin was back and scary, but Edge James was really a non-factor in the game. That is not so much the case anymore. Edge and Boldin are finding reserves of talent heretofore dormant to the public eye. The Panthers match up a heck of a lot better with Arizona than they do Minny or Philly, so I'm glad for that aspect, but Kurt Warner's Faustian destiny still seems a few years off.

If the game this upcoming Saturday is anything like the depressing-then-inspiring, come-from-behind victory of yore I'll be pleased. The best we can hope for is everybody in the media starts hyping the Cards, so ESPN, FOX, and Blogosphere have at it.

The Cards did some monumental things this season. Won a home playoff game. Won their division. These are things they should be proud of. And use to build momentum next season.

For the record, Leitch never paid up on the beer he owes me, so I've upped the ante to a pony keg. Who knows if he'll be man enough to take me up on it; at this point I'd imagine he's playing with House Money. I am truly glad he got to see a playoff game in the Melted Hershey Kiss, but playtime's over.

Brethren may or may not get around to posting his thoughts on the weekend, somewhere after...


Nacho cont'd: In the meantime, lets bask in the memories.

Brethren: I celebrated my 24th birthday yesterday by drinking several pint-sized Pabst Blue Ribbon cans with good friends at a bar whilst watching the Sunday NFL. In a lot of ways, it was not unlike, oh, every other Sunday this fall/winter.

But you know what I've come to learn now that I'm in my mid-twenties? I gotta ap'reciate what I got in life, especially what I got from 2008: two damn good football teams. No matter what happens this week, I am going to be watching two epic games that I will be heavily invested in.

First, on Thursday night, the Florida Gators play for their second national championship in three years (and third in my lifetime). Now, I've already explained my perfectly legal pro and college football allegiances round these parts, so I don't want to hear anything about that. Now, granted, I haven't written about Baby Rhino and the Gators much this year (at all?), but that doesn't mean Urban Meyer's tour de force hasn't been on my mind. At this point, you'd be a silly, silly man to doubt Tim Tebow and the horde of fleet-footed receiver/tailbacks he has at his disposal. It has been good to be a Florida Gator this year, and I expect nothing but perfection come Thursday.

But whether or not the Gators bring home the crystal ball, I know that football will continue to matter come Saturday night. Football will not be out of my life. When Charlotte plays host to the first home playoff game since a night game against the Cowgirls in 2003, football will still be running through my veins. It's not always that when college football bowl season ends, and ends in epic fashion, that I've got something to look forward to. This year, this football season, I do.

Go Gators.

Then bring on the Buzzsaw.

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Week 8: Character Win

Nacho: Sorry to butt in here but I can't let this wait: Can we all agree that to henceforth call the Panthers head coach "The Silver Fox"? This seems like a no-brainer. The man's got the management style of Roger Sterling, they share a last name, and with John Hamm's surprisingly good performance on SNL, I think it fits perfectly. Sports Guy, Deadspin, FanHouse, MJD: let's spread this like a staph infection.

Brethren: What a phenomenal weekend all-around. We're here to talk about the Carolina Panthers' gutsy, come-from-14-points-down win, but I gotta start with the observation that this weekend kicked some serious ass. The Gators and the Wahoos both had strong wins on Saturday; I spent Saturday night with Penn State fans as we watched JoePa duke out a huge win on the road, and today: the Carolina Panthers overcame some early apathy, silly coaching decisions, and a vaunted Buzzsaw passing attack to snatch a 27-23 victory.

This win would not have been possible without the amazing Steve Smith and an unsung performance by DeAngelo Williams, so we'll start there. The Panthers clearly play better on offense when they've got a sense of urgency and know they need to get the ball to their best playmaker, Smitty. What bewilders me a bit is that it still will take them a while to get the ball to 89, but when they finally come around to it, he does what he does best -- make big plays.

Many may say that the Panthers stole this victory from the Buzzsaw or that the Cards shot themselves in the collective foot, but what I saw was a Carolina Panthers team that kept fighting and pulled out a huge win to close out the first half of the season at 6-2 and alone at the top of the incredibly-solid NFC South. It was a worthy victory and one that makes the bye week that much more glorious.

More individual thoughts via the Brethren patented bulleted thoughts desde..


Brethren (cont'd): Some happy and not happy thoughts from the game.

- Jeebus, John Fox lacks basic sense when it comes to end-of-the-first-half clock management. Let's review and think about the logic behind coaching decisions. The Panthers defense stops the Cardinals on a third down with 1:45 left in the first half and all three of their timeouts remaining. Everyone knew the Buzzsaw would be setting up a field goal, yet the Panthers don't use their first timeout to stop the clock. Instead, the clock runs down to 1:16 as the Cards set up the FG unit, then Fox calls timeout to "ice" the kicker. Forget the fact that the Cardinals coaching staff then made its own questionable decision to fake the FG, which backfires, but I still have no clue why John Fox calls that timeout at 1:16 instead of 1:45.

He's basically saying he'd rather give his offense 1:16 and 2 timeouts to march 80 yards than 1:45 and 2 timeouts. How that makes even basic common sense is beyond me. Let's move on before my head explodes trying to follow the intense, gray-haired man's logic.

- Maybe the most impressive drive of the game was the final one to kill the clock. Two huge third down conversions to keep the Arizona passing attack on the sideline: the first on a huge Dwayne Jarrett catch as he got his clock cleaned, and the second where DeAngelo took a patented John Fox draw 15 yards to convert a 3-and-13. That whole drive made me nervous, and when the game was on the line, the Cats came through.

- Chaz Johnson, welcome to the big boys table. It's one thing to do your thang to a Chiefs JV team in a blowout; it's quite another to do it during a big game against a top offense like Arizona's. Well played, sir.

- Moose: that's your one. Don't ever fucking drop a touchdown pass like that again. You get one.

- It seemed like Jake spent the first half with more energy concerned towards the officiating than playing football. Glad to see that change in the second half.

- I'm feeling pretty good at 6-2, in first place in the NFC South. The season's only half done, but we're putting ourselves in good position to be playing in January. I head down to Charlottesville for Homecoming/Halloween/a four day weekend as the Cats take their week off.

I may not be heard from again until November -- be good, sportsfans, and remember to enjoy life. I discovered that again this weekend and, damn, it feels good to be a gangster.

Nacho: What a win. The Carolina Panthers are atop the highly competitive NFC South, UVA's atop the ACC, and the Godfather owes Nacho a drink.

I find it odd opposing teams haven't solved the Fade-Route-To-Steve-Smith Technique yet, but hey, I'll take it. The Cats are undefeated at home through five games. This is pretty unheard of , and I'm not gonna lie: it feels good. The Panthers enter in their bye week with a morale boosting win, and there's an off chance I'll change my return flight from visiting Brethren in Week 10 to San Fran so I can attend the Oakland game.

Wish us luck, blogosphere!
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Week 7: You're On, Leitch!

Nacho: Sorry for the late post; the Panthers systematic dismantling of the New Orleans Saints was just so impressive. And impressive has become the norm this season. The SportsBrethren haven't grown lazy, we're both hard at work at the day jobs, and this Panther team is a great one to get drunk to.

Jake looked great, our D stood their ground on not one, but two fourth downs, and in the end the Cats were atop the NFC South, along with the Pirates. We host a team we beat in their own house last year. I'd bet good money they're looking to do the same to us, and I hear someone might've had their jaw rewired, just to play us. This has all the makings of a game where we sleep on the visiting squad and end up getting embarrassed in front of our home fans. Beware, and be awesome, Cats.

Here and now, I make a bet. Before I do, everyone should know: I never gamble unless I'm certain I'm going to win. Anyway, here's the bet:

I'll be in New York City visiting Brethren for the Varsity Letters series with Big Daddy Drew and Buzz, November 7th thru 9th. I bet here & now the princely sum of one beer that the Carolina Panthers will defeat the Buzzsaw That Is The Arizona Cardinals, to you, Will Leitch.

If you're not in a wedding in Buffalo that weekend, that is.

Beer's in your court, Dawg.

Of course, if you wanna go all Mayors-Of-Super-Bowl-Teams, I'll put a pulled pork sandwich and one surviving national bank against whatever rural Illinois is known for (manners?), but in all honesty, beer's fine.

a video of a drunk pig, after....





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Week Six Preview: A Battle On Mars

Nacho: I looked up some quotes about Arizona, and my favorite is: "Arizona looks like a battle on Mars."

With that mindset, lemme tell ya'bout this weekend I got planned for October 12-14th:

Most years I do a cross-country road trip or some such adventure, but this year I've been quite content to hang around Los Angeles. I did some traveling this summer, but that's about it....until next weekend.

With the addition of some recent announcements, the trip went from "Fun" to "Epic." Let's stick this pig, after...


First up, Friday is opening night of Point Break: the live theater production. The most badass part: the role of Johnny Utah is played by a member of the audience every night! Whoa!




Saturday we gas up the jet and head to lovely Arizona for the Suns/Hornets preseason game, followed by a drunken stumble through the Steve Nash Maize Maze. The best part: the General Motors Proving Grounds are across the train tracks from the Maize Maze, so if we get bored, we'll prove some shit.

Sunday we're headed to the Pink Taco for the Cats/Cards. This will mark the first Panther game outside of Bank of America stadium for me, and I couldn't be more excited. There won't be a lot of Panther fans, so body paint may be required. The bestest part: brooding Cardinals' fans will be cleverly trash-talked in sign form, due to alcohol intake.

Afterwards, it's a hop, skip, and a jump through the desert and back to LA for Monday morning at the office.

Photo field-trip to ensue.

Think you can top any of those plans, Brethren?


Brethren: I too am taking a Week Six road trip. I'm heading down to Charlottesville to visit our National Treasure. I'll have my itinerary up shortly and we can compare.

For now, I'll just say I'm quite impressed by such an actionable plan for you West Coasters. I always thought weekends for you Cali types consisted of making lots of plans during the week, only to get to Friday and deciding to get real weird instead and going see the new Ben Stiller movie, followed by waking up Saturday morning, hitting the bong to get over that hangover, coming to just after lunch, and saying, "Fuck it, let's go to the beach."

So you've got that going for you. Well done. My response soon.


Nacho: I resent that remark. You've read Rammer Jammer, you know what the autumn brings. I'll swear on a stack of Bibles that the real New Year comes October 1st. We're a quarter of the way thorugh the NFL season; fantasy breakout stars and busts abound. Baseball, a sport I don't cotton to, is finally intersting (and awesome). And the NBA returns after a rather TMZ-esque summer. Andrei Kirilenko made noise fer crissake.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is, go see that really funny movie you see ads for during your games, because see then you can see my name in the credits and boo. Or cheer. Or throw unmentionables. Whatever....

No, the point I'm trying to make is that Los Angeles is the modern day melting pot, meaning that native Angelinos aren't much for sports (save for Lakers and Trojans....and Bruins), but those that bring their allegiances from miles away are alive and thriving in the Hollyhood. Our faiths and investments in our home teams span the country and we're the folks you'll find at the bars at nine in the morning. For us LA transplants, the fall is our favorite season: we have fantastic weather and sports all day....until 8pm....then Simpsons start....Count it!

Also, the beaches out here pale in comparison to the OBX.
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