If you’ve been following along on this little journey about how my favorite teams became my favorite teams, then you know that I have some pretty wild stories about the events that led to me cheering for the Miami Dolphins and the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
I wish I had another great story about how I became a fan of the Carolina Panthers, but I don’t.
I do, however, know the day it happened.
October 26, 1993.
That was the day Jerry Richardson announced that the Panthers would be the 29th team in the NFL, and that was the day I became a fan, even thought they wouldn’t play an actual game until the 1995 season.
It’s been, as they say, quite a ride. They won more games in the first season (7) than any expansion team ever had. They won their division in year two, and beat the Dallas Cowboys in their first-ever playoff game. But they’ve also had a season in which they lost 15 straight games, another season when they only won 2 games, and a whole lot of average in between.
Strange fact: in 29 years as a franchise, the Panthers have never had consecutive winning seasons.
Being a fan of the team has been brutal. So the obvious question is, “Why?”
The answer for me is simple: the Panthers are my hometown team, and fandom begins at home.
Do I watch other teams and enjoy them from time to time? Of course (except for the Cowboys, Falcons, and Saints — sorry). But I’d never pull for them against my team.
It doesn’t stop with sports, either. I’m gonna cheer for my kids first, my family first, my church first, and my city first. Why? For the same reason Jesus sent us out as witnesses from near to far (you can read that in Acts 1:8 and check a map for verification). For the same reason He warned us about gaining the whole world but losing our souls (that’s Luke 9:25).
It’s too easy to ignore where we live in an attempt to explore where we don’t. It’s the “grass is greener” syndrome, and the pull is strong, especially when the team in your backyard is in the middle of a 15 game losing streak.
And yet, God’s words to His people when they were in the living in a town with a really bad team (it was a nation with an evil ruler, but you get the idea) were clear:
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:4-7, emphasis mine)
Charity — and fandom — begins at home. It doesn’t mean God may not call us elsewhere, but it does mean He’s not sending us farther away from the training ground where we’re failing. Our faithfulness in the places we are now is the foundation on which we’ll build fruitfulness in the places we may be later.
Our faithfulness in the places we are now is the foundation on which we’ll build fruitfulness in the places we may be later. Click To TweetSaid another way, God isn’t calling you to a global ministry meeting worldwide needs if you can’t be bothered to answer the call of a local ministry with smaller needs. Everyone wants a stage; very few want a broom.
Everyone wants a stage; very few want a broom. Click To TweetAs for me, I decided a long time ago that I was going to be a Panthers fan, win or lose. Has that decision been tested? No, because it was never in doubt. It’s just been strengthened by the ups and downs over 29 seasons. Steve Smith’s game winning catch in St. Louis? I was a fan. Cam Newton not jumping on that fumble in Super Bowl 50? I was a fan. The Matt Rhule years? Even then, a fan.
I’m also for the city where I minister. Every so often, that decision looks a little strange, especially when flashier ministry opportunities beg for my attention in cities where I don’t live. But Albemarle is my Jerusalem, and I’m all in on the families that live here. Are some seasons better than others? For sure. But regardless of what each season may bring, this is my town, these are my people, and every day that decision gets strengthened.
Fandom begins at home, and no matter how good other teams — or places — may be, they just aren’t mine.
This is where I will make my stand, and I can’t wait to see what happens as God continues to call others to stand here, too.
