The Carolina Panthers are enjoying their best run in franchise history but those who have been around the team for a long time know that it hasn’t always been easy. In fact, it very rarely has been easy.
In their 21 years as a franchise, Carolina failed to have back to back winning seasons at any point during that period. Before the arrival of rookie sensation and overall number one pick Cameron Newton in 2011, the Panthers hadn’t seen the post season since a spectacular meltdown by then quarterback Jake Delhomme in 2008. Everything that could go wrong, in those early years, seemed like it did for a team that made the motto ‘Keep Pounding’ their personal refrain on the way to their first and only Super Bowl, which they lost in the most heart breaking fashion imaginable.