Two years ago next week, I saw the larger-than-life statue of Jerry Richardson for the first time. I was working down the road at the Charlotte Observer and news traveled that there was big unveiling at the stadium.
I walked down the road expecting to see a modest statue like the ones of the late Sam Mills Jr. and Mike McCormack, the first president of the Carolina Panthers. As I crested the hill I saw something dark and ostentatious in the foreground—as I got closer it seemed to get bigger. Privately I likened this moment to seeing the Death Star for the first time.