Carolina Panthers

When the NFL awarded an expansion franchise to the Carolinas in 1993, team founder Jerry Richardson wanted a name and image that carried strength but could also link the local history of the region. His son Mark suggested the Panthers. It was chosen instantly. The colours — black, silver, and blue — were picked to match that image: black for strength, silver for modernity, and blue for loyalty.

But were panthers native to the Carolinas? Yes. Once. Sort of.

Historically, the region’s forests were home to the cougar, often called a panther, catamount, or mountain lion. These predators once roamed from the Appalachians to the swamps, they appeared in Native folklore as symbols of stealth and courage. By the late 1800s, though, they had been hunted to extinction in the Carolinas. Today, the only surviving population east of the Mississippi is the Florida panther, an endangered subspecies that clings on in the Everglades. Naming the team the Panthers recalled that wild past, tying modern football to a predator that once prowled the Carolinas’ woods.

The choice of Carolina, not just Charlotte, also mattered. From the beginning, Richardson wanted the team to belong to both North and South Carolina, drawing fans from across the region. The stadium was built in Charlotte, North Carolina, but the branding embraced two states, a shared heritage, and a wider fan base. Smart.

That heritage is rich. The Carolinas trace their colonial roots back to the 1663 charter granted by King Charles II of England, from whom the region took its name. In time the colony split: North Carolina, with its rolling hills and tobacco fields, and South Carolina, with Charleston’s port and plantations. Both played pivotal roles in America’s founding — from Revolutionary War battlefields like Kings Mountain and Cowpens to leaders who helped draft the nation’s identity.

Charlotte, where the Panthers make their home, is now the beating heart of that story. Once a cotton-trading town, it reinvented itself in the 20th century as a financial powerhouse. Today it is the second-largest banking centre in the United States, home to Bank of America and the East Coast hub of Wells Fargo. Skyscrapers now line the skyline where textile mills once stood, and the stadium — Bank of America Stadium, opened in 1996 — sits in the middle of uptown. Charlotte is also a city of migration: new arrivals from across the U.S. and the world have made it one of the South’s fastest-growing metros.

On the field, the Panthers’ history has been short but eventful. They reached the NFC Championship in just their second season (1996), a record-fast rise for an expansion team. They’ve been to the Super Bowl twice — in 2003, when John Kasay’s late out-of-bounds kick gave Tom Brady’s Patriots the chance to win, and in 2015, when Cam Newton’s MVP season ended in a tough defeat to the Denver Broncos. Though still chasing their first Lombardi Trophy, the Panthers have built a tradition of toughness, from Sam Mills and the “Keep Pounding” mantra to stars like Steve Smith, Luke Kuechly, and Christian McCaffrey.

“Keep Pounding” is their slogan. It began in 2003, when linebacker and coach Sam Mills, battling cancer, gave an emotional speech before a playoff game, urging his team to “keep pounding” no matter the odds. Mills passed away in 2005, but his words became the Panthers’ identity. Today, “Keep Pounding” is stitched into jerseys, painted in the stadium, and chanted by fans, a rallying cry for perseverance that transcends football.

The Carolina Panthers then. A name that recalls the great cats that once roamed the Appalachian woods, their badge unites two states with a shared history, and their stadium anchors a city that has grown from cotton to commerce, from railroads to finance. And their motto, “Keep Pounding,” ensures that even in defeat, the spirit of resilience lives on.