There’s nothing quite like a little rah-rah to get us all excited for the upcoming NFL season — especially during one of the most boring sports months of the calendar year. Whether it’s Jets players talking about the “greatness” that New York’s 2012 roster contains or division rivals trading trash talk, we all need something to help get us through these slow months. By taking out a full-page ad in the Charlotte Observer to explain why the Panthers will win the Super Bowl this season, Carolina center Ryan Kalil took the excitement into unprecedented territory.
The ad, which can be seen here, has a headline that says “Why the Carolina Panthers will win Super Bowl XLVII” and reads as follows:
Because we have to. For eighteen years we’ve wanted, hoped, and tried… But no more. A moment is upon us, where dreams become beliefs and yearning becomes conviction. How do I know? Because I’ve seen it.
Look closely and you’ll see it, too. You’ll see July 1st, 1993, when 40,000 of you bought club seats, licenses, and luxury boxes financing the construction of our stadium in a single day. You’ll see October of that same year, when the NFL owners unanimously selected Carolina as the league’s 29th franchise. You’ll see two decades offseasons bad and good. But never of greatness.
Now, look closer. At the daunting, unpaved path ahead, lined with detours, naysayers and walls which seem insurmountable. But not for you. You’ll ignore what you hear and break through ANYTHING that stands in your way. Because you see what’s at the end of this.
Victory. One hundred percent, sterling silver victory. The Lombardi Trophy, And it exists.
CAROLINA PANTHERS — SUPER BOWL XLVII CHAMPIONS!
Sincerely,
Ryan Kalil
“Every team says it every year, whether it’s publicly or not,” Kalil explained according to the Charlotte Observer. “They say they’re going to win the Super Bowl. We’ve said it in the past in meeting rooms and behind closed doors. This year’s different. There’s a sense of urgency, a winning attitude that I haven’t seen before. And it’s in the way we prepare. It’s in the way we approach each work day, and I think fans will see it in the way that we play.”
The key to all that is the behind closed doors part. While Carolina has to feel good about the way Cam Newton transitioned into the NFL right away, they were 6-10 last season. Finishing with a winning record and making the playoffs should be the goal before they go around guaranteeing a Super Bowl victory to the general public. It might help build some anticipation and sell a few more tickets, but ultimately it seems pointless.
H/T Deadspin
Photo credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE
