York County Panthers fans show undying loyalty, despite Super Bowl loss

Ray Conrad has been a Carolina Panthers fan since the very beginning.

Conrad, 54, and his son went to the games in the team’s early years. He took his family of four to Houston for the Super Bowl in February 2004, where they watched the team’s late-game defeat by the New England Patriots.

So the Rock Hill man, whose blood must surely run black and blue, was hoping to see the Panthers redeemed in the Super Bowl Sunday night, when he gathered with family and friends at Hickory Tavern in Rock Hill.

“We don’t miss Panthers games, ever,” Conrad said.

Lifelong fans and those much newer to the fold showed up Sunday to watch the contest at bars and taverns around York County. They sported team colors; some carried pompoms, their faces painted with panther whiskers and blue on their lips.

And they cheered and shouted for the team to hobble the Denver Broncos.

They were eager to see a win. But even after Sunday’s 24-10 loss, they would not abandon their team.

Dennis Taylor of Lake Wylie remembers when it all started.

“It’s been ingrained in us since day one,” said Taylor, 60, who has owned Panthers seats since the first year.

“I love the cohesiveness of the team, that they are a team that loves and respects each other,” said Taylor, who was gathered with a large group at Hickory Tavern.

Austin Keane, 21, and Lindsey Whitfield, 22, both of Columbia, grew up loving the Panthers.

Whitfield attends Winthrop University, and Keane made the trip to Rock Hill to enjoy the Super Bowl frenzy.

The two spent a few nights hanging out in downtown Charlotte last week to “get the atmosphere,” Keane said.

Among the spectators were newer fans, though no less passionate.

Keith Roybal, 43, began following the Panthers and attending games when he moved to Rock Hill from New Jersey about five years ago.

“They bring excitement to the town here, the spunk they have,” Roybal said.

Lisa Waters, 45, who watched at Luke’s Bar and Grill, is another relative newcomer.

She was disappointed as the game wore on.

“I wish they were playing harder,” she said. “I wish they showed up.”

But still a Panthers fan? No doubt.

“They are the hometown team,” she said.

Paul Ingley of Rock Hill, who watched at Luke’s with his wife, Susan, was proud of the Panthers, even in the loss.

“You couldn’t ask for a better team to represent us,” he said. “It puts a spotlight on Charlotte, Rock Hill, all of us. It’s good for everybody.”

Johnny Barnette of York pulled for the team at Revolutions, near the Rock Hill Galleria. Barnette, 29, said he has followed the team “as long as I can remember.”

He and his wife, Chauncey, are raising their nearly-1-year-old son, Caylen, as a fan, too.

“His entire room is done in the Carolina Panthers,” Barnett said. “Bed, sheets, curtains.”

Barnette recalled the Panthers’ 2004 Super Bowl loss, an especially painful time. He said his mother rented a big-screen television, and he and his friends watched at her home.

Afterwards, “I cried for, like, two weeks,” he said.

Barnette said he had planned to get a Super Bowl tattoo if the team won this time.

“They were not playing to their abilities,” he said. “They are struggling. I thought they would have had a faster start.”

But Barnette will always be a fan.

“My loyalty,” he said, “is to Carolina.”

This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 10:48 PM with the headline "York County Panthers fans show undying loyalty, despite Super Bowl loss."