Fuente: © Carolina Panthers
http://www.panthers.com/

NFL: PANTHERS: Mick's Bag: Road Warriors

/noticias.info/ By Mick Mixon
Special to Panthers.com

Two hours into a four hour trip, the rumble and roar of the tour bus is comforting in its own, strange way. Sleep comes and is welcome, but then it quickly disappears when the bus driver has to downshift, causing the big diesel to whine and slow to a gradual stop. This is the first traffic light we've hit in a while, but they usually come in bunches.

That twin set of warm, sausage and egg, buttermilk biscuits from Bojangles went down easily at 7:00 AM when we pulled out of Bank of America Stadium.

The snoring sound coming from the back of the bus is probably being made by one of the five Panther players on this trip. Offensive lineman Mike Wahle is back there, likely dreaming of the lunch spread we're headed for once we arrive at our destination. Fullback Brad Hoover has a row to himself. That's Brad with headphones on, staring out the window. He's a new parent, so he's probably thinking about the children we are going to visit at the hospital. Defensive lineman Al Wallace, who worked as an Assistant Principal at Palm Beach Lakes High School in Florida before becoming a Carolina Panther, is surely looking forward to addressing the afternoon assembly at our middle school stop.

Toward the middle of the bus, five Top Cat cheerleaders are clucking excitedly like a group of young hens. The energy they bring to Panther public appearances could power a small city and they are excited about showing off some of their new dance moves.

Up front, in row three, team mascot Sir Purr sits patiently, probably wishing the bus driver would turn the air conditioning down lower.

The other 10 to 15 people on the bus are all members of the Panthers front office staff. It is a long day, a full day, but a fun one when the Bank of America Carolina Panthers Caravan Tour rolls into town!

"This is the seventh straight year for the Tour," said Crystal Dunham, the Panthers' Community Relations Manager and one of the primary organizers of these events. "We'll head out five different times this spring and we always look forward to taking a little bit of the Carolina Panthers to our fans."

"Each Caravan Tour stop has several components," said Jennifer Sklenar, one of our account managers and, along with Crystal, the other captain of the Caravan ship. "Depending on how far we have to travel, we'll normally meet at the stadium early in the morning, around 6:30, load up and leave by 7:00. When we first hit town, we go to a Bank of America luncheon. Then, we'll divide the group. Some will go visit a school and others will visit a children's hospital, or the children's wing of a hospital. After that, we'll set up The Panthers Experience in a park from 3 to 6 in the afternoon. The Panthers Experience is a free event, open to the public, and it features interactive games, various football drills, an obstacle course, and it's also a great chance for fans to get autographs from the players and the Top Cats. Often we don't arrive back at the stadium until 10 or 10:30 that night."

Most of the time, the detail-oriented, meticulous planning that Dunham and Sklenar invest yields a smooth, successful trip but occasionally something does go wrong.

"Once Rod Smart was running late and the bus had to pick him up along the side of the highway on the way to the event," said Dunham.

"And the bus gets lost sometimes," said Sklenar. "And oh, there was Mick last year at that park in Fayetteville, diving to catch a pass and getting a bunch of fire ants all up his leg."

"Do you remember the school visit to Columbia, South Carolina that time?" said Dunham. "There was this little boy who was such a huge Stephen Davis fan and of course Stephen is from South Carolina. Well, when Stephen walked in the classroom, that little boy almost went into convulsions, he was so excited to meet Stephen. We have a picture of Stephen putting his arm around the boy, telling him, "That's okay, that's okay. Take some deep breaths. It's gonna be alright."

"It is really cool to see how fans react to the Panthers, no matter how old the fans are," said Sklenar.

So what is the strategy for convincing Panther players to join the Caravan?

"A lot of begging," said Sklenar with a hearty laugh.

"Once they get on the bus, they are fine," said Dunham. "They really enjoy getting out and meeting people, and in some cases it is emotional for them because they are touching people and impacting their lives in a positive way just by being there."

"That's right," added Sklenar. "Our players are GREAT to work with, and I think they realize that this tour is an important part of what we do."

If the Caravan Tour stops near you, come on out and be with us. We'd love to see you in person!

DATES AND CITIES:

April 20th, Columbia, SC
April 25th, Winston-Salem, NC
April 27th, Greenville, SC
May 9th, Asheville, NC
May 11th, Raleigh, NC notas_de_prensa_archivo