Look, 2023 was never going to be a great year for the Carolina Panthers. With a new head coach and a rookie quarterback behind center, the best Frank Reich’s team could hope for was a spot contending for a division title in the weak NFC South.
Oh, friends, things did not turn out that way. In fact, it’s tough to imagine them being any worse.
Reich didn’t even make it to December after being fired. Bryce Young’s struggles have been monumental and exacerbated by the success of CJ Stroud — the quarterback drafted one spot after him — with the Houston Texans. At 1-12 Carolina came into Week 15 with the league’s worst record. There’s no silver lining to that; their pending first round draft pick, which will almost certainly be first overall, is headed to the Chicago Bears as part of the massive trade that made Young a Panther in the first place.
This all led to extremely low ticket prices for Sunday’s game vs. the Atlanta Falcons. But a rainy day in Charlotte meant even these $12 seats weren’t selling.
Panthers Falcons. First picture two hours ago. Second two minutes ago, 20 minutes before kickoff. pic.twitter.com/aYlHbl819B
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) December 17, 2023
The 2023 Cure Bowl was held in a downpour and featured a showdown between the Miami Redhawks and Appalachian State Mountaineers in Orlando, a place a significant distance from either team’s home base. And attendance for that game was roughly on par with an actual, meaningful NFL game Sunday.
Things looked a little better closer to halftime and the upper levels, loaded with cheap seats, added a few more fans.
Steady rain coming down at Bank of America Stadium where the Falcons and Panthers are scoreless after 1Q.
I’m terrible at judging crowd numbers, all I can say is: not a lot. pic.twitter.com/e9HnPZs8fO
— Kelli Bartik (@KelliBartik) December 17, 2023
Still, very few people could be bothered to watch the Panthers and Falcons on a rainy day in Charlotte — as these pictures filled with empty teal seats prove.
The crowd at kickoff in Charlotte for Panthers-Falcons.
The bad weather likely not helping pic.twitter.com/d1uRFGq1NR
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) December 17, 2023
