Many people have the impression that people who are involved in the arts – any aspect of the arts – are unusual people – art lovers. They think we live and breathe the arts. Not so. As the Bard wrote – “If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh?” We have children, mortgages, flat tires, and some have interest in sports.
Myself, I love the arts. I like live theatre, classical music, modern dance, and the visual arts. And, I love football – not that kick the ball from one side of the field to the other kind of football – NFL football. I love my Carolina Panthers.
I’m from Michigan originally, but I divorced the Detroit Lions when Barry Sanders retired and adopted the Panthers as my new team.
It’s a good thing I’ve got the Panthers this year and it’s good that they are doing so well. The visual art community is not doing so well this year and it may be awhile before it is again, but for now, I’ll live through the Panthers.
The last couple of weeks have been great – while working on one of the smallest issues of Carolina Arts we have offered in some time, I got to watch the Panthers run over their division foes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a Monday Night Football game with the rest of the country (the football lovin’ country) and then again on Sunday evening the win against the # 2 offense in the NFL- the Denver Broncos.
This means the Panthers will be in the playoffs for sure – extending football season for me. Oh joy! Besides lower gas prices – there hasn’t been a lot of joy lately.
So I’ve got Carolina Arts and the Carolina Panthers to keep me going in 2009. And, although South Carolina seems to be the weak partner in the two states the Panthers are supposed to represent – I’m doing my part to be a loyal fan from South Carolina.
Most of the Wal-Marts is SC don’t even carry Panther T-shirts. What’s up with that? In SC it’s all about the Gamecocks and Tigers. The only thing Clemson’s football team was worth was ridding the world of Woody Hayes. It’s the Panthers ya’ll.
I don’t know what the future will bring for the Panthers, but in-between doing my work to bring readers news about the visual art community in the Carolinas – I’ll be yelling at my TV for Peppers to crush Eli Manning or at the latest unbelievable catch Steve Smith just made. Then I’ll go back to the arts.
Go Panthers! Good luck Sunday night in New Jersey – meadowlands – good hunting grounds for panthers.