A recent survey from Cat Scratch Reader just dropped a bombshell about Carolina Panthers fandom: a shocking 90% of their readers were already riding with the team even before Cam Newton got drafted. This ain’t some fair-weather crew; we’re talking about a fanbase that’s been around, with 74% of those surveyed sticking with the Panthers since the very beginning, or pretty close to it.
When Did We All Start Watching, Really?
So, what gives? Only 6% of fans signing up during the entire Cam Newton Era? That feels kinda wild, right? The folks over at Cat Scratch Reader, who run a purely written-word media outlet and keep their social media presence super lean, have a couple of theories about these numbers. First up: the Panthers haven’t exactly been winning consistently enough to snatch a bunch of new fans from other teams, or even generate a whole new wave of them. That’s a brutal truth for any fanbase.
Are Kids Even Reading Anymore? The Offseason Fan
The second theory CSR tossed out there is a bit spicier: maybe kids just don’t know how to read anymore, or they only have seasonal attention spans. Ouch! But they’ve also got a hunch that maybe only the truly “long-in-the-tooth” fans are sticking around for the deep offseason content. It makes sense, right? Who’s devouring fan surveys in July if they’re not fully locked in?
They’re not just guessing, either. Cat Scratch Reader is gonna run this survey again sometime during the actual season. They’re trying to figure out if that “seasonal literacy” theory holds up, or if their offseason readership just leans way more towards the die-hards. It’s gonna be interesting to see if the fan numbers shift once the games are actually kicking off. (And yeah, FanDuel is the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation, just so you know.)
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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