NFL Panthers President Mark Richardson said that poor
weather and the team's "disappointing season" were the
reasons only 42,206 people, the smallest home crowd in the
franchise's history, attended Sunday's game against the
Chargers, according to Pat Yasinskas of the CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER. The team's previous low was set two weeks
earlier, when 46,659 attended the game against the Rams.
Richardson: "I don't know if we're at the end of the
honeymoon, but we're getting towards it. If it's not over,
we're getting close to the end of it. The challenge for us
is to make sure the product is there, that people want to
come out. I think it's a function of winning and excitement
and top-of-mind awareness and the weather being good."
Richardson: "When teams are not in the playoff run and when
the weather gets a little cold or it's going to be wet,
they're not going to show" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/21).
TEAMS IN THE NEWS: In Denver, Sean Kelly writes that
"after last week's disappointing loss to the Chiefs," many
Broncos fans "may forgo a final farewell" to Mile High
Stadium on Saturday. Ticket brokers said that the resale
market for tickets is "as soft as the sofas from which most
fans will choose to watch the game" (DENVER POST, 12/21).
