The Carolina Panthers were born as an expansion franchise in 1995. That year, the NFL added both the Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, expanding the field of teams from 28 to 30. The Panthers play in the NFC South Division.
The Carolina Panthers franchise was created thanks to former NFL player Jerry Richardson. Richardson was one of the co-founders of the Hardee’s Restaurant Chain. He was determined to bring football to North Carolina after the Charlotte Hornets was created to expand the NBA. The team was unanimously voted into the NFL on October 26, 1993. Richardson would become the first former NFL player to own an NFL team. The team was named after the Mountain Lions (sometimes called Panthers) that once lived in the mountains of western North Carolina. Today, these animals are possibly extinct in North Carolina and the Appalachian Mountains. The Panther logo on team’s helmet is shaped like the states of North and South Carolina combined.
In the 1995, the Carolina Panthers set a record for most wins in the first season of an expansion franchise with seven. The team would finish 7-9 (seven wins and nine losses)under new head coach Dom Capers. The following year, the team achieved a record of 12-4 (12 wins and four losses) and advanced to the NFC Championship game before losing to the Green Bay Packers, who went on to win the Super Bowl. The Carolina Panthers’ best season ended in the 2004 Super Bowl XXXVII in Houston, Texas. They won the NFC South Division in the 2003 season and beat the Dallas Cowboys, St Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs. In one of the most exciting Super Bowls in history, the Panthers would fall to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, 32-29.
In 2011, the Carolina Panthers drafted Auburn quarterback Cam Newton with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. In his first season in the NFL, Newton set several rookie records including most passing yards by a rookie (4,061) and most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (14). He was named NFL Rookie of the Year.
Answer the following questions
1 The Carolina Panthers came into the NFL with the __.
a Jacksonville Jaguars
b Green Bay Packers
c Charlotte Hornets
d New England Patriots
2 What does the passage tell you about Mountain Lions?
a They are scary to most people
b They are common in the Appalachians
c There are few, if any, of these animals left in North Carolina
d Jerry Richardson was impressed with the Mountain Lion
3 What team defeated the Carolina Panther in the NFC Championship Game?
a Green Bay Packers
b New England Patriots
c Dallas Cowboys
d Jacksonville Jaguars
4 Super Bowl XXXVII was…
a an easy victory for the Packers.
b an easy victory for the Patriots
c an easy victory for the Panthers
d an exciting game
5 What does the word “unanimously” mean in the following sentence?
“The team was unanimously voted into the NFL on October 26, 1993”
a Many disagreed
b It can have different meanings
c With advantages
d Everyone agreed
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