After having successfully procured my playoff tickets to the Dallas Cowboys/Carolina Panthers home game and returning home the very same day of the game, the time had come for us to witness the carnage. In the days leading up to the game I had spoken with my friend James and we had decided to get a Dallas Cowboys puppet and string him up, much like the Panthers mascot Sir Purr did to a falcon at the Atlanta Falcons game. So I went to the Dallas Cowboys store in Pierre Bossier Mall and bought a Cowboys boxing puppet. Later, I went to Wal-Mart and purchased 50 feet of nylon rope and came home to Google the phrase "How to tie a hangman's noose" which I'm sure went unnoticed by the federal government. I tied a noose around the puppet's neck and tied his little boxing hands together and was well on my way to alienating myself from the very town I grew up in (where support for the Cowboys runs fairly high, given that the Cowboys games get precedence over the Saints games on TV).

James picked me up on game day and we grabbed a quick, nutritious bite at KFC and headed uptown. Walking to the stadium with the Cowboy in a hangman's noose was definitely the right way to enter a football game. Panthers fans who saw it would cheer us on and Cowboys fans would shoot us dirty looks. The guy who took our tickets was a Cowboys fan and gave me grief over bringing it into the stadium.

When we got inside the stadium and started walking up to our seats, we swung the Cowboy around and screamed at everyone "How 'bout them Cowboys?" The Panthers fans would yell and scream in support. When we found our seats a reporter from the newspaper actually interviewed us because of the Cowboys puppet. We didn't make the paper but still it was pretty cool getting interviewed.

We watched the teams warm up, something we hadn't seen at previous games due to our excessive tailgating up to the last minute, and just generally enjoyed the beautiful night. This January night in Charlotte was in the upper 50's and gorgeous. Right before kickoff we ran to the concession stand in search of drinks and some rather burly Cowboys fans saw our Cowboy noose. They told us "You're going to be eating tuna tomorrow!" to which James retorted "We're going to be eating tuna tonight!" The energy at playoff games is definitely a lot higher than regular games.

We made it back inside the stadium for introductions and back to our seats in time for kickoff. The game was spectacular, as the Panthers totally dominated both sides of the ball. As the Panthers were wrapping up their 29-10 victory I called my cousin back home to ask him what the score was, claiming I couldn't read the scoreboard from my seat. "Shut up" was the official score reported from him.

After the victory the Panthers all came back out onto the field and ran around the perimeter of the stadium, where the stands hit the field, and gave high fives to all the fans. We hung out a little more, savoring the victory and the excitement of the playoffs. When we left we egged the crowd on by dangling the Cowboy in the noose, which was always met with cheers. We left the stadium and enjoyed the uptown walk back the car and came home.

Watching SportsCenter upon returning home, it was music to my ears when I heard Stuart Scott say "Steve Smith is cooler than the other side of the pillow" when showing highlights from the game and his fabulous touchdown catch. The Panthers didn't get much respect all year from the media and seeing them get some much deserved recognition was great. And knowing I was there for a part of history, for the part of history perhaps where the media started taking the Panthers seriously, is very cool indeed. Just as cool as the other side of the pillow.