The Carolina Panthers have arguably the dimmest future in the NFL. After trading away several draft picks and their star wide receiver in order to draft quarterback Bryce Young first overall, Panthers fans had hope that Young could take the team to the top of the lackluster NFC South. That hasn’t happened.
With just four weeks to go in the regular season, the Panthers sit at an NFL-worst 1-12 heading into Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. They don’t have their first-round pick next year. They don’t have many stars to build around. They fired their head coach halfway through the season. Despite playing in a division that will likely send a sub-.500 team to the playoffs, they were the first team in the NFL to be eliminated from playoff contention.
Fans are getting fed up with the absolute incompetence shown from owner David Tepper, and today, fans showed their disapproval…by not showing up at all.
How many fans were at the game today?
The official attendance numbers have not been released yet, but there are rumors that the total count could be remarkably low.
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For perspective, the capacity at Bank of America Stadium is 74,867.
What is the lowest attendance in NFL history?
Pro-Football-Reference only lists NFL attendance data dating back to 1992. So, excluding the 2020 pandemic season as well as the 1987 season which was disrupted for three weeks when the NFL Players Association went on strike and replacement players were used.
Since 1992 though, the lowest attendance in NFL history was on December 15, 1996. The Houston Oilers hosted the Cincinnati Bengals in front of 15,131 fans. The Bengals won the game 21-13.
This was the final home game for the Houston Oilers before they became the Tennessee Oilers/Titans. Fans were likely upset at the ownership’s decision to move the team and did not want to support the team as they left their city. Ironically, the second and third-lowest attendance games since 1992 were both Tennessee Oilers games in 1997 – 17,071 and 17,737 fans in attendance respectively.
Did weather have an effect on Panthers fans?
Yes.
Not only are the Panthers almost an unwatchable team currently, but it’s even tougher to convince fans to support your losing team when rain is coming down hard.
Per The Weather Channel, rain is expected in Carolina for the next several hours and flooding is actually a possibility in multiple neighborhoods around Bank of America Stadium.
How much were Panthers tickets?
During the week leading up to the game, tickets were going for as low as 45 cents.