I am thinking 9-7 may be a stretch at this point

For those who may not know by now, i am a fan of the Carolina Panthers. I had grown up a fan of the Washington Redskins, but that was only because both my father and mother where fans. I was never 'fanatical' if you were, so after i got married and learned that the NFL was going to expand the league by two more teams i decided that which ever one was in the NFC, that would be my team. Maybe not a scientific method, but it's the one i went with. So, in 1995 my (new) team finally took the field and nearly won the very first outing losing to the Atlanta Falcons 20-23. Since then i have seen my team make it to the NFC Championship three times, but in all that time my team has never had back to back winning seasons. I have suffered through the 1-15 season and i have had my hopes dashed a few times. Last year all i wanted for Christmas was an NFC South Championship and the Cats delivered! This year all i want for Christmas is a 9-7 season. I know that sounds backwards, but it would be a real nice moment for me to know they could do it. Unfortunately, the injury bug has been biting the Panthers this pre-season and now my dream seems like a long shot. Who know... not many picked the Panthers to win the NASCAR division (in the toughest division of the NFL no less - the NFC South of 2008 set the record for the both the most # of wins and the highest winning percentage of an entire division). Who knows... anything can happen. And the games that matter don't start for another eighteen days ~ at least not for the Panthers. There will be four games i know i will get to see this year:

28-Sept - @ the Dallas Cowboys - Monday night game

11-Oct - hosting the Washington Redskins - i know this is a Sunday game, but the local Fox station plays either the Redskins or some other NFC East division. The Cowboys should move to the NFC South and Carolina should move to the East if you ask me.

19-Nov - hosting the Miami Dolphins on a Thursday night game. I might have to go to a friend's house who has the NFL network though.

20-Dec - hosting the Minnesota Vikings.

This will be the most games that i've ever been able to watch in the regular season so i am pretty excited about that. God knows how well (or not) the Panthers will do this season. In the meantime i am just stoked that the regular season is around the corner. I just want to watch some meaningful football again! Since i am a geek, and my old cell phone is dieing a slow pitiful death (and annoying me as it drops calls, loses memory, and the battery seems to fade if i go out of the area for more than 15 minutes) i decided to replace both my, and my beloved's cell phone. I was unsure of exactly which phone i wanted to get, but then the Samsung Reclaim caught my eye. With some discounts and concessions i was able to pic it up for a good price. But for me the selling point was that i could get it in Ocean (i.e. Carolina) Blue. LOL This Saturday i am going to head out to the Antietam National Battlefield to see a Civil War artillery demonstration. Hopefully there will be some pictures to share next week. I've sent out a Facebook invite to all of my Artillery buddies, and a few of them said they will be there, some are unsure... but it will be nice to do/watch something Artillery again. It will be the first time i will be able to break out my new walking stick. This past week has been a blur, but the other night i believe God may have given me an idea as to how to approach writing the letter to Sovereign Grace Ministries regarding my interest in them (hopefully) doing a church plant in my area. Of course, since then both my personal and professional time has been crazy busy. I've kept the ideas alive in my noggin' and hope to write the letter VERY soon.