After the final buzzer this past Saturday night while recycling the third period beer, a guy two urinals over said to what I would only hope is his buddy, "that was a good game and that was without Olli. When’s he getting back?" Overhearing that comment was less annoying thanks to a friend's earlier text asking me where Monty was. The guy who sent it, who for the sake of this I will simply call "Stewie" to protect his identity, has become a pretty good fan. Both attentive and growing as a student of the game with every game he attends and I’m pleased to say is quite often. But there in lies the general problem with the Panthers fan base; too many people who just don’t really know what’s going on.

You could blame marketing, you could blame media coverage, you could blame an alcoholic haze, but we have no one to blame but ourselves. That is why it is the responsibility of the knowledgeable Panthers fans to take it upon themselves to educate the masses, at least raise the awareness of your friends who have expressed even the slightest of interest in checking the Cats out. We do a great job of trying to teach the kids, but often allow our peers to simply wallow in the waters of ignorance (in specific, those waters with mind numbing contributors born of hops, malts and barley.)

In closing, a salute of the hockey stick to the Miami Herald.....no one can accuse the Herald of not showing the love with their coverage of the first two Panthers game. From George Richards to Greg Cote to Andre Fernandez to Jeff Shain, their articles were very insightful, devoting almost 3 full pages of coverage on Sunday. Just today (Monday) Sarah Rothschild’s article on the value of the new Panthers penalty killing unit explains exactly why this improved area is another reason for optimism. I am encouraging all 93 ROCK Panthers fans to force friends to look at the articles devoted to the Cats from both our local papers....AND CHECK OUT THE HOCKEY NEWS. Basically I’m just begging for you to spread your love.



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