Carolina Panthers: Camp 2009

[Man in Black]

I finally made it 30 miles down the road to Spartanburg, SC to the Panthers training camp. The heat kept me away the first week. I didn't worry about autographs this year since I picked up some good ones last year. Instead I worked on getting some better photos - especially some close up shots. I think they turned out pretty good as I am much more familiar with my camera now.

The morning practice I went to was really fun. I was the first one there and got to see the players come out. Mushin Muhammad was out working on catches before anyone else followed by a couple O-line guys and Jake Delhomme.

It was kind of surreal watching them prepare for my team (the Dolphins) as I could hear the coaches yell out the Miami players names and where they would line up. Yeah, my two teams play each other this weekend - at least it's in preseason so I don't have to care.

Steve Smith was back at it after his shoulder injury. Man, was he intense. He went game speed the entire time making one spectacular catch after another. He didn't let a ball touch the ground once in the whole two hours. I was standing on the offensive sideline and got to talk to him once... I was actually on the phone with Bella (my sister) and I asked him if he wanted to talk to her. He just looked at me, trying not to laugh and said "Man, I'm working."

I went back down for the last practice of camp on Thursday afternoon. The whole team seemed to be working really hard and as the session ended I expected them to run happily off the field, but they all gathered back up into their position groups to talk... a good sign they are focused for the season.

Here are some of the pictures... you can see plenty more at the main gallery at this link:

imageevent.com/afap/sports/carolinapantherstrainingcamp2009

Brad Hoover - One tough dude



Muhsin Muhammad

This was one of my favorite shots, it's not the most mechanically sound, but it tells a story as you can see his eyes waiting for the ball that he catches a second later


One of the many sweet catches Steve Smith made



DeAngelo Williams - not as far behind AP as people might think!



John Beason shows us his guns



Jeff Otah



Smith gets descriptive


Jake Delhomme asks Smith how he's feeling

[Jason]

Man... I'd kill to be able to go to these things.

Is it free? And how many fans end up showing up?

[Man in Black]

The Panthers training camp is always free. I have no idea how accesible any other teams are. (I'd love to travel to some different ones for pics). You just drive up and park then you are free to watch whatever you want to as long as you stay behind the tape which is right directly on the sideline.

There have been maybe 1,000 people or a little less at the most. That sounds like a crowd but it's not because there are like 4 football fields worth of practice going on with several groups going at the same time. The offense gets the most onlookers while you can basically just walk up to the linebackers and be the only one watching. I just eat it up.

The only downside is the heat. August in the Carolinas and Georgia is different than pretty much any place in the country. The temps push 100 plus every day and the humidity is killer. We don't get the breezes and dry air that Florida gets so we are even hotter at times.

Those last couple days when I got to go were perfect. There was a nice breeze, it was partly cloudy and the light was spectacular for photos. My pictures came out way better this year, I think anyway.

[Jason]

Heat gets pretty horrible up here in Southern California, too. The humidity is never too bad. But temperatures sometimes reach as high as 115 - 120. It's getting much cooler now, though. Winters seem to pass too quickly. The lowest it gets during the day, I would guess, is about 55 or so. Which is pretty chilly. But not for the dead of winter. We did get lucky with snow last year.

I've always loved the weather in Colorado.

[Man in Black]

It finally got cooler here. A bit early thank goodness this year. I can't take that humidity any more it's horrible. I need to move to a desert somewhere lol...