Sometimes, you just can’t make something up.
In perhaps fitting symbolism for the Carolina Panthers’ season, the team’s invited guest to pump up the crowd before Sunday’s game against the Packers broke the team’s “Keep Pounding” hype drum.
Former Panther running back Mike Tolbert flashed back to the power of his playing days when he hit the drum, busting a giant hole in the center of it on his first strike.
The former NFLer looked off to someone pointing at the hole and possibly looking for instructions on what to do next.
He eventually started hitting the drum again — in a different spot — before trying to amp up the crowd.
Even with the former Panthers star in the building and his emphatic effort to get the crowd riled up, Carolina dropped its 13th game of the year and suffered its seventh loss in its last eight after suffering a 33-30 defeat at the hands of the Packers.
Anders Carlson kicked a 32-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter to win the game for Green Bay.
To say that things have gone badly for Carolina this season may be an understatement.
Frank Reich was fired in the middle of his first season as head coach recorded just one win before his sacking.
On top of that, No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young has not panned out well so far.
He did throw for 312 yards and two touchdowns in the Christmas Eve loss but has struggled for most of the season, coming into the game as the 22nd-ranked QB in terms of passing yards.
And as the losses have continued to pile up, it has led to plenty of frustration from the fanbase, which stayed away in droves during a recent home game against the Falcons on Dec. 17.
That game had a listed paid attendance of 70,301, but images from inside the stadium told a much different story of how many fans were truly at the game.
The Panthers have two more games left in the 2023 season, with a date with the Jaguars before the finale against the Buccanneers.