When Ran met Cam

As anyone who knows me personally certainly knows by now, I met Panthers quarterback Cam Newton on Friday, April 13. I wanted to write about this experience while it is still freshly in my mind so I can remember all the details as time goes by while sharing it on my blog for those that are interested.

First, let me say that my love for the Panthers knows no bounds. Even in the final Jake years, I stayed faithful. I've endured taunts for the flag that's up at my desk at work or the Panther on the back of my car. It takes a lot of strength to be a Panthers fan.

So, naturally, I was excited the Panthers grabbed Number 1 draft pick Cam Newton in an attempt to rebuild the team's offense. I was lucky enough to attend Cam's first NFL game last August and I even blogged about that experience. A few minutes in, Clausen was already being booed for his poor performance and the crowd started chanting, "Cam, Cam, Cam!" It was pretty awesome to be there as he took the QB position as a player in the NFL for the first time. And I saw some amazing things. And even though the season didn't go as well as all faithful Panthers fans hoped, there were some amazing moments. We might not have earned a lot of Ws, but the games were fun to watch again.

Of course, I was disappointed with the losses, but what really struck me about Cam Newton is that he seemed disappointed too. Of course, all football players want to win, but most of them lose a game, shake their heads, then smile for the cameras. Not Cam. Cam Newton is a man that is not used to losing. Cam got mad. Cam got frustrated. He was the first quarterback who seemed as frustrated as I was. That, combined with his repeatedly outstanding performances, earned my respect.

So, on Friday, my co-worker and friend Micah and I were sitting on the patio at the Salsa's restaurant in Arsley, having some Mexican food and talking about football. "Did you hear that Cam is a finalist to be on the cover of the new Madden?" Micah asked. I nodded. "You know about the Madden curse, right?" she asked.

Of course, I do. But I don't really believe in curses either. Apparently, Cam doesn't either. Anyway, just minutes after our football discussion, we saw two waitresses come running out of the restaurant with a cell phone, heading towards the parking deck at top speed. "What the hell?" Micah asked.

"Probably a customer left their cell phone and they are trying to catch up with him," I said, unfazed.

Micah, though, ever observant, followed the ladies with her eyes. She said the first thing she noticed were two INCREDIBLY large men. As they turned around to address the waitresses, Micah gasped. "OH MY GOD, RANDI. THAT'S CAM NEWTON!"

I did not even turn around to verify. I just grabbed my phone out of my purse, yelled at Micah to grab a pen and paper as I had none and took off running. We left our purses, our food, everything at our seats and started running across cobblestone. My purple heels were making my trek across the cobblestone difficult so I shouted out to flat-wearing Micah ahead of me, "Grab him! It's up to you!"

Later, Micah would describe herself as shouting at Cam like she "went to high school with him." As she got into the parking deck, she was temporarily out of my sight, but I could hear her yelling, "Cam! Cam! Cam!"

As I came around the corner, trying to catch my breath, I realized the other man with Cam was Panthers offensive tackle Jordan Gross, who had an amused look on his face. I am sure that hanging out with Cam is always quite an experience.

"Hi, there," Micah said, breathless. "I am sorry to bother you. Would you guys take a picture with us?"

"Absolutely not," said Cam.

Micah and I looked at each other, not sure of what to do. "Oh, OK," we both said nervously. "Thanks anyway."

Cam laughed. "Girls, I am just kidding. Get over here!"

After an awkward moment of finding a stranger's car for Cam to place his leftovers, we took a couple of photos. Of course, the quality wasn't great in a dark parking deck with a camera phone operated by two shaking girls, but having the opportunity to meet him and have my photo taken was a priceless experience.

Reliving the moment over and over afterwards, I asked Micah what she would have done if I had in fact fallen on the cobblestone as I feared. "No offense, Ran, but I would've grabbed your phone and kept going."

I nodded agreeably. "Good answer."

Touching Brad Paisley

Well, I restarted the blog in July and already missed posting about an event, an Aerosmith concert in Atlanta. My friend Brad posted about that here, so I will just refer everyone to his blog for that since I was too lazy to write about that.

What I am not too lazy to write about, however, is touching Brad Paisley. So, I attend a lot of Brad Paisley concerts. And I''ve written about Brad Paisley a lot on this blog before.

Why I Heart Brad Paisley
This is Country Music
Back to Brad

But this past Friday night was the first time I got to actually touch Brad Paisley! Mom and I went to see Brad at PNC Amphitheater here in Charlotte as her birthday present. I think this was the ninth time I've seen Brad. I need to double check my ticket stubs to be certain about that.

We had pretty great seats, which Mom had to throw some people out of, but we definitely weren't within touching range.

About halfway through the show, Brad grabbed his guitar and said, "Let's go!" and hopped off the stage and started walking through the audience. I realized very quickly that he was coming to sing at a smaller stage at the end of my row. He was also going to be walking right by me! 

I am not quite sure what came over me. It was sort of like when my friend Micah and I chased down Cam Newton.  I started running, pushing tweens and cougars alike aside. As Brad and couple of security guards walked by me, I was able to reach out and touch him. The sweat was dripping through his tight t-shirt. He hopped up onto the small stage where he and a few band members sang a few songs right in front of me. He took a concert with 70,000 people and made it feel like an intimate experience where there were only 10 people in the whole world. It was something that I hope I never forget.

Everything else about the show was typical Brad Paisley. He performed a few of his newer songs. My favorite song of his latest CD is Perfect Storm. But his best stuff continues to be older, Then, Everything, Waiting on a Woman. I have a feeling Brad I will see each other next summer. 

That moment when anything is possible

There is nothing that I love more than a night game at the Panthers stadium in uptown Charlotte. My friends Frank and Alisa treated me to the pre-season game this past Saturday against the NY Giants. We hopped the light rail to the Epicenter for dinner at Wild Wing Café and then headed to the stadium. Everything was going great until the sky opened up and it started to pour. We spent the first half of the game in the rain, but that didn’t matter to me.

I was so ready for football. Right before kickoff, I told my friends how much I love those last seconds before that first kickoff. In that second, anything is possible. The Panthers could have a winning season! We could win the NFC South! Or maybe even the NFC! Or go to the Super Bowl!

I always like to take a deep breath in that moment and think about the football season to come. This year, especially because of the lockout, any team could go all the way. The possibilities are endless.

Then the first kick was off and the reality of our new team, under a new coach, was born. There were a lot of things I saw that I liked and a lot of things that I did not like. Cam Newton is definitely a lot better under pressure than Clausen, but he has a lot of work to do when it comes to accuracy. Armanti Edwards certainly stepped up to the plate.

Finally, after the first half the rain stopped and the most beautiful sky and weather took over uptown Charlotte. The Panthers secured a victory and the possibilities for this team remain endless.

She sits alone by a lamppost

Regular Randi Resolves readers know that my big mouth ruined my chance to see Darius Rucker in the 1990s. I did get to see him open for Brad Paisley in February, but last Thursday night, my friend Elizabeth and her husband Joe went to see Darius' headline show at the N.C. Music Factory.

The Music Factory's amphitheater is a nice new facility without a bad seat in the house. We were in the seventh row. We managed to make it through Frankie Ballard's opening act. I will just say, it was bad, you guys. It was bad.

Then Rodney Atkins was next up. He was awesome. And hot. He really interacted with the crowd, shooting out t-shirts from a t-shirt gun. He did something I have never seen before, which was toss the mic, stand and all, out into the audience to give us a chance to sing. There weren't any aspiring Kelly Clarksons in the house, but it was a great way to interact with the audience and get everyone revved up for Darius.

Darius was, of course, amazing. While a lot of focus was on his current country music, which I also love, he did manage to work in a few Hootie hits, which made me very happy. Darius managed to work in a lot of local elements. He said in his early days he played at Amos'. During a few songs, he worked in slideshows of Carolina teams and even gave Cam Newton a shoutout for his outstanding rookie performance in the NFL.

The crowd was hyped, the margaritas were huge and it was a beautiful Southern fall night as Darius brought the house down with his encore performance of Purple Rain.