Richardson's excited that his Super goal is in sight
HOUSTON -- When the NFL was deciding where to place its newest team, the commissioner, Paul Tagliabue, turned to two owners to make the recommendation: the Patriots' Robert Kraft and the Panthers' Jerry Richardson. They decided that Houston, which had lost the Oilers, should get another team. They also gave the new owner a much-needed bone -- Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Now, it is Richardson's team against Kraft's team in beautiful Reliant Stadium -- in the game that the two owners gave to Robert McNair.
Patriots fans will be understandably crushed should New England not prevail Sunday. But if Kraft has to lose to anyone, Richardson would be the guy. The two owners and their wives went out last night for a private dinner; just the four of them.
"He's one of my favorite people on the planet," Kraft said of Richardson. "He's a class act."
When Richardson was awarded the franchise, which started play in 1995, he made a bold prediction: the Panthers would win a Super Bowl within a decade. Two years into their existence, the Panthers reached the NFC Championship game. Two years ago, they were 1-15, and the Super Bowl appeared about as reachable as Saturn.
"I don't regret saying it," Richardson said. "Why wouldn't I say it? That's what I believed."
Kicker John Kasay, who has been with the Panthers since their inception, remembered Richardson's prediction. "It seemed like a pretty high goal at the time, a pretty high mountain to scale," Kasay said. "His dream wasn't just to have an NFL franchise. His dream went a lot further -- to what we're doing right now. It has to be very gratifying."
Richardson is Mr. Panther and Mr. Carolinas. He was born and raised in North Carolina. He went to Wofford College, in Spartanburg, S.C., which is where the Panthers have their training camp. He conceived the team. He sold Charlotte as an NFL city when the league could have gone elsewhere. He presided over the construction of a spectacular new stadium.
He watched a young Carolina team come within a victory of the Super Bowl in January 1997 (a 30-13 loss to the eventual champion Packers in Green Bay) and then watched them plummet to 15 straight losses to end the 2001 season.
He is a former player -- he caught a 12-yard touchdown pass in the Baltimore Colts' 31-16 victory over the New York Giants in the 1959 NFL title game.
"I have an appreciation for this game unlike any other owner," Richardson said. "I was in the huddle in the fourth quarter when the New York Giants were beating us, 9-7. I was in the game when we were ahead, 14-9, and I was in the game when it was 21-9. Obviously, no other owner has that kind of memory. It's a blessing to me and I'm grateful for it.
Richardson is not comfortable speaking to the media, but he did so yesterday, reluctantly. Time and time again, he was asked how he felt seeing his team one step away from the world championship.
"If someone were to ask me what my ultimate fantasy would be, I'd say, to own an NFL team, to build a beautiful new stadium, and in our part of the country. We're in the Super Bowl. How could it get any better than that?"
