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Ryan Kalil’s Full-Page Charlotte Observer Ad Will Power You Through Your Morning

Usually, athletes taking out full-page advertisements in their teams’ local newspapers is a bittersweet occasion, because it normally means they’ve moved on to a different team and are thanking the fans for their support over the years. That, however, isn’t the case for the ad Panthers center Ryan Kalil took out in today’s Charlotte Observer. Kalil is very much still a Panther, and expects big things this year. How big? Have a look:

And I have to say, if I were a Panthers fan, that would probably fire me up. (Judging by the comments here, I wouldn’t be alone.) Because while the big, most-talked-about takeaway is that Kalil says the Panthers are going to win the Super Bowl this season, more than anything this is Kalil trying to get the fans fired up by telling them how great they are. And that’s a strategy that rarely fails, especially when it’s done as well as it is here.

However, no matter the overarching message… it’s still Kalil saying the Panthers are going to win the Super Bowl, and at the end of the year, he’s probably going to be wrong. Great as Cam Newton could be, 6-10 teams don’t usually jump to being title contenders the following season. If the Panthers somehow pull it off, Kalil will be an instant Charlotte-area legend, but if not, hopefully he doesn’t start making this prediction every year. But hey, belief is the first step toward making it happen, I suppose.