CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers fans, grab your lucky jerseys. Football is back, and fans are ready for a new season. 

After a year of empty stadiums, or masked games, fans are ready for the 2021 season. 

What You Need to Know

The Carolina Panthers are preparing for the new season as the team starts practice at training camp this week

Zack Luttrell, one of the founders of The Roaring Riot, has been leading the Panthers fan group since 2008, and says the 2020 season was far from enjoyable for fans

Luttrell says once restrictions were lifted for games, membership numbers picked back up, and the amount of people requesting away game travel packages doubled 

Zack Luttrell founded Panthers' fan group The Roaring Riot in 2008. He helps organize tailgates at games and also coordinates trips to Panthers away games. 

Luttrell started the fan group after moving back to Charlotte after college.

“I just noticed there weren’t a lot of Panthers bars downtown. Which as a Charlottean, as a Panthers fan, it was really confusing to go out on a Sunday and see Pittsburgh Steelers bars and Cowboys bars and Patriots bars,” he said. 

Luttrell said after starting the Roaring Riot, the tailgate that started with a few hundred people quickly grew. 

“We have 42 chapters, including five international chapters. Those are in London, Germany, Australia, Monterrey, Mexico.”

The Riot travels to every game together, and Luttrell said even some of the Panthers players have noticed their dedication. 

“One of my favorite quotes from Cam [Newton] was when he arrives at the game, the first thing he does is he finds his kids, then he finds his parents, then he finds the Roaring Riot.”

Luttrell said the 2020 season was tough for the Riot. He said membership dropped from 8,000 to around 5,300 fans, and he also noticed a lack of morale at games. 

“It was a little eerie last year when we did do those games with the reduced capacity, just because it was very quiet, there was low energy,” he said. “It didn’t necessarily feel like we were even at a game at that point.”

Luttrell said with the vaccine rolled out and restrictions now lifted in North Carolina, fans are coming back. 

“When we launched our trips in mid-May, we’ve just had an overwhelming response. Even before that we launched our trip deposits in April, we got more than double the deposit amount that we’ve received in any other season,” said Luttrell. 

He said he’s now counting days until the start of the new season, and hopes 2021 brings a new energy to the games. 

“It made me realize how much I love our community, how much I love going to football games on Sundays, and just being with the Roaring Riot members,’ Luttrell said. “That’s something that I won’t take for granted again, and I’m ready to go this season.”

Luttrell said the Carolina Panthers FanFest is going to be the first time in more than a year that the Roaring Riot will be back together.