This Sunday, the Carolina Panthers will honor the football and coaching career of Sam Mills, his legacy through the Keep Pounding mantra and the community joy of celebrating the induction of the first true Panther in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
This past August, Mills was enshrined into the Hall of Fame in the final year of his modern class eligibility. On Sunday, the team will celebrate that induction at halftime with videos and speeches from Jim Porter (NFL Hall of Fame President), Dan Morgan (player coached by Mills and current asst. GM) and Melanie Mills, wife of Sam Mills. The ceremony will be live streamed on Panthers.com, the Panthers app and the Panthers YouTube, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Apart from the halftime ceremony, there will be a number of other special gameday elements that will celebrate and honor Sam Mills and Keep Pounding:
- Special uniforms, shirts and hats for TopCats, PurrCussion, Black and Blue Crew and gate volunteer workers
- Keep Pounding statues at the North and East gates and a Fan Autograph Wall next to Mills’ statue along Mint Street
- Gate giveaways for fans are 51 Keep Pounding yard flags
- Special Sam Mills exhibits in the Mobile Team Museum inside the North Gate
- Players will wear 51 helmet decals and run out of the tunnel with 51 and Keep Pounding flags
- Special merchandise will be available in the team store, including replica Sam Mills jerseys, throwback Mills t-shirts, Hall of Fame block art and commemorative Hall of Fame coin
- Melanie Mills will hit the Keep Pounding drum prior to kickoff
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