It’s a good time to be a Carolina Panthers fan. The team is the last unbeaten in the NFL, quarterback Cam Newton is consistently making headlines for his dancing, his charitable efforts, his fashion, and how much dang fun he’s having, and Carolina has one of the most dynamic defenses spearheaded by players like Luke Kuechly and Josh Norman.
But one player who’s been here for a long time and seen the rise firsthand is Greg Olsen. Since being traded to the Panthers in 2011 by the Chicago Bears, Olsen established himself as a leader and a reliable receiving threat for Newton, who was drafted first overall that season out of Auburn after winning the 2010 Heisman Trophy.
Olsen firmly cemented himself as a member of the community, establishing his HEARTest Yard program and participating in other charitable efforts. Recently, he gave away $9,000 worth of gift cards to patrons of a Charlotte-area Buffalo Wild Wings, and the restaurant chain donated $1 to Olsen’s charity for every RT on a particular tweet sent out on Dec. 15.
Uproxx Sports took a few minutes to talk to Olsen about being the last unbeaten, playing with Cam Newton, living in Charlotte, and more.
Martin Rickman: I’m a Charlotte resident, as well, and I was talking to a server in town who has seen you come in and eat a bunch. He said it’s always pretty low key, and people tend to leave you be. I was curious, is this unique to Charlotte? What’s your typical interaction with fans like here?
Greg Olsen: I think people are pretty respectful of my time. They’ll come over and say hello, but it’s always positive. Most of the time they’ll come over and say, “Good luck.” “We’re really enjoying the season.” “We watch every game.” Stuff like that. It’s nice to have that sort of response and see that from the fans. I understand that this season means a lot to a lot of different people, and it’s been a great time for the entire city. People are very respectful. I’ll take some pictures, talk to kids, and it’s nice to see the kids excited, and see their parents so excited. It’s been nothing but positive.
You have this situation now where over the course of the time you’ve been here, people have had kids, they didn’t grow up Panthers fans because the team didn’t exist, but these kids are growing up wearing jerseys – wearing your jersey – and they’re lifelong fans now. That was a foreign phrase before. How have you seen Charlotte’s relationship with the team change since you’ve been here?
Each year I’ve been here, you can see the progressive change in the team. It’s pretty simple: We’re winning more now. We’ve made the playoffs three-straight years, and we won a playoff game last year. All those things have contributed to it. You can tell. The whole city, but especially the young kids are wearing their Panther gear and their jerseys, and they’re proud to be Panthers fans. We’re one of the best teams in the league, and that’s exciting. That’s what every player strives for, to help make their team as successful as possible for as long as possible. Seeing this develop over the past couple years has been a fun ride.
Is there anything that changes in approach or how you guys go from week-to-week with that undefeated streak still going on?
The key is to keep everything the same as much as possible. You keep your preparation, your routine, and you keep things as consistent as possible. Obviously we’re in the position we’re in now because of all of the positive things that we do from week to week leading up to the game. We want to continue that. How we practice. How we prepare. How we compete. It all kind of goes together on Sunday. There are a lot of things that go on between Monday and Sunday that contribute to the game on Sunday. As long as we stay focused on that, we’ll be able to maintain success.
Losing Kelvin Benjamin early, and having so many young guys, or veterans having to step into a more productive role that maybe they weren’t expecting to fill coming into the year, what have you done from a leadership standpoint to keep guys going?
Our receiving corps has really grown, and they’ve matured. They have leadership with guys like Jerricho Cotchery, and some of the young guys have really come on as of late, like [Devin] Funchess, and Philly [Brown] going back to last year. It’s been a really great thing to see, to see those guys continue to develop and continue to contribute at a high level. Just look at Teddy [Ginn Jr.] and what he’s been able to do with his big play ability. It adds a whole new element to our team. We’re really getting production from a lot of guys on the team.
You mentioned the kids in Charlotte, and you have a charitable organization that means a lot to you that’s for local children, but how has fatherhood changed you as a man?
You understand more, and your perspective changes. You start to see things through the eyes of young kids a little bit better and understand where they’re coming from a little bit better. Your priorities and perspective change as you grow and as you get older. It’s great. It’s common for all guys as they grow, and their life changes. You change along with it.
What’s the biggest thing in your career that you didn’t know when you were playing in high school and at Miami?
Just how hard it really is to be consistent week in and week out. You don’t just show up and play well. There’s so much work, in the offseason, in season, and fighting the inevitability of monotony, and not getting bored. You have to stay involved and stay proactive. That’s what I’ve learned over the years, and it’s really helped me consistently play at a high level.
How do you feel about the Mark Richt hire at Miami?
I think it’s going to be great for us. Obviously there’s a lot of guys from Georgia, and SEC being as big as it is down here, and we’ve seen the success that he had and the ability he had to keep the program at a high level. That’s what Miami needed. They needed a national name and a national product. Hopefully he can bring some of those qualities and traits back to Miami and make them competitive again.
Cam is such a public figure, and all eyes are on him all the time. Is there something about him that really should be getting more news and attention?
He has a big heart. He really cares about people, and about his teammates. He does a lot behind closed doors that doesn’t really get the recognition or the publicity that some of the other stuff gets. That’s the biggest thing. He cares about people. He really is a genuinely good person. His teammates respect him, and in a locker room, that’s sometimes the most important thing.
Why do you think he is so polarizing among fans and media? Does it bother you at all that this is what gets so much attention rather than all the positive things that have gone on around the team this season?
As to why, I really don’t know. People I guess see him doing things differently than what people are used to seeing at the quarterback position. From his style, making plays, and he plays the game more like a wideout, with the mentality of a linebacker. He’s so energetic, and he gets going in the game. He really plays with a lot of passion, and fire, and excitement. I don’t really pay much attention to a lot of that stuff. It doesn’t bother us. People are going to have opinions, and when you’re successful, they’re going to look for ways to bring you down. That’s not unique to Cam. That’s just the way it goes when you’re successful and prominent figures.
Do you have anything you’re listening to these days, gameday or otherwise?
My favorite band right now are the Kings of Leon. That’s kind of my favorite right now, as far as gameday, and all day. I’ve turned a lot of guys on the team to them over the last year or so. Obviously country is big, too, and stuff like that.
The Buffalo Wild Wings event in Concord you were a part of, it was amazing to see the reaction to it, and what happens when you get this unexpected gift. What was that experience like, and how did it come about?
It was a pretty special night. Just to see that excitement, and to see the face of people when you surprised them, starting with the family who got the first one. Walking out of the kitchen and seeing the look on the kids’ faces when they saw me. And just how people reacted when I told them we were giving gift cards to the entire restaurant and to share with others. It goes along with B-Dubs’ whole mentality about taking care of people who take care of others. We gave people a really great memory, and it was a special moment for me and my foundation, especially since they’re giving money for every retweet that one tweet got. It’s just awesome when you see stuff like this come together to help people, and help the community, especially locally. It’s really been an awesome experience.
That response and seeing what that does, how does that make you feel? How important is it for you to give back?
It’s huge. It’s been a big part of our life, and everything that we’ve gone through with our family and our son. To understand there’s so much more out there than yourself, and your own unique experiences. There are so many people out there who could use a little hope, and who could use a message of thoughtfulness. They just want to know you’re thinking about them, someone’s thinking about them, and our foundation tries to do that every day at a life-saving level, and give those kids the care they need. We’re very fortunate to have the response we’ve had from the community, and obviously most recently now with the other relationships we’ve made. We’ll be able to support countless families and give their kids the medical treatment they need.
