Kevin Harrington
Well-known member
2 Seats to cherish for father, son By SCOTT FOWLER Charlotte Observer,September 30, 2001 Dad of Packer fan who died in NYC tragedy donates Panther tickets
If you would like to donate your unused Panther tickets and also receive a tax deduction, the Panthers and community relations director B.J. Waymer run an ongoing program that matches unused tickets with kids who would appreciate them.
They are a special pair of tickets.
They will admit two fans into today's Carolina Panthers home opener against Green Bay in Ericsson Stadium. They cost $39 apiece and are in the upper deck, above the west end zone. Section 504. Row 20. Seats 6-7.
They aren't great seats. But they are a symbol of something that reaches far higher than Section 504.
The tickets originally belonged to Robert Sutcliffe and his grown son, Robert Jr. - two Green Bay Packers fans from New York. They had developed a father-son tradition of flying to a Green Bay game somewhere in America once per NFL season.
Today is the game they chose.
But everything changed on Sept.11, the day Robert Sutcliffe Jr. attended a breakfast meeting on the 106th floor of the World Trade Center's north tower.
Robert Sutcliffe Jr. bought the tickets May 12. A 39-year-old stockbroker, Sutcliffe had a wife and a 4-year-old daughter named Kara. His friends called him "Sut" or "Bobby."
Bobby Sutcliffe and his 72-year-old dad both lived on Long Island, about 45 minutes from Manhattan. The Sutcliffes are a close family. Bobby, an only child, had a long-standing love for the Packers that sprang from his father.
"Those guys were father and son," says Margaret, Bobby's wife, "but mostly they were best friends."
If you would like to donate your unused Panther tickets and also receive a tax deduction, the Panthers and community relations director B.J. Waymer run an ongoing program that matches unused tickets with kids who would appreciate them.
They are a special pair of tickets.
They will admit two fans into today's Carolina Panthers home opener against Green Bay in Ericsson Stadium. They cost $39 apiece and are in the upper deck, above the west end zone. Section 504. Row 20. Seats 6-7.
They aren't great seats. But they are a symbol of something that reaches far higher than Section 504.
The tickets originally belonged to Robert Sutcliffe and his grown son, Robert Jr. - two Green Bay Packers fans from New York. They had developed a father-son tradition of flying to a Green Bay game somewhere in America once per NFL season.
Today is the game they chose.
But everything changed on Sept.11, the day Robert Sutcliffe Jr. attended a breakfast meeting on the 106th floor of the World Trade Center's north tower.
Robert Sutcliffe Jr. bought the tickets May 12. A 39-year-old stockbroker, Sutcliffe had a wife and a 4-year-old daughter named Kara. His friends called him "Sut" or "Bobby."
Bobby Sutcliffe and his 72-year-old dad both lived on Long Island, about 45 minutes from Manhattan. The Sutcliffes are a close family. Bobby, an only child, had a long-standing love for the Packers that sprang from his father.
"Those guys were father and son," says Margaret, Bobby's wife, "but mostly they were best friends."