Greetings Panthers Nation. I would like to introduce myself
and share how I came to love the Carolina Panthers. My name is Jose Elvis
Ruvalcaba II. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA (a.k.a South Central).
Like many kids today, I was raised in a broken home and I looked for solace
with a family member, my Uncle William. It was my Uncle Will who raised me. He
took me under his wing and taught me about life. Even though we were only 2
years apart, he was wiser and more mature than me. I used to live for the
weekends because I always wanted to go to Will's pad. The first memory I have
of watching football was with him. I woke up to the TV blasting and him rooting
"GO PANTHERS! It was at that moment I determined "that's my team."
I had no clue, no idea what I was watching, but because he was rooting for
them, I was forever branded a Panthers fan.
Fast forward some years and after high school I joined the
U.S Army (Ho-Ah!) for 2 specific
reasons: 1. I am a Patriot at heart and this is one great nation we live in and
I felt a sense of duty/service to keep it that way. 2. for my Uncle Will, just
to make him proud. I remember in boot camp we would get 10 minutes per week on
a Saturday to call home. I would always ask how Will was doing or what he was
up to because I never got a chance to call him. I would always phone home and
with tears of joy running down my cheeks just happy to hear the voices of my
family.
