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Fan's Life: Following his beloved Carolina Panthers keeps kidney patient going
Josh D. Weiss Photo
Cliff Davis (center) watches the Panthers struggle against the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome.
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Published: November 30, 2008
After Cliff Davis learned that he had chronic kidney disease, he decided that he was going to live the rest of his life to the fullest.
For Davis, that includes following his beloved Carolina Panthers as much as possible.
Davis will be in storied Lambeau Field today when the Panthers play the Green Bay Packers, as he continues on a season-long journey attending Panthers games home and away.
He was in San Diego when the Panthers opened the season with a dramatic, last-second victory over the San Diego Chargers -- and he hopes to complete the journey by watching the Panthers in the Super Bowl in Tampa in February.
"I've been a die-hard fan from the day they walked out on the field," Davis said. "But this year is unique. When I found out about my health and everything, I just decided I was going to enjoy as many games as I could. Hopefully, if everything goes all right, I'll be going to my first Super Bowl, and I hope the Panthers are in it."
The trips are not always easy.
Davis is able to do his own dialysis while on the road, but it is a complicated process to get his various medications sent to the city where the Panthers are playing. And there have been scares, for sure. When the Panthers lost at Tampa Bay in early October, Davis had to be rushed from the stadium to a nearby hospital after his blood pressure dropped significantly.
But he has decided that the benefits are greater than the risks.
"These trips keep me going," he said. "They keep me motivated. I just love football, and I love the Panthers. I wish it was football season all year round. My doctor would rather I didn't travel so much, because I'm on the transplant list, but for me, it's about enjoying life right now."
Tom Broach, the owner of Broach Sports Tours in Charlotte, has worked with Davis throughout the season. Davis gets a travel package for games when Broach Sports Tours takes groups to games, as it did last week with a bus trip to Atlanta. Davis buys tickets through Broach when there is not a group trip and plans out his own itinerary, as he did for trips to Tampa and to Oakland.
"You can tell he is really enjoying himself," Broach said. "He always seems to be in high spirits and upbeat. I know it's not easy on him. I remember one morning I asked how he was doing, and he said he didn't get a whole lot of sleep the night before. But he never complains about his situation."
Davis, 53, has lived in Winston-Salem for the past 20 years. He worked as a traffic manager for a trucking company and later as a truck driver until the chronic kidney disease forced him to go on disability.
Davis learned that both kidneys were failing late in 2006. He attributes the problems in part to being on the road so much as a driver. But the driving schedule, he said, was always geared around being back home and in front of the television on football Sundays.
He takes great pride in saying that his son Clay played against the Panthers' Brad Hoover in high school, when Clay was at North Davidson and Hoover was at Ledford.
He also takes pride in recalling his playing and coaching days. While living in Pittsburgh, he was a nose guard on a semi-pro team in the Continental Football League, and then after coming south, he was the defensive coordinator for the Davidson County Bandits semi-pro team in the Carolina Football League for six years.
"I've worked a lot with children, too," Davis said. "I've coached a lot of Pop Warner and stuff. I was going to again this year. I was actually involved with a team (South Fork Panthers), but then I started traveling and decided I wanted to do this with the Panthers. I enjoy working with the kids, but once I started traveling I just wanted to keep it up while I could."
Davis smiles as he talks about some of his experiences throughout the season.
In San Diego, he didn't actually see the game-winning touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme to Dante Rosario as time expired. He and Clay were in the Qualcomm Stadium stands, sure enough, but Davis was too nervous to watch the final play.
"I had my head bowed down and everything like, ‘Please, please,'" Davis said. "Then my son said, ‘He caught the pass, he caught the pass.' It was pretty incredible listening to the crowd. It was like, 65,000 people just all of a sudden got quiet after he made the catch. So that was fantastic. I think that was a good way to get us off to a good year."
The experience in Tampa didn't have a good ending, for either Davis or the Panthers. The Panthers suffered their worst defeat of what has so far been an 8-3 season, falling behind 14-0 quickly and eventually losing 27-3. Davis became faint near the end of the game and wound up being rushed to the hospital. He had gone through a similar ordeal during a 2007 preseason game in Charlotte.
"I try to stay strong, but sometimes with my dialysis, I have a little bit of a hard time," Davis said. "Tampa wasn't a very good day. I had to sit there and watch that, and then my blood pressure dropped down at the end of the game. They were ribbing me at the hospital in the ER, saying, ‘Here we are, you got beat, and you're in the hospital on top of that.' I said, ‘OK, rub it in.'
"But I really enjoy this. I just love it a little more when we have a fantastic game."
He is looking forward to the rest of the season even more, and not just because of the games. Broach Sports Tours includes side trips and other perks, and Davis takes full advantage. The group went to Tijuana and the San Diego Zoo before the game in San Diego. This weekend, activities include a visit to the Packers Hall of Fame, a pre-game tailgate party amongst the Cheese heads and dinner at Brett Favre's Steakhouse after the game.
The ultimate trip will come when the Panthers play at New Orleans on Dec. 28. Davis' favorite Panther is quarterback Jake Delhomme, and on Saturday before the game, Davis will make the trip to Delhomme's hometown of Breaux Bridge, La., about 125 miles northwest of New Orleans.
"Jake's my favorite player," Davis said. "I have so much respect for him, so I wanted to go to Breaux Bridge and see where his horse farm is. We're going to be staying in the French Quarter, so that will be an experience, too. But the game is always the most-important function."
■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.
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