Panthers fans are not happy about the recent release of wide receiver Steve Smith. Particularly upset is young Gavin, who shares his thoughts about the decision in the best YouTube video since the kid who got high at the dentist's office.

Smith, who is interviewing with the Ravens today, said yesterday if he meets the Panthers next season there will be "blood and guts everywhere."

UPDATE: Steve Smith saw the video and hit Twitter in search of the young man and his family.

I need that kids info. If anyone knw him or how to get in touch pls help me... I need help finding Gavin. The crying kid

- Steve Smith (@89SteveSmith) March 16, 2014

And thanks to the power of social media, he was put in contact with the family.

I found Gavin. His dad and I got in contact. Once I'm back in town will hook up the Lil guy...... everyone thank u for ur help

- Steve Smith (@89SteveSmith) March 16, 2014

Editor's note: This post has been updated. This version ran in the March 20 print edition.

"This is not a democracy. It's a cheerocracy."

The famous line from Bring It On ran through my head as I watched the fallout from the Carolina Panthers releasing fan favorite Steve Smith this month. Fans took to social media, local sports radio shows - a dozen or so even gathered outside Bank of America Stadium - to protest the decision, calling the team disloyal.

But this isn't government. This is football.

• Keith Allison
• Smith in 2006

Watching fans malign the Panthers has made it clear to me why general manager David Gettleman is paid the big money to make the tough decisions, while fans continue to be ... fans. This is not American Idol, nor is Gettleman facing a popular vote in an upcoming election. He was hired to do the job he is doing.

While former management (*cough* Marty Hurney *cough*) can be blamed for the dismal state of the team's financial affairs, it can't be overlooked that Gettleman must do what he can - as soon as he can - to right the money boat. As bittersweet as the decision is, it was time for the Panthers to move on.

Smith will collect $3 million from the Panthers even as he's released, but that's compared to the $7 million in cap room he would take up playing in Charlotte, where last year he posted career lows in catches, yards and average yards per reception, and struggled with injuries down the stretch.

The Panthers placed the franchise tag on Greg Hardy, who posed the biggest threat to their salary cap this offseason. The team now has negotiations with Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly, the two biggest building blocks of the team's future, to look forward to in the next two years. Smith turns 35 in two months, and it's time for a shift in priorities.

The problem with the so-called Panthers fans' reaction is their definition of "loyalty." People have threatened to root for Smith's new team, the Baltimore Ravens, because the Panthers haven't shown any "loyalty" to the face of the franchise. Let me remind those fans what it looks like when an organization negotiates out of loyalty.
Kobe Bryant has arguably done more for the Los Angeles Lakers franchise than any athlete in the past 30 years has done for his team (Derek Jeter is the only one who comes close). In November, the Lakers came to the negotiating table as fans and offered Bryant a $48.5 million contract extension. He has since played all of six games as his team sits tied for the worst record in the Western Conference.

As Smith's agent broke the news on March 12 that his client would no longer play as a Panther, news also broke that Bryant was not expected to play another game in the NBA this season. But at least his team is loyal.
Let us also not forget that Smith was all but gone from Charlotte of his own accord following the 2010 season. He had cleared his locker out after that dismal year, asked for a trade and even put his house on the market. Thinking he showed nothing but pure loyalty to an organization that now "shuns him" is laughable. He deserved better than to hear about the team's intentions to cut him through the media, but fans jumping from the Panthers bandwagon is a bit extreme.

I will miss Steve Smith as much as the next guy, but as a lifelong sports fan, I understand these decisions need to be made. I've watched the highlights from his famous touchdown in the 2003 playoffs a couple of times in the last few days. I'm filled with nostalgia, not misplaced anger.

I recognize the Panthers have not had a strong offseason early on. That is due in part to Hurney's mess and to management stepping on their own toes. As potential Smith replacements continue to drop from the free agency pool, patience wears thin among even the most optimistic.

The Panthers haven't, in their entire history, made the playoffs two years in a row. It may not happen the next time around either. The team paid two of the best defensive players in the league, Kuechly and Hardy, under $2 million combined last year. That was a bubble sure to burst, and re-signing Hardy under the franchise tag took up about two thirds of the Panthers' cap space.

As for Smith, if Gettleman can get this team to win on a consistent basis, the fans will forget all about the tough decisions that had to be made to get them there.

Bobcats fans gasped when owner Michael Jordan traded fan favorite Gerald Wallace to the Trail Blazers in 2011 for multiple future first-round draft picks and cash. Three years later, the Bobcats are playoff bound, and Wallace gets a healthy applause when he comes to town.

When asked how he feels about playing his former team, Smith said he will always be a Carolina Panther, but that if his path "happens to run through Bank of America Stadium, there will be blood and guts everywhere."
Fans won't be treated to that spectacle (the Ravens don't play in Charlotte) but the Panthers will be visiting Smith in Baltimore this fall. Everyone has until then to decide where their loyalties lie.

Though San Francisco knocked Carolina out of the NFL playoffs yesterday, online chatter today is focusing more on 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's touchdown celebration and bad calls by the refs than the loss.

• twitter.com/49ers
• 49ers Colin Kaepernick celebrates his touchdown with SuperCam mockery.

A lot of fans have become angered about the celebration. To them I say, it's just part of the game. The Panthers did their own mockery of Kaepernicking during the Carolina's 10-9 win in November at San Francisco.

Plus, some good can come from taunting. I hoped Kaepernick's celebration would spark more fire in the Panthers. That didn't happen.

When Harvey Lucore moved to Charlotte from Louisiana this fall, the Carolina Panthers were in bad shape. The team had just been trounced by the Arizona Cardinals, putting their record at 1-3 and leaving head coach Ron Rivera's job as good as open for next season.

After an eight-game winning streak, a 31-13 loss to New Orleans on Sunday night snapped the Carolina Panthers back to reality.

The Saints played with the skill of a Super Bowl-bound team, and the Panthers played dismally. But for Carolina, there's something different in the air this year. There's hope.

As the final seconds of the game ticked down, fans' cries of "the Panthers were supposed to win!" were followed by "we're still better than last year" and "we can still make the playoffs."

My wife hesitates to ask me for the latest score when the Panthers are playing. I've told her they're winning so many times, only to disappoint her a few minutes later. She's not a diehard fan, but she loves to hear that they're doing well. As a Charlotte native, she feels obligated to pull for the home teams.

She's been happy this season. Instead of months of heartache and heartbreaking last-minute losses, the Panthers have strung together six wins in a row. Sure, they got off to a rocky start, but Carolina sits with a 7-3 overall record. Throughout the season, talk went from "Could they be a wild card in the playoffs?" to "Could they actually make it to the Super Bowl?"

I think it's still too early to tell, but the boys in blue and black are undoubtedly playing some solid football these days. Well, except for the last minutes of Monday night's game against the Patriots.

As my wife sat in bed watching the latest episode of Homeland, I was on the couch watching the final minutes of Monday Night Football. I'd keep her updated from time to time by calling out things like, "Cam just ran 15 yards for a first down!"

• Wikipedia
• Newton during a 2011 game

While the seconds ticked away on the game clock in the fourth quarter, I finally ran to the bedroom to watch the final minutes of the game. Just two days earlier she watched the final moments of the Auburn-Georgia game with me - I went to Auburn - which included the "Immaculate Deflection." So, I figured I should go watch the end of the Panthers game with her, hoping we were about to watch Carolina have a last-minute win of their own.

After last night's win against Tampa Bay, the Carolina Panthers are above .500 for the first time since 2008. That was 70 games ago. Is it too soon to say the 4-3 Panthers have finally turned things around?
Just a few weeks ago, we were wondering if the Panthers were choking and in need of a new coach.

While chatter about the playoffs is sure to start making its way around town, you have to look at Carolina's schedule to bring you back to reality. Look, I'd love for the Panthers to make a run for the Super Bowl, but I'm not so sure it's going to happen this year.