camp fodder...

I was bored... found this & thought some might enjoy...


By Brett Friedlander
Staff writer


AP photo Panthers linebacker Dan Morgan, right, with the help of intern Ricky Robbins, carries his portable hyperbaric chamber into the dorms in Spartanburg, S.C.

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Panthers bring the comforts of home to camp


SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Keyshawn Johnson made a rookie mistake last week, which is saying something considering that he’s preparing to play his 11th season in the National Football League.
He realized it the moment he checked in at Wofford College for his first training camp as a member of the Carolina Panthers.
Instead of getting a key card for a suite at the Marriott, Hilton or other such upscale accommodation, as he’s become accustomed to, Johnson was sent packing to Greene Hall for a month of dormitory living with his new teammates.
“I haven’t been in dorms in the last eight years,” said Johnson, who played for the New York Jets, Tampa Bay and Dallas before signing as a free agent in March.
“We did it when I was with the Jets. Everywhere else we were in hotels, but not here.”
At least as a veteran, Johnson doesn’t have to share his Spartan quarters with anyone else.
But that’s small consolation, given that with a little planning, he could easily have brought the hotel with him to Wofford.
While Johnson is spending his nights in a bed much too small for a wide receiver’s 6-foot-4 body, a few doors down others are sleeping in luxury.
That’s not an exaggeration.
Before moving into Greene Hall last Friday, All-Pro defensive end Julius Peppers spared no expense in giving his room an extreme makeover.
Among the amenities are wall-to-wall carpeting, a queen-sized bed complete with head and foot boards, a couch, a recliner, lamps and a big-screen TV.
With all that stuff crammed into a standard freshman dorm room, there’s barely enough room for a 6-foot-7, 285-pound football player to move around.
“I basically have the same stuff everybody else has,” Peppers said. “My stuff just came from a rental place.”
While it’s true that others have made alterations to their rooms, including linebacker Dan Morgan and his $20,000 hyperbaric chamber, Peppers’ palace is so plush that it could easily qualify to be featured on the MTV show “Cribs.”
It’s so far beyond anyone else’s setup that his fellow defensive linemen have turned the place into their unofficial clubhouse.
“He’s got it laid out real nice,” said the Panthers’ other end, Mike Rucker. “We call it the Studio Apartment because that’s what it looks like.”
This is the 12th straight year the Panthers have held their training camp at Wofford, team owner Jerry Richardson’s alma mater.
They will have spent four weeks there by the time they break camp Aug. 28.
Though many NFL teams have abandoned the tradition of rooming their players in dorms — opting instead for hotels or as in the case with division rival Atlanta, luxury condos — coach John Fox thinks the idea has its advantages.
“I believe there’s a lot to chemistry with a football team,” Fox said. “You have to build a team every year and being together this much helps.”
Apparently the bonding works just as well amid comfortable surroundings as it does in a cramped 14-by-16 cell with a twin-sized bed.
Taking Peppers’ idea one step further, offensive tackle Jordan Gross has rented a 45-foot recreational vehicle to serve as a lounge for his fellow offensive linemen.
They gather there after every practice to cool off, play cards and watch TV.
Because it stays in the parking lot behind the Wofford student center about a half mile from Greene Hall, it saves the Panthers’ biggest and least mobile players a lot of effort by the time they’re ready to head home.
“It’s a 30-second walk out there (to the RV) compared to a two-minute walk over to the dorm,” guard Mike Wahle said. “We can’t spend the night over there because we have a curfew, though I wish we could. But it’s a nice thing to have.”
The idea of renting an RV isn’t an original one.
Gross copied it from now-retired center Jeff Mitchell, who began the tradition by taking his personal camper to Spartanburg a few seasons ago.
“It’s good for the group to have a spot where we all go at night and get a little bonding time,” Gross said. “When Mitch left, we were kind of struggling and I was looking for something to get. Luckily (a Charlotte dealer) ended up helping us out with it.”
Because he spent so much on the RV, Gross had to cut back on furnishing his dorm room.
There was one expense, however, he considered a necessity.
“I bought a rug,” he said. “A rug is key, because without it you get up in the middle of the night and step on that cold linoleum floor. Not good.
“You bring a rug to trick yourself into thinking you’re on carpet and make you feel at home.”
That’s a piece of advice first-round draft choice DeAngelo Williams will try to remember next year.
Like Johnson, Williams was caught by surprise when he arrived at Wofford.
At least his rookie mistake was excusable. He really is a rookie.
“I’m just in there roughing it,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t know what to expect when I got here.”
Williams was so clueless that he even asked running backs coach Jim Skipper if the team’s hotel had cable.
“Hotel?” Skipper shot back. “We’re staying in a dorm.”
At least the TV in Williams’ room has cable, not that it matters much. Because the small set is situated at such an awkward angle from his bed, he joked that he’d need a pair of binoculars to see it.
“That’s fine,” the youngster from Memphis said. “I don’t need it anyway. I just listen to my iPod and read my playbook.”
If all else fails, Williams can always walk a few doors down the hall to Peppers’ room. He’s got TV in there.
And it’s big enough for everybody.

 

did he gamble his check away, or develop a crack habit?

I wouldn't think it cost a whole lot to rent an RV for a month and let it sit in a parking lot.

 

And you'd think the dealer cut them a special deal simply for the advertising. Any player with family might just think "Hm, camper, family - great idea!"

 

If I was a dealer I'd offer free use of it as long as the player(s) agreed to cover any damage and as long as there is a magnetic advertisement sticker on it at all times.

 

And if by some wonderful chance we do win that trophy, big sign in front of my dealership - We supplied the RV that brought together a SB Oline!!