Happy 80th Birthday to Jerry Richardson! He’s one of the only NFL player in history to become an NFL team owner – fighting tirelessly for years to bring the first professional football team to the Carolinas – Jerry is now without a doubt one of the most beloved men in the south.

As a tribute to Mr. Richardson, the Panthers have just installed an epic new statue in front of the stadium featuring it’s founder and current owner and two epic looking Panthers on either side of him;

#Panthers partners unveil statue in honor of Jerry Richardson, who turns 80 today » https://t.co/L4NSkdilHj pic.twitter.com/uExGLpXO4b

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) July 18, 2016

We found this video from a few years back that pays tribute to the man we now call ‘Big Cat’:

Richardson was originally born in Spring Hope, North Carolina. After completing high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he entered Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Richardson considers his greatest honor being elected team captain in 1958. In 1983, he was chosen to Wofford’s All-Time Football team as a receiver.

Drafted in the 13th round by the defending world champion Colts, Richardson played two seasons in the NFL, earning Colt Rookie of the Year honors in 1959. He caught a historic touchdown pass in the 1959 NFL Championship Game from quarterback Johnny Unitas.

Following his NFL career, Richardson embarked on a successful business career. Richardson used his 1959 NFL championship bonus with the help of Charles Bradshaw to open the first Hardee’s franchise in Spartanburg. The two ended up owning the Hardee’s business 50/50. The business expanded rapidly under his hands-on management style. From headquarters in Spartanburg, he co-founded Spartan Foods, which was the first franchisee of Hardee’s. He later was the CEO of Flagstar, which was the sixth largest food service company in the nation, controlling 2,500 restaurants and 100,000 employees, and retired in 1995.

On October 26, 1993, Richardson became the first former NFL player since George Halas to become an owner when the Carolina Panthers were unanimously awarded the NFL’s 29th franchise.

Richardson played a prominent role locking out the NFL players in 2011 and in negotiating a new players agreement. In 2015, he was elected to the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

The new UNCC 49ers Football stadium was named after him, and Wofford College is currently bulding the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

Jerry ‘Big Cat’ Richardson will always be remembered for his contributions to Charlotte and the Carolinas.

We love you Jerry! #JerryIs80 #KeepPounding

Last night over 1,000 people flocked to Romare Bearden Park to hunt Pokemon together during Charlotte’s first “Pokémon GO Charlotte – Make Evolution, Not War” event.

Local Charlotte organizer Paul Manabat commented that, “With all the crazy stuff going around lately Pokémon GO seems the gateway to our childhood and a common denominator of Peace.” According to the Facebook Event, 3,100 people marked that they were planning on going to the event, so the exact number of participants may have been much higher than 1,000.

Many people dressed up as their favorite characters or team, with vendors set up to sell t-shirts, stickers, and other Pokemon Go memorabilia and gear.

The new iPhone and Android game, Pokemon Go, takes advantage of a users camera, GPS, and clocks to create a virtual world on top of the real world where the Pokemon creatures live, are captured, and trained.

The Charlotte region has already seen over 100,000 users download the game – on any day of the week, in any park around the city, you can see people walking around and huddled in groups swiping their phones and comparing new characters and discoveries with friends and strangers.

What do you think about the new viral Pokemon Go sensation?

James Music and Cortni Bryant decided to relive their first date on their wedding day – and turn their favorite roller coaster into a wedding chapel.

James met Cortni in high school and took her to Carowinds for their first date.

“The first thing we did was ride Fury 325 and I had ridden it before but the ride was just so amazing and we just couldn’t get enough of it. We would get off and get right back in line again,” Cortni commented.

They loved it so much that they ended up riding it a total of 12 times before the park closed and they were asked to leave.

As soon as they got engaged they started joking about what it would be like to get married at Carowinds…James then decided to see if it was possible.

This week they made history by becoming the first couple to say “I do” on the tallest and fastest giga coaster in the world:

The whole wedding party joined the couple on their private train, with James, Cortni, and their minister sitting up front to exchange vows and say their “I dos”.

Carowinds has stated that although it’s now the fastest wedding every to take place at the park, it wasn’t the first on a roller coaster – they’ve also hosted weddings on the Thunder Road rollercoaster and Borg rollercoaster (which is now called Nighthawk).

The water that tested positive for a deadly brain-eating amoeba that killed an Ohio teen is about to return to the Catawba River – but not after it’s been heavily treated and filtered.

Catawba Riverkeeper Sam Perkins has commented that the sooner the water is returned, the better, since it’s now sitting in a reserve pool and potentially growing even more organisms that may be harmful.

“The longer the water sits there, it’s going to become a Petri dish,” Perkins commented.

Six to 7 million gallons of water have been drained into a lower pool at the center and treated with several rounds of chlorine followed by repetitive ultraviolet light sessions.

The chlorination is expected to kill 99.9% of the amoeba before the ultraviolet treatment, after which time the water must be treated before being released into the Catawba River, as to not affect the natural wildlife.

The disinfected water is now scheduled to be discharged into the Catawba River some time this week, though whitewater center officials say they do not have an exact schedule for the release.

The water will be free of silt and any kind of nutrients. As long as the water isn’t too warm, it shouldn’t cause any harm to fish in the river.