This season, we’d like to introduce you to Panthers fans not just around the country, but all around the world. It takes a lot to be a Panthers fan outside of the Carolinas – people make fun of you, you’re ostracized at parties, people constantly send you gifs on Twitter of fumbles not being recovered – but The Roaring Riot aims to help alleviate that issue by creating a watch party for your favorite team in every city on the globe.
This week, we’re excited to chat with Oli Harvey-Jones and Joe Baucom, who run the Royal Riot in London – that’s right, there’s a chapter of the Roaring Riot across the pond! Here’s a little bit about life in London and what it’s like being a Panthers fan in Europe.
Who Started Your Chapter and When?
Joe: I moved over to London in October of 2016 and knew from the moment I found out that I was moving I wanted to get a chapter going once I arrived. I had been friends with Zack for a few years prior so immediately started the conversations. I began going to The Hippodrome right away as it is the main place to watch NFL in London; right away I made four great friends who had been watching the Panthers for years, and knew there was opportunity to grow the fan base. Two years later and lots of asking of Zack, he came over and saw what we had going on and a chapter was born!
How Hard Was It To Find A Bar To Host You?
Oli: It’s very hard because the NFL isn’t widely available in bars over here. We get all the Prime Time games on TV plus one early game and one late game picked by Sky Sports, so if the Panthers aren’t on either of those slots you have to find somewhere that streams the games. That really isn’t easy at all.
Joe: Considering the options are few and far between in London, there was really only one logical option of where to set up shop on Sundays.
Where Do You Have Game Watch Parties?
Oli: We meet at The Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square. It’s a pretty sweet setup there as they have all the games on, as well as a video wall with Red Zone too. Plus there’s plenty to see and do before and after the game when you’re in a casino every Sunday!
What does a typical gameday look like for you?
Oli: When they’re Prime Time games it’s tough as they will start at around 1a for us. So it either means a lot of coffee or getting some sleep and setting an alarm to wake us up. Most of our games tend to be the early slot so that’s 6p for us, so typically it means going for a big lunch somewhere first and then onto The Hippodrome. As a lot of us live an hour or so away from The Hippodrome, we’re not home until quite late because of the time difference so in theory I always try not to drink TOO much… In theory…
How Many People Usually Show Up?
Oli: It has varied so much so far; when Zack and Kevin were over for the European Meet-Up we had around 50. The Giants game was about 25. The Redskins closer to 15. As we’re so new we’re expecting numbers to vary a lot
What Traditions Does Your Chapter Have?
Oli: Myself and my fiancée Sarah went to New Orleans last season and got the “Newton’s On Fire” chant going with the NOLA Riot. We stepped it up a notch when Zack and Kevin were over – shout out to the Mile High Cats who I know are a huge fan of that chant!
Joe: We drink pitchers of Budweiser and eat wings, so American! They run a special for £15 you get a huge pitcher of Bud and wings. We usually run through quite a few of them every week – we do have a song to go along with the British Football tradition of singing… “Newtons on fire, your defense is terrified”!
More With Oli and Joe Up Next!
