SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — "Keep pounding."
The words have become synonymous with the NFC champion Carolina Panthers.
They're on the walls of the stadium's weight room, on the tunnel leading to the field and even stitched into the collar of every Panthers jersey.
"It's a way of life around here," said Panthers assistant defensive line coach Sam Mills III.
Mills' father Sam, a Panthers linebacker from 1995-97 and then an assistant coach, uttered the phrase "keep pounding" at a downtown Charlotte hotel on Jan. 2, 2004, the night before the Panthers started a run to their first Super Bowl.