CHARLOTTE —There's an anxiousness that precipitates the beginning of a new season. An excitement tinged with nerves, because this is an uncertain sport powered by unyielding loyalty.

The relationship between this game and these fans is symbiotic. One cannot exist without the other.

So when fans filter into Bank of America Stadium today with that hope that springs eternal and a duty to create an atmosphere advantageous to the team that holds their loyalty, it is a duty only matched by those coming through the canopy of trees on the other side of the stadium.

"We take a lot of pride in being able to put out a brand of football that we're proud of, that the Panthers fans are proud of, and especially the ones who get to show up on Sunday to see their team," said coach Dave Canales this week.

"And to see what we could look like at times last year, but to see us do that consistently, it's going to be important, and we got to be able to feed off that energy."

This isn't a hopeless task. Both sides have seen what is possible when at their fervent best.

The Panthers went 5-3 at home during the regular season last year, including the first three home games. Each one stoked the flames, building to an inferno of what were arguably the biggest and most important home wins of the season: Week 13 versus the Los Angeles Rams and Week 16 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which essentially made the difference in the division title.

It all reached a fever pitch one night this past January in a game the Panthers didn't win, but that showed up close the potential for this era of Carolina football.

The din of the crowd from a Jalen Coker touchdown with less than two minutes still echoes off the buildings in Uptown Charlotte. It quieted somewhat in what followed, but instead of disappearing, it has been lying in wait the past nine months.

"The fans were electric," recalled receiver Tetairoa McMillan this week. "I feel like everybody, not only the fans, but the players could feel it. Everybody in that stadium could feel what Bank of America Stadium is capable of…if we can get that playoff scene, that crowd, that's going to definitely set it off right there."

Now, another MVP hopeful and Super Bowl contending team comes to town. So what is this stadium going to do?

"It's exciting. It's exciting opening at home. The playoff game was decked out, so I'm expecting the same thing for the home opener," predicted corner Jaycee Horn. "It'll be fun."

It would be foolish to say the Panthers are fine with how the playoff game ended just because the atmosphere was great. But sports lives in the margins. While a team's reputation might be built on hard numbers, a team's legacy can be defined by how they made a stadium, a city, a region, and a fan base feel in a moment.

"Super excited, obviously, we've got a great team. It's been a lot of work this offseason," shared running back Chuba Hubbard. "Obviously, I don't want to talk about last year, but off last year, just being able to see how the crowd was then, having everyone kind of come back out here and fuel this season off on the right note, it'll be fun."

Because the field begets fans and fans fuel the field. So when the drum is pounded by Jonathan Stewart this afternoon just before kickoff (and Mike Tolbert at the start of the fourth quarter), it will match the beat in the heart of every Panthers fan who is daring to dream once again.

And that sort of belief can do magical things.

"The Bank is doing something special," noted quarterback Bryce Young this week, "and we're super grateful for the community, for the fans, for the Carolinas showing up and making it that way. We know that's what they bring to a game, for all of us, making it harder on the opponents, so we're excited for that this weekend."