Define your greatest glory – just imagine where it lies?
When you see the path unfolding in the furnace of your eyes?
Now remember something sacred when that moment comes to pass
…It started with the beauty of one single blade of grass
A blade of grass you pounded in a yard of childhood dreams
Connected to a club you loved and all those junior teams
Engraved with raw ambition on a rock of no regret
A promise carved relentlessly in blood and grit and sweat
And then, one day, amazingly, they name you in the side
You’re a Panther …mighty Panther!…and your heart is filled with pride
Ticking in a dressing room, the pulse of battle tells
There’s a roar and there’s a rumble with the sounding of the bells
When the Panthers take the paddock and the chimes of war reveal it
There’s a chance you might not see it but I guarantee you’ll feel it!
The rush of pure adrenalin! The shiver down your spine…
Write another chapter in that famous storyline!
Like the narrative of ’91 when greatness woke the giant
And the champions of two ’03 immortally defiant!
The Penrith faithful stand up, put their flags up, spark ignition!
But it’s much more than the moment…it’s this thing they call ‘tradition’
Panther Anthem
1967 marked the season of its birth
Whatever filled the atmosphere remains scratched in the earth…
It’s the mountain, it’s the working class, the battler and the brave
It’s a sense of true community those teams from Penrith gave
Legends like Merv Cartwright stand through fire, flood and drought
The vision of the volunteer - no football club without
The passion and the pathway of what started with a shed
Now a world-renowned facility and still it moves ahead…
The sacrifice is carried though, humility runs rife
In the fabric of a family…a family for life
Now sporting evolution sparks a brand new claim to fame
But look into the Panther’s eye...and something seems the same
Something like a fire that forever keeps ‘em keen!
Emblazoned by the black, the red, the yellow and the green!
From the charge of ‘Chocolate Soldiers’ to the ‘Comeback Kid’ brigade
From that nursery of juniors to the day you make the grade
There’s a courage underneath the crest – a sentiment that swells
And it pumps a little harder with the sounding of the bells!
It’s the monumental quest to drink from League’s triumphant cup
But mostly… it’s the simple act... of never giving up
Train hard, play hard, have a crack, then give a little more
There’s not one single blade of grass that doesn’t know the score
And nothing echoes sweeter on the back end of a try
Than the glory of that moment when you hear the Panther cry!
And your teammates get around you on account of your endeavour
And the bond equates to something that you’ll likely share forever
Are you ready? Yes we’re ready! There it is and here we go!
Today we write another page! Today we steal the show!
For who you are and what you are can never be denied
You’re a Panther…mighty Panther!... and your heart is filled with pride!
Rupert McCall © 2018
