Panthers fans share their favorite Luke Kuechly memories
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Luke Kuechly and former Panthers teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Julius Peppers. Photos: Grant Halverson/Getty Images; Jeff Siner/Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Carolina Panthers legend Luke Kuechly will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday.
Why it matters: Kuechly wasn't just a good football player. He's one of the most beloved professional athletes to play ball in this town.
Driving the news: The Panthers face the Arizona Cardinals at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton at 8pm Thursday, Aug. 6. It's the first preseason game and a key part of Enshrinement Week.
State of play: Hundreds of thousands of football fans will flock to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for Enshrinement Week, which includes one of the most star-studded classes in recent memory, Axios' Troy Smith writes.
- Former NFL stars Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri and Roger Craig will be enshrined on Saturday at noon.
Fun fact: Kuechly will be the second-youngest player inducted into the Hall of Fame.
We asked readers for some of their favorite Kuechly moments. Here's what they had to say.
Editor's note: Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Named after Luke
Jennifer Pasquale tells Axios she named her son Luke after Kuechly.
"Just like Luke, our Luke is obsessed with football at only 6 years old!" she says. "He studies routes, knows football stats that most adults don't know and is always holding a football."
LUUUUUUUUKE
Jane Caplanides isn't the only one who has been to a game at Bank of America Stadium and heard the crowd roar for No. 59. She's also not the first one to think they were shouting "BOOOOO" when they were actually shouting "LUUUUUUKE."
- "What a first class guy he is and what wonderful team they had," she says.
Pick Six
A pick six (returning an interception for a touchdown) is always special, but one stands out for Bryan Jones:
- "I have to say my favorite Luke Kuechly moment was the interception on Tony Romo in the Thanksgiving game and the stiff arm he gave him on the way to the touchdown for the pick six."
Clark Kent
Kuechly been compared to Clark Kent over the years. Maybe it was the glasses. Maybe it was the way he transformed every time he stepped foot on the field, but for Larken Egleston he was unrecognizable when the Panthers drafted him.
- In 2012, Egleston was volunteering at a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation event alongside Panthers player Jordan Gross and other players. Egleston had been assigned to keep things organized in the autograph line for Panthers players.
- Then a curly-haired young man with glasses walked around the crowd and into the tent where the players were sitting, Egleston says.
- "I politely asked him to head to the back of line if he'd like to get autographs," Egleston says. "Once he stopped laughing, Panthers linebacker Jon Beason said 'Larken, meet Luke Kuechly.' Thankfully, Luke was as gracious as he was unassuming, and laughed too."