Panthers team president, Ivano Tira, welcomed from the Aggies during a trip to Houston

Now it’s official: no longer is it only our idea to bring the Parma Panthers to the United States. After various American players in the last 4 years collaborating to push the level of the Italian and European football to new limits, after the publication all over the world of the book "Playing for Pizza" by John Grisham, after the hundreds of contacts with American fans of the silver and black squad, another recent event has confirmed the liking from overseas involving Panthers team president, Ivano Tira.

Taking a trip to Houston, Texas for a few days of vacation with his companion Beatrice, dedicated also for the merchandise sales of the Panthers, for the sole purpose of witnessing a meeting of college football between the University of TEXAS A&M (of whom he is long time fan) and the OKLAHOMA SOONERS (# 6 in the BCS ranking at the time). The game itself was enough, but they were overwhelmed from the warm welcome and large interest they received in the mecca of Texas football.

"It’s been a fantastic experience, more than expected,” said the president.. "Thanks to the help of Rick Brown, our fan from Texas that spent a couple days this past summer with the Panthers in Parma during his few weeks in Europe on family vacation, I was able to receive 2 tickets for a big game in the mythical Kyle Field in College Station, Texas in the presence of more than 85,000 fans.”

Upon the arrival in College Station, while I participated in the traditional "tailgating" (hundreds of gazebo scattered in of the parking lot outside the stadium, equipped with Grills and beer at will, typical American custom) invited by Ken Maugh, long time "Aggies" fan, I was approached by Jeff Paine, a former linebacker of the Aggies and ex-NFl player, and to my big surprise presented me with a signed football, personalized and autographed by Aggies head coach Mike Sherman (already head coach in NFL in the Green Bay Packers for 5 years) and in which boldly wrote, "GIG' EM PARMA PANTHERS" (gig' em is the ritual hand signal with the thumb upwards, used by Texas A & M since the 1930’s, that every student and fan does throughout the game).

But the surprises were not finished there: the president Tira was later interviewed by the local Aggies school paper and his presence was announced in the Gameday program distibuted outside the stadium. An extraordinary and extremely gratifying welcome, arriving directly in the mecca of football, an event that now confirms "our" Panther's have crossed the Italian boarders, giving further glory and recognition out of our city.