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Ric Flair Gets Death Threats From Panthers Fans After 49ers Pep Talk

Posted: Jan 10th 2014 By: CMBurnham

Apparently when it comes to choosing between the Panthers and 49ers, Ric Flair refuses to be pinned down.

The pro wrestling legend has answered the pressing question that has been on Americans' minds all week: he will not attend Sunday's playoff game between Carolina and San Francisco in Charlotte, where the former champ and Panthers backer resided until recently.

Flair had grown close to players such as Cam Newton and Steve Smith, with Smith even buying Flair a wrestling robe at a charity auction, according to The Charlotte Observer. The Panthers had even adopted Flair's trademark cry of "Whoooo!" to celebrate big plays, in honor of their famous fan.

But that was before Flair blindsided the Panthers last week with the equivalent of clocking one of his in-ring opponents with a foreign object: at the 49ers' request, Flair met with them leading up to their wild-card victory in Green Bay and gave the team a pep talk. For dramatic effect, in a third-person quote that sounds straight from an old-school wrestling promo interview from Saturday morning TV, he added: "Ric Flair's heart is with the 49ers all the way to the end."

As you might have guessed, those comments, which were captured in a video that went viral, have at least one Panther sounding like he's itching for a steel-cage grudge match against the 64-year-old Flair. "As a guy who actually has a Ric Flair robe, I'm real disappointed seeing that," Smith told the Observer. "Real disappointed. I'm not sure if he'll get the invite here. That Golden Gate Bridge has been burned."

Seems Flair won't be needing an invite, as a statement released by his management said that he won't be attending. Maybe that's for the best, since his camp says the stir caused by his tag-team moment with the 49ers resulted in death threats.

"What can I say?" Flair said in the statement. "I've always been a very good heel!"

Give Flair credit for this much: He clearly doesn't want to be a distraction at Sunday's game, where he would be forced to silence hecklers with his famed figure-four leglock.