Panthers become the third NFC South team to reach the conference championship since 2009

The NFC South has been known as one of the most competitive divisions in football for several years now, and after a brief run as the laughingstock of the NFL in 2014, an NFC South team will be heading back to the conference championship. Stupid Panthers.

This is the third time in the last six seasons that the division will send a representative to the game, the first coming in 2009 for the Saints, and the second being that memorable (if ultimately crushing) game for the Falcons in 2012. Carolina got there by way of a dominant first half and good enough second half against Seattle today, and they'll now face off against a potent (if shaky) Arizona Cardinals team in the NFC Conference Championship next weekend. Denver and Pittsburgh will play to determine who faces the Patriots in the AFC Conference Championship shortly.

I suppose it's nice to see the division doing well, especially when you compare it to the NFC East, which has not done particularly well in that span. Let us be clear, though, since a few Panthers fans grumbled about the fact that Falcons fans were rooting against them: We are still rooting against them, and will do so with increased fervor. Go Cardinals!