Roseburg ‘Panther Mom’ Heads to Super Bowl 50

By David Jaques

Roseburg, OR-It isn’t often that you get a chance to go to the Super Bowl; and Super Bowl 50 between the Broncos and the Panthers is undoubtedly one of the biggest events in the history of the game. So just imagine what it would be like if you had tickets, but not just to see the game, but to see your youngest son walk onto the field wearing the Panthers uniform. Well that’s exactly what Lori Haggans from Roseburg, Oregon is going to do this Sunday.

Lori was on her way to the airport to catch a flight to visit some of her grandkids on the way to see her son, No. 55 David Mayo, in his first NFL season with the Carolina Panthers, play in the Big Game Sunday February 7^th in Levi’s Stadium before a capacity crowd of about 70,000, with a viewing audience at home expected to reach 189,000,000.

Mayo a twenty-two year old rookie with the Panthers, was picked up this year in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. His mom is quick to say it’s the same year the Panthers drafted Michael Oher, of the movie Blindside fame.

David Mayo grew up in St. Helens, Oregon, and moved during High School to Scappoose, Oregon, where he wore the Orange and Black for the Indians.

But his mom tells how it all started. David, the youngest of her seven children, started out in soccer when he was seven years old, with mom as his coach. But by age nine he decided he wanted to try American football. He started out as QB. Mom says he came home after his first practice a bundle of nerves, totally distraught because coach told him he had to learn all of the positions and all of the plays. So as she tells it while ‘normal’ kids were hearing their mom read bedtime stories, she read David the playbook each night as he went to sleep.

He went on to play city league in St. Helens, and worked his way up through Jr, High and High School with a complete love of the game. In his sophomore year he moved to Scappoose where he played for Coach Sean McNabb. David was one of the team captains all three years and became a team leader on and off the field. Mom said he always took a knee when coach called the team in, as a sign of respect and reverence. She said in High School he was known by his friends and teammates as the guy with the Bible in his truck.

After graduating from Scappoose he went to Santa Monica Jr. College. Money was tight so he stayed on a friend of the family’s couch and later lived in a utility shed in their back yard. At the end of his first year at Santa Monica, he was recruited by Texas State on a full ride scholarship to play football for them.

While at Santa Monica, David met a young lady, Jordan, who would later become Mrs. Mayo. He graduated from Texas State in 2015 with a degree in business. But that is only the beginning of the events of that summer for the young college grad. Before the end of summer he would get drafted in the NFL’s 5^th round to play Panther football, get married to Jordan on the family’s regulation size football field in Canby, Oregon, and move to North Carolina to report for training camp.

Mother Lori said “he’s a deserving kid, he’s always stayed focused, and his faith has seen him through”.

All six of his siblings will also be at the big game this Sunday. That’s only fitting too said mom, because they helped toughen him up as the youngest of seven, it’s where he learned survival skills, and how to get back up again.

Another Scappoose teammate, Derek Anderson, who went on to play for the OSU Beavers, also ended up in the Panther lineup. And their coach, Sean McNabb will be attending the game this weekend at Levi’s Stadium.

A key memory mom shared was when David was about twelve years old they watched the movie “The Rookie” and it really impacted David. It’s where he first expressed an interest in being able to grow up and get a job doing something you love, which in his life is football. Mom encouraged him by telling him that’s what she did. She grew up working in the field of her passion, music.

Lori teaches instrumental and vocal music at Absolute Sound and Music. She says that ‘my kids, my husband Jesse and music are my passion.”  And Jesse, she said, shares her passion for music and plays bass guitar in the local band TOB; That Other Band.  

So this weekend watch for number 55 David Mayo, Panthers Inside Linebacker, Special Teams, in the biggest game of his life!