Jonathan Stewart is making sure NFL fans drink responsibly this season. The former Carolina Panthers and New York Giants running back has partnered with Crown Royal to promote Crown Royal Water Break. PopCulture.com had a chance to speak to Stewart, and he revealed why he wanted to get involved with Crown Royal.
“Their drink responsibly water break campaign is one of those things that’s very important given the fact that people are going to enjoy themselves at football games,” Stewart said on our PopCulture@Home series. “I think it’s important to send the message to be safe. Going forward, I just wanted to join by them and help them get the message out to drink responsibly. That means have a Crown in one hand and have water in the other. Make sure you take water breaks. Moderation is key. But there’s also another side, which is they’re community-driven.”
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Stewart explained that he was out in the Charlotte, North Carolina, community this past weekend as he surprised a group of Panthers fans at a private Crown Royal tailgate party. The members of CLT Black-Owned, a group of Charlottle natives who started a platform on Instagram specifically to elevate Black-owned businesses, had the honor to tailgate with Stewart. The group’s mission is to highlight, celebrate and increase the visibility of black-owned businesses and services in Charlotte. Stewart, who still resides in Charlotte, said he loves the fact he can give back to the community.
“If you want to give back and find purpose, there’s a lot of things here in the Carolinas to be involved with,” he said. “Me and my wife are heavily involved in the community. Once I retired, I knew exactly what I wanted to support, who I wanted to support. It’s just been really amazing.”
Stewart, who played 12 seasons with the Panthers and one with the Giants, has time to tailgate and follow multiple NFL games since he’s no longer an NFL player. With the COVID-19 pandemic, tailgating has been different for Stewart, but in 2019, he enjoyed watching multiple games on Sundays.
“I’ve definitely been watching the games at home,” Stewart stated. “I enjoy watching games at home. In my mind, you would go to the games for the environment to experience the electricity going through your games and going through everyone else’s game while your team is making a comeback in the fourth quarter. That’s not happening right now. Last year, I definitely had a lot of people at my house experience my first season interested in football games. Even before I got to college, you never really sat down on a Sunday and watch football. Now, I’ve taken an interest in following the Panthers, really following their every move. It’s exciting to be a fan of something.”
