Panthers on Facebook and a great video

Not in a fantasy football league yet? Facebook has one that you can view right on your page, with drafts still going on all the time. Big fan of a certain team? If you get their app, the logo goes on your Facebook page, you can taunt opponents, and take trivia quizzes. Wondering how to tweet other fans during the game? There's a very cool way to do that throughout the game. Not a part of the biggest Panthers fans group? We'll take you there.

This is the first big weekend of football season, and the first big football season for social media. Every other Facebook post seems to be about somebody's team. Charlotte's Jeff Kennedy seemed to speak for many when he posted on Facebook: "my wife is sad... she is a college football widow... I watched 8 hours straight.... just wait till the NFL starts tomorrow!" Also posting about the Panthers this weekend were Bruce Goldinger, Nan Gray, and more Charlotteans than I can possibly name.

While the Southeastern Conference and NFL have drawn up confusing plays about social media policies, fans have found that football is the perfect thing to tweet and Facebook about. Here's where to click to make sure you're part of the action online.

Facebook has 1,700 football-related applications, but some are for soccer. The most popular NFL app is Fantasy Football 2009, which lets you play fantasy football right on Facebook. More than 730,000 people play this. If you're not in a fantasy league yet and you're a Facebook user, it's worth looking into. Sports Illustrated and Citizen Sports are behind it. Note: On a lark I invited Anthony Foxx and John Lassiter to join my league. I'll let you know if the mayoral candidates play.

The Carolina Panthers Fans application is very popular in Charlotte, with more than 9,300 monthly users. (I was stunned to see 139 Facebook friends had installed it.) Lets you play quizzes, get into discussions, post photos. Looks like a healthy boosters app. There's also a Carolina Panthers group, which doesn't require you to install anything or risk privacy information. About 11,000 belong to it. And you can friend the TopCats, which sounds fun to me.

There are many NFL apps, including What NFL Player Are You? This quiz is very popular, but I'm always wary about privacy information. The NFL has its own app, which lets you put your team's logo on your page, and play a little game throughout the year where you "throw passes to your friends online." It might not be as lame as it sounds. (How's that for an endorsement?)

What about Twitter? You can obviously include #panthers in messages as a way to connect with other fans. But during a game, if you want to discuss strategy, try using the hashtag #panthersshsould. Yes, it's long. But it's clear what the discussion is: A forward-looking argument about what play should be called or strategy used. That way, you're not just reacting, and can show how smart you are. This can elevate the conversation a little beyond "Go Panthers!"

Finally, if you want to trash talk to the league's rudest fans, you can sneak into the Philadelphia Eagles' online huddle by tweeting the hashtag #Eagles.

In a few days I'll have a similar post on college football on the social web. To help you get psyched for today's actual, here's a great Panthers highlight video.