Viral Panthers Sensation Carolina MiC Is Singing Praises of His Beloved NFL Team as They Head to Playoffs (Exclusive)
- - Viral Panthers Sensation Carolina MiC Is Singing Praises of His Beloved NFL Team as They Head to Playoffs (Exclusive)
Anna Lazarus CaplanJanuary 10, 2026 at 10:00 PM
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CarolinaMiC/YouTube
Carolina MiC -
Carolina MiC's viral song has won over Panthers fans and more
The Minneapolis-based tech administrator's song "If I Had $150,000" was featured on ManningCast in November
Luke Combs and Nate Burleson are among the rapper's most famous fans
Michael “Carolina MiC” Malloy was at a Buffalo Wild Wings when his phone began blowing up.
It was a Monday night in November, and the Carolina Panthers fan was watching his team take on the San Francisco 49ers.
Little did he know that he had just made a national television appearance on Peyton and Eli Manning’s ManningCast — thanks to Luke Combs, who is a fan of his absurdly catchy viral hit “If I Had $150,000.”
“People hitting me like, ‘Hey, did you see?’ " Malloy, 51, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview. “And I'm like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And so I dug a little deeper and, you know. I knew about as much as you all know because I wasn't watching it.”
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On the simulcast, the Manning brothers were talking with Combs — also a rabid Panthers fan — when he shared Malloy’s song, which can only be described as an odd ode to what one can buy with $150,000.
Spend a $150,000 on a football team/Wait a minute that’s not enough to buy a teamSpend a $150,000 on a tricked out Porsche/ Wait what Minnesota it snows too much
In the video that the Minneapolis-area tech administrator posted to social media last summer, Malloy cuts an unlikely figure. Wearing a Panthers jersey, khaki shorts and blue-and-black colored tube socks (pulled up, naturally), Malloy gently sways as he raps the lyrics to the hypnotic beat.
At first, Eli and Peyton chuckled at the sight, while Combs sang along — which is all part of the appeal, Malloy says.
“I had the beat first,” Malloy says about the song’s beginnings. “And I was trying to figure out what words would go with it, and I just started humming the chorus, and it just came out as I was humming the chorus, I was like, okay, I thought to myself, yeah, that's an oddly specific number. But I went with it because I really have kind of a cheeky nature to myself.”
The South Carolina native, a Midwest outlier in his love for the Panthers, says his personality is reflected in the quirky song.
“I'm always just cracking jokes or using puns and just being silly and corny,” he tells PEOPLE. “And a lot of my music is like that. It has a corny or comedic aspect to it.”
So are people in on the joke or are they making fun of Malloy?
“I'm not naive and not understand that there are some people who are laughing at it,” he says. “But I feel like a majority of the people are, are in on the joke with me and having fun with it, not just poking fun.”
That’s certainly been the case for Carolina MiC’s fans — including Nate Burleson who shared his own riff on the soon-to-be classic on the NFL on CBS.
Malloy says his aim is not to be a one-hit wonder so much as enjoy the ride. Later this month, he’ll perform during halftime at a Wake Forest University basketball game. And his appearances at tailgates and Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte have been the stuff of dreams for the aspiring recording artist.
“I definitely plan to continue supporting Carolina sports,” he says.
On Saturday, Jan. 10, the musician will be watching his beloved team play the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card playoff game.
Despite a losing 8-9 record, Carolina advanced to the playoffs after clinching the NFC South last week, following the Falcons beating the Saints.
And just like his song, Malloy has no room for the naysayers.
“Yeah, there's some contrarians out there saying, 'Oh, we fell into the playoffs,' we're gonna be first-round exits, all of that stuff. But, you know, those are just haters.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
