CHARLOTTE -- Roman Bürki's Panthers fandom started when he was drawn to one player in particular.

Cam Newton.

The goalkeeper for elite Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund isn't alone in that respect. Far from it. But he wasn't far from the action Wednesday.

Bürki, who is in America to vacation and participate in a kicking camp, visited Bank of America Stadium as the Panthers were going through minicamp practice.

"Meeting all the players on the training ground was a big highlight," he said. "Cam, McCaffrey, Olsen, Kuechly – it's amazing. I came here and everyone was so friendly. That is not usual. It's not common everywhere. It was amazing."

The Swiss-born Bürki also had some fun with Carolina's specialists. Bürki attempted some punts and field goals (and looked like a natural), and kicker Graham Gano and punter Michael Palardy took some penalty kicks against the talented keeper.

As we know, Gano and Palardy have strong legs. Bürki saw it up close.

"They had the power," Bürki said. "Their shots were really, really hard. Almost impossible to save. They were really good."

Bürki said he's never been to an NFL game before, but that's going to change in 2019.