Panthers center Ryan Kalil doesn't hesitate when it comes to his favorite "Star Wars" character. "I love Chewy. Chewy's one of my all-time favorites." David Newton/ESPN.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- What would you call a group of Carolina Panthers players wearing specially designed "Purrbacca" T-shirts at a private showing of the new Star Wars movie?

"It was a complete nerd man date," center Ryan Kalil said Friday when asked if spouses or children were allowed to attend.

Kalil set up this private showing attended by all of the Carolina offensive linemen -- as well as two special guests (linebacker Luke Kuechly and tight end Greg Olsen) -- for Thursday night.

Kalil, admittedly a "huge Star Wars fan," began organizing the outing as soon as pre-sales for advance showings were announced.

The "Purrbacca" T-shirts came about when Kalil saw a tweet by his friend Joey Ellis, a graphic designer, following Sunday’s 38-0 win against Atlanta.

Kalil immediately came up with the idea to have T-shirts made. After wearing one in public earlier in the week and getting such a positive reaction, he decided to have "Dapper Inc." in Greenville, South Carolina, print them up to sale with the proceeds going to Olsen’s "The HEARTest Yard" charity.

Jacob Boyles, a designer who works at "Dapper Inc.," said there were more than 1,800 views on their webpage in the first hour. He said the store took more than 250 orders in the first two hours after Kalil and Olsen began promoting the shirts on Twitter at about 10:15 a.m. Friday.

"I think we broke the internet there for a second," Kalil said.

Kalil isn’t sure who is a bigger Star Wars fan, him or right tackle Mike Remmers. But the Pro Bowl center doesn’t hide his enthusiasm for the George Lucas creation.

"I got real excited the last year about this movie," Kalil said. "I think more guys were excited about me getting excited than actually going to see the movie."

Kalil, whose Twitter picture is of him wearing a full bear costume, doesn’t hesitate when it comes to his favorite Star Wars character.

"I love Chewy," he said. "Chewy's one of my all-time favorites."

Coach Ron Rivera said group outings like the one Kalil put together have contributed to Carolina’s 13-0 start heading into Sunday’s game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.

"When you build teams and have good locker rooms, that’s what you hope for, that guys come together for something like that," he said.

Kalil agreed.

"We’ve had a lot of fun trips this year as an offensive line group," he said. "That stuff carries over onto the field. ... It was fun to get a piece of your childhood there for just a couple hours."