Remember when city and county officials were celebrating the World Series championship of the Rowan County Little League girls softball team and someone said the national exposure the girls had given the Salisbury-Rowan area was probably the equivalent of a $20 million marketing campaign?

So how do you put a value on what the Carolina Panthers’ Super Bowl season has meant to the Charlotte region, of which Rowan County is a part? You can’t, but the economic benefits and the attention given to our corner of world for two weeks are enormous.

And it’s pretty much free.

Having a team in the Super Bowl is much better, for example, than a city or region’s trying to host an Olympics or stage a world’s fair. An Olympics bid, if won, can bankrupt a city because of the new athletic venues which must be built, the highways that have to be redesigned and the security precautions that are required.

A Super Bowl team is pretty painless, yet highly productive. Consider the trickle-down economic effect even into Rowan County, with all the extra restaurant wings, pizzas and sandwiches sold today; the televisions rented; the groceries purchased; and the Panthers gear which has flown off store shelves in recent weeks.

The way the Panthers have brought this Carolinas region together cannot be undersold, either. First of all, from the playing field this season are images not soon forgotten — Cam Newton flying into the end zone, Luke Kuechly returning interceptions for touchdowns and footballs being handed to kids in the stands, to name a few.

Then there are friends telling friends and strangers telling strangers to “keep pounding,” an expression that has taken on a life of its own among Panthers fans. And how many times have you seen people doing the dab this past week?

The Panthers have been a unifying, economic development, marketing juggernaut for the Carolinas region.

Nationally known sportswriter Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe was in Salisbury this past week as part of his duties as chairman of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters board. Since 2000, Ryan has seen his New England region capture nine world championships in the four major professional sports.

Yet Ryan knows how fickle sports can be and how long the droughts can last between championships and rare seasons such as the one the Panthers have produced. His advice to fans of the Carolina Panthers today: Savor the moment, because you never know what the next season holds.

Our advice: Keep pounding.