Statesville native John White has spent so much time around Carolina Panthers players and coaches throughout the last two years that he is starting to talk like them.
White produces a weekly web-based Panthers radio show from his Statesville home, and has slowly built up a still-expanding audience since the show's infancy.
"Because it's a weekly thing, the show is more about analysis and breaking things down," White said. "I try to be as entertaining and informative as I can. I'm just trying to carve a niche for myself.
"It is what it is," White added with a chuckle, repeating the favorite saying of Panthers head coach John Fox.
An Iredell County native, White started producing the show on somewhat of a whim in March of 2008. He estimated a dozen or so people tuned in at first to the broadcast that is posted every Wednesday.
White will have many, many more listening today when he reaches a milestone — his 100th show.
"I didn't expect (to get this far)," White said. "I figured I would lose interest in it, or people would lose interest in me. And if they quit, I was going to quit. Some of it lasting so long as been due to perseverance, some of it is just being hard-headed."
White's weekly shows are mixed in his Statesville home and sound professional, with bursts of radio clips and music complementing his baritone, folksy voice.
His shows gained in popularity after White had a pair of big breaks.
Inviting his friends or bloggers on the show until it gained some steam, White eventually got in touch with former Panthers player Mike Minter.
Minter agreed to be on the air. Shortly thereafter, Mike Rucker and Stephen Davis also made appearances.
"That changed the direction of the entire thing," White said. "As soon as you get a Mike Minter or a Stephen Davis on, you get some interest. It gave me a taste of what was possible."
Now White is on the phone all week, hounding agents to get Panthers players on the air. He keeps in touch with reporters who cover the Panthers and invite them on as well.
White met several key figures during the offseason last year when, after getting his name out, he was given credentials to attend the team's training camp.
"That also sort of got me in the door," White said. "It was a great experience."
So is doing the radio show.
And as long as White keeps getting listeners and keeps having fun, he'll keep recording shows.
"The format's changed a hundred times," White said. "I've tried to make it informative, and I hope entertaining. And I want to give (listeners) a chance to maybe learn something about the players. You hope you succeed rather than fail. That's what I try to turn it into, and I guess it is what it is."
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