On Dec. 30, Anish Shroff walked into Bank of America Stadium as a guest on behalf of ESPN to take the call for the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl. But from now on, he’ll be walking into that stadium as a member of the Carolina Panthers family.
On Tuesday, the team announced that Shroff will be the Panthers’ new play-by-play voice. The 39-year-old takes over the radio waves for the recently-retired Mick Mixon, who manned the headsets for 17 years.
“You have to be a fan at heart; I really believe that,” Shroff said, per the team’s official release this afternoon. “I think I represent a lot of the people in this town. I moved here for an opportunity, and for a job, never knowing it would be home forever, and it’s become home forever. And there’s a lot of people here who are transplants. Half the people on my street are from Connecticut, Boston, Florida, New York. They’re from everywhere. And these nomads, these vagabonds, have found a place they can call home and call community.
“I want the Panthers to be a unifying factor there.”
Shroff was born in Bloomifeld, N.J.—not too far from the hometown of former Panthers linebacker and soon-to-be Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Sam Mills. In fact, he even has a special connection to the franchise legend:
.@AnishESPN’s Sam Mills story #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/8qtFIPtOmT
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) March 1, 2022
Already a Charlotte resident (and having raised his four-year-old daughter Athena into Panthers fandom), Shroff is a welcomed and exciting addition to the organization.