Ask The Old Guy: The waiting game

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This is the part of the Mailbag where I take a second to thank all the wonderful people who reached out after I wrote about my father’s passing the day after Christmas. The kindnesses that were expressed to a stranger whose words you read on the internet were touching and valuable.

If you learn anything in times like this, it’s the value of community. Sometimes, that’s the people who come to your house and bring soup or a handmade prayer shawl; sometimes, it’s the people who just come to visit, or sometimes, it’s just a text or an email. The reaching out is the part that matters.

So, sincerely, thank you to everyone who did so. It matters.

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And on that note, let’s go lightning round, brought to you by the patron saint of the lightning round Jeff from Fuquay-Varina, to close it out this week.

Can Bryce Young be traded before next season? — Dianne, Matthews NC

Long answer: Are any of us really untouchable? I mean, existentially, we’re all day-to-day, our fates resting on the whims of a fickle universe, dependent on a million factors beyond our control.

Short answer: I guess, but he’s not going to be.

Darin, you’ve been covering the Panthers since the start, along with Jim Szoke. But there’s one other person who has been involved in every game but remains anonymous. I meant the voice of the Panthers broadcast promos in every game, on Panthers Talk, and even on the Panthers Huddle. Who is the deep voice who voices all the radio billboards on Panthers broadcasts? I know he’s been there from the beginning. — Omer, Wilkesboro, NC

Omer, that mystery voice has a name, and it’s JP Stevenson. He’s a Houston-based voice-over specialist. Who are we kidding? He’s an artist. Those pipes are a gift, and he has shared his music for a long time.

The Panthers have used other narrators for broadcast promos in the early years, but Stevenson has been doing it for the team since 2005.

Good morning, Darin. It’s 30 minutes before the kickoff of the finale. No questions, just some positive influence to all the fans out there. I love the fight the Panthers have played with this season. They never gave up, and as we said in the military, adapt and overcome! We got nowhere to go but up, now and in the future. That said, Keep Pounding. — David, Farmington, MO

What could possibly go…