The 2021 NFL season will sound a little different at Paul Brown Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bengals. That’s because local banker Patrick Whitmer will be energizing the crowd as their new game-day host.
Announcing games and being involved in a major sports atmosphere is not new to Whitmer, who has served as the full-time voice for the University of Kentucky Wildcats since 2007 at Rupp Arena.
Whitmer said he has been a basketball fan since he knew what a basketball was, and he was often calling games before he knew what that was. He said that when he is watching games from home, he is so focused that he often tunes out what is going on around him.
In high school, Whitmer began working in radio and continued while attending Transylvania University.
“It was fun and easy to do,” he said of the radio work.
It was during his time at Transylvania that Whitmer began to fill in as the announcer at UK basketball games when needed — until he was asked to be the full-time announcer.
“Heck yeah,” he recalled saying, as he has been a fan of UK his whole life.
But announcing never was — and never has been — his “regular” job.
Whitmer earned his MBA from UK and has been working in auditing and business consulting for banks for more than 25 years.
In 2014, Whitmer relocated to Owensboro and now travels to Rupp during the basketball season for home games. He arrives two hours before each game, and during that time he learns the pronunciation of the opposing players’ names so he is ready when the buzzer sounds.
“There is nothing like a game and seeing the fans. I feed off them and they feed off me,” he said. “It’s a labor of love.”
At UK, Whitmer is the one who calls the game, provides statistics and announces player substitutions and fouls. He is on the floor at the table between the two teams and can be seen on televised games when the coaches shake hands, he said.
“There is so much going on in a basketball game, we now have a host and hostess,” he said. “The experience is getting richer and richer involving the fans. It is more than just a game.”
Whitmer said in the early summer of 2021, the Cincinnati Bengals’ game-day staff began discussing changing the fan experience.
“It’s so easy for fans to stay home, watch the game on TV in HD … (the staff is) trying to bring the excitement back to live games,” Whitmer said.
To inject this energy and provide the ultimate in fan experience, a few of those involved with the Bengals mentioned Whitmer’s name. They had heard him at Rupp.
“They wanted the same enthusiasm,” Whitmer said of being hired.
He’ll be the entertainment announcer at home football games for the Bengals, not the one giving the information and statistics as he does for the Wildcats.
A couple of weekends ago, Whitmer emceed the Fan Day held at Paul Brown Stadium, which he said had a good turnout.
The Bengals host the Minnesota Vikings at noon today for their season opener. Whitmer will be the one announcing fan activities, former stars, and the 2021 inaugural class of the Bengal’s Ring of Honor.
During the game, Whitmer won’t be seen as he is at UK games. He will instead be in an enclosed studio.
“I am the guy with the voice that people don’t see,” he said.
Whitmer has been “very busy” learning the job, but said it is a win-win for him.
“The beauty is it’s Sunday in the afternoon, and I am back [home in Owensboro] at a decent hour. UK gets going in November,” he said. “Being involved in all of that and being a banker … it is the best of both worlds.”
Whitmer said his wife and son are his two biggest fans, and they love this experience, too. He plans to keep doing it indefinitely.
“I enjoy what I do during the week, but these are my hobbies. I enjoy it,” he said. “I have the ability to live here, work here and have a supportive family — that’s the best.”
