'This has become my city': Pat Doughty -- the story behind the voice of the Charlotte Hornets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Pat Doughty's path to becoming one of the most recognizable voices in Charlotte started with a dose of reality from his high school head coach -- he wasn't good enough to play varsity basketball at Pocomoke High School on Maryland's eastern shore.

The coach said he could hang around and keep stats. And, since he liked to talk, he could try his hand at the PA mic.

Since the National Basketball Association returned to Charlotte in 2004, Doughty, or Big Pat as everyone in the area knows him, has been tasked with providing a voice to the Hornets' home games.

"I was always fascinated by the guy in the background," Doughty said. "I would watch the Grammy Awards and hear 'Up next on the 64th Annual Grammys, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton, and a star performance from Tina Turner.' That was my thing. I was like that's incredible so I always wondered who that was."

Doughty's voice has been reverberating around the Spectrum Center for 14 years.

"This has become my city. I love Charlotte. I love the Carolinas," Doughty said. "I always knew I had a good connection, actually a great connection with the fans and when I was able to when I was walking around doing things, I would go up to the concourse all the time and hang out, give hugs, take pictures, just a lot of fun."

Doughty said it was a longshot that brought him to Charlotte in the first place as he wasn't one of the 500 plus candidates invited for open tryouts before the Bobcats inaugural season.

"What I did was put a voicemail begging in about 10 different voicemail boxes and 2 days later, I got a call. They said 'Listen come on down. We're going to let you audition, but we're not going to give you per diem' so you're not going to have money to eat with, we're not going to give you a hotel room, and you have to be here by 6:00," Doughty said.

He said his godparents rented a car for him.

But, he said that night he had to choose between gas money to make it home or money for a hotel room.

"What I did was sleep in the parking lot of a hotel," Doughty said. "A nice officer knocked on the window and told me it was illegal, but I told him what I was here for and he kind of looked around. I'll never forget it and said 'Why don't you park there under the light. Makes it a little easier, less likely to get into criminal activity.' And, he let me stay there."

There have been times, however, when Doughty's voice has been absent from Charlotte's Spectrum Center.

Doughty has extreme neuropathy, which has confined him to a wheelchair. He goes to dialysis three times a week. While neuropathy is a diabetic illness, Doughty does not have diabetes.

When his condition worsened this summer, he was forced to miss the first month of the regular season.

"That was tough man. That was one of the toughest things I've ever gone through," Doughty said. "I couldn't watch it on television. I had to hear about it the next day, watch highlights you know Sportscenter or whatever. It was tough man. It's all I've known for the last 14 years."

When Doughty returned, players said they feed the energy he gives the crowd. Doughty said it is a reciprocal relationship.

"They're my energy. A few defenses, a few Kembas maybe. They get excited a little bit with everything they give me. I give it back to them," Doughty said.

Doughty said despite the wheelchair, it doesn't slow him down. He meets fans, gives away a pair of tickets every night, and maintains a positive attitude through it all.

"I don't really cry about my health a whole lot because it could always be so much worse. Sure, I want to get well. I mean hey man, I'm just very blessed, very fortunate," Doughty said.

Cox Media Group