Greg Murray wasn’t overly excited when he first heard Columbus was going to get a National Hockey League team. Now the public address announcer for the Columbus Blue Jackets can’t imagine his life without the team. The deep-throated baritone celebrated his 500th game behind the microphone in a 5-2 loss to the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 25. “It’s a little embarrassing to say, but (the decision to build an NHL franchise here in Columbus) really didn’t register on my radar,” Murray says with a chuckle. “I had no background in hockey whatsoever. “A friend of mine is really into hockey. I’d go over to his house and he’d have a hockey game on. You know how a Labrador sort of cocks his head to one side and looks at you? That’s kind of the reaction I had to hockey. I was like ‘I just don’t get it, dude.’” Murray more than gets it now. His 500th game as an announcer was part of a historic week for the team. Columbus: *had its 500th game at Nationwide on Jan. 21 with a 5-3 win over Los Angeles; *celebrated its 1,000th game as a franchise on Jan. 23 with a 5-2 win over Philadelphia; *and extended its club best win streak to eight games with the win over the Flyers. “It’s special, obviously,” says Derek Mackenzie, a center who has been in the Jackets’ organization for seven years. “I’ve seen this organization really evolve. You can feel it in the arena. It’s pretty special for the fans. They deserve it.” Unlike Mackenzie, Murray has been a part of the Columbus franchise from the very beginning. After spending the first two games learning ins and outs of being the team’s announcer, Murray has been like a mail carrier for the Jackets. Neither wind, nor rain nor laryngitis has prevented him from doing his appointed rounds. Two days before the start of the 2003 season, Murray came down with laryngitis. While he still made the call, Murray was forced to use a pre-taped version of his famous “Jackets on the power play” call during games. The closest Murray came to missing a game was during the Jackets’ first season. Murray came home from work with the flu two days before Columbus played Pittsburgh on Feb. 17, 2001. “I slept for most of the two days before the game,” Murray says. “I had a 102 degree fever, but took a lot of Theraflu before the game and did the game. Then I came home and went back to bed.” If it hadn’t been for a chance phone call with a Philadelphia radio production director, Murray may have missed his calling as the team’s PA announcer. Murray,Murray, a former WLVQ QFM 96 production director, was describing his station’s new office and said ‘I can see the corner of the new NHL arena they’re building here.’ “That’s cool,” the director said. “Did you think about trying out for the PA announcer’s job?” “Nooooooo,” Murray said. “Maybe you should,” the director answered. “I had no idea what I was getting into,” Murray says. Before taking the part-time job as the Jackets’ announcer, Murray had a varied career in broadcasting. He worked at rock station Power 105 in Athens and then took a job at an adult contemporary station in Columbus which switched to a country format three weeks after he took the job. He worked at a rock station in Memphis before landing his dream job as a disc jockey for QFM, the station he listened to when he was growing up. After attending a Promise Keepers rally in 2001, Murray became more serious about his faith and welcomed the chance to work for 104.9 The River, a Christian radio station that was more in line with his religious beliefs. “The switch from playing ‘Stairway to Heaven’ to talking about heaven has been a real interesting,” says Murray, whose full time job is being a contract worker for The River and several Christian stations throughout the United States. The words “sports broadcaster” and “public address system announcer” were notably absent on Murray’s resume when he applied for the Jackets job. His first year was one of learning on the fly with the rest of the organization. “If my recollection is correct, we took possession of the arena nine days before that first game. You want to talk about hitting the ground running,” he says. “I remember walking into the penalty box where I announce from 10 minutes before the game was supposed to start and. Kimberly Kershaw (then the Jackets director of event presentation and production) looks around and goes ‘Where’s the announcer’s mic?’ “I learned a couple of things real quick that first week. You better know how to say hockey players' names correctly and you better know how to announce penalties correctly.” During that first season, Murray came up with his catch phrase. He announces “Jackets … oonnnn the pooooower plaaaaaay” like it is a jet taking off. It starts off slowly, builds and builds and then reaches a crescendo. Early in that first season, after he said “Jackets on the power play” with a little enthusiasm, Kershaw encouraged him “Next time, do it bigger.” A power play later, Murray let loose what has become his signature call. “I turned off the microphone and looked at her and said ‘How was that?” Murray says. “She nodded and said ‘Yeah that’ll work.’” During the 2002-03 season, Murray decided to change up the call. He would start with “Jackets on the” and let the crowd finish it with “power play.” “In one of the games, I accidently did the entire ‘Jackets on the power play’ and they ended up scoring” Murray says. “Someone asked MacLean about it in the press conference and he said ‘Yeah we’re going to have him keep on doing it.’” “During one of the games, (Kershaw) turned to me and, as a total mess up, she told me to do the ‘Jackets on the power play,’” Murray says. “I said ‘The whole thing?’ She goes ‘Yeah.’ So I did it and they ended up scoring. Someone asked MacLean about it in the press conference and he said ‘Yeah we’re going to have him keep on doing it.’” These days some Blue Jackets fans might not recognize Murray by his face but as soon as he speaks, heads start to turn. “I’ll be in a store and I’ll be talking with my wife Julie and my sons Cooper and Wesley. People will give that sidelong glance and that ‘I know that person from somewhere but I don’t know where’ expression. Then they’ll go ‘Are you the Jackets on the power play guy?’” In 2003, the Blue Jackets added a second voice, Mike Todd, who serves as an in-arena host for the home games. Todd and Murray met at Ohio University when they hosted ‘The Murray, Todd and More’ radio program. The two once held a state record for longest continuous broadcast (99.3 hours) for a fundraiser. “Mike gets to play the game show host role,” Murray says. “I’m a little more straightforward and he’s a little more animated which is what makes us a great team.” In his 14 years of announcing, Murray has seen his share of highs and lows with the team. At times it would seem like Nationwide Arena pulled in more fans of the opposing team than they did of their own. Murray is starting to see a loyal fan base grow. “A lot of folks (in this town) were Penguins fans, Blackhawks fans or Red Wings fans long before they were Blue Jacket fans but we are turning them,” Murray says. “A lot of people don’t realize that Columbus is a great hockey town. It’s a gem.”