John Gurtler remembers his first game fondly — as if it were yesterday.

In reality, over the past 21 years, Gurtler has been a true ironman of the sport, from his very first game in 2004 to calling the Bandits’ latest win that sent them to a fifth consecutive NLL Finals appearance. He’s called over 400 consecutive games in that span.

Now, his impact on the sport is being honored. Gurtler was named on Monday by the NLL as the Tom Borrelli Media Person of the Year.

“It seems like yesterday when I did my first game back in January of 2004,” Gurtler said. “It’s hard to retrace. And the fact that we’re already up to 2025 and 400 games have passed, it does, in essence, seem like just yesterday. Each game is always different and as the players say, you’re only as good as your last game.”

Gurtler was named a finalist for the award for the first time alongside Maki Jenner and Teddy Jenner.

“It’s an honor to have my name alongside all the people that cover this great game, that do the games, that are heavily involved, so it’s a great honor,” Gurtler said.

Borrelli, who covered the Bandits for The Buffalo News until his passing in 2008, was a crucial fixture for Gurtler’s introduction into the game and getting him on his feet in the booth.

Gurtler made sure to have him on the air multiple times, having him there to provide his expert opinion on the team that Borrelli had overseen for more than a decade.

“Right when I started, Tom was right there and he helped me immensely with the game,” Gurtler said. “He was a man who kept every game report that he covered since the beginning of the Bandits. He was always at my side and helped me in that regard and helped me understand the nuances of the game.”

Borrelli helped Gurtler with the game as well as former on-air partners like Randy Mearns and Bandits head coach John Tavares. Now, Gurtler is helping to teach the next generation about the game through his play-by-play.

“He played a big role in the first part of my career,” Gurtler said. “I always say that Tom helped me with the game and then Darris Kilgour  and Randy Mearns taught me the game and now John Tavares and Steve Dietrich continue to teach me the game.”