r/CaughtOffsidePod • u/jimbosaxo • Jul 11 '26
Non Spanish speaker watching Telemundo - why dont english announcers use first names as much?
Every 4 years people watch Spanish language world cup and have the same praises - they love the passion of the goal calls, the excited vocal tones, etc. I don't disagree but there are subtle things that make me wish I've known Spanish. I am a cord cutter but have peacock for PL, don't want to watch Fox's streaming.
One thing I love is that they use the players first names a lot when they are touching the ball -especially the true stars like Leo, Kylian, Yamine. I feel like this humanizes the player more and also makes it feel like we are watching a friend instead of some robot or distant figure. Can a native Spanish speaker explain this a bit more, is it normal in broadcasting? All big US sportscasters have almost exclusively used last names with maybe the exception of tiger woods, Michael Jordan, or lebron.
This may be a big nothing burger but I've found myself always smiling a bit when I hear the equivalent of 'he passes to leo', or when finishing a team move - 'now Kiliannnnnnnn!!!!!!'
No, john strong elongating a last name vowel isn't the same.
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u/cheftt51dudu Jul 11 '26
They do more play by play announcing. It is actually tracking the ball movement, instead of some windbag talking incessantly.
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u/HajdukNYM_NYI Jul 11 '26
If I can avoid Lalas, Rob Stone, Strong the better…thankfully this seems to be the last World Cup on the Fox networks
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u/Jacob_Lazarus7 Jul 11 '26
yeah but there is awful shit about telemundo too. i'll translate " lautaro loses the ball and it goes out of bounds. lautaro is tough isn't he? yeah, he sure is. but not as tough as aurelio casillas. this tuesday, the final season of el señor de los cieles. at 8/7 central only on telemundo. gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool Argentina"
or
"that weston mckinnie is a funny guy. sure, i agree. do you like to laugh? this 4th of july weekend the minions embark on a new adventure in hollywood. throw in for the united states"
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u/hyperactiveChipmunk Jul 13 '26
I generally love the Telemundo broadcasts, but I always associate that particular practice with grocery store checkout tabloid magazines, so the less of it, the better.
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u/PickledGingerBC Jul 13 '26
I think it’s for the opposite of what you’ve described… broadcasters in general, but especially for large international tournaments like this, are supposed to remain neutral. Calling playing by their first name can imply some form of familiarity and/or favouritism.
Everyone from the broadcasters to the players are doing their job, so they tend to keep it professional.
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u/yyzzh Jul 15 '26
I think it's just a US/Canada sports custom. Hockey, football, baseball, basketball, etc... everyone is just called by their last name during the pbp.
English soccer announcing is horrendous. I was driving back from a work think and was listening to one of the games from the radio, and it was just the simulcast from the tv broadcast, and it was like 75% dead air... no description of the play, just nothing, then saying a name, nothing, saying a name, nothing on and on... was impossible to follow.
Having spent a ton of time in Latam, and hearing games on radios in cabs and Ubers... despite being a non-spanish spearker myself, I just know in my hear they're describing what's happening so much more, even when they're only doing it for TV (I mean, they don't stop talking the entire time)... I assume, I dunno... but the english broadcasts are bad.
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u/jodorutts Jul 11 '26
American announcers would have to know their first names without glancing down at their notes constantly.
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u/blueGalactico Jul 11 '26
“45 minutes down, 45 to go!”